Prepping for an Easy Catch when rowing
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In this video, Ken demonstrates the importance of early preparation around the back turn for the catch. Unfortunately, many rowers (primarily beginners) continue to rock over with the body until the optimal catch placement time and often after it has passed. As a result, they typically miss the catch, and their boat speed suffers.
Some elite athletes have successfully applied late body position preparation to their technique, but it should be considered an advanced technique as it usually exacerbates catch problems. |
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Video Transcript
Before we go back onto the water though before we go and do that i'd like to just have a little look at um at the posture in the boat
and again this is a race pace so it's maybe a bit unfair really if you look at what happens so we've just finished there now uh we can all sit a bit taller and there's a all a little bit of slump here in the lower back and so you want to sit taller we'll do it on an erg in a second and so you want to make sure that you're sitting tall now as we come but as i say it's a bit unfair because you're rating quite high and you're in a hurry and so but it demonstrates it perhaps better if we're coming down the slide here you'll see that some of you, not all look at the bow person here the body was largely over before the knees broke before and reached a little bit far coming into the front but not too bad if we look at some of the others
the bodies are continuing to move as you come down to the catch if i go for a slower piece of film it's probably more obvious
and you all do it to different extents if you look at
see our hands our elbows are still bent and we're starting to come down the slide and our bodies continue to go over as we're coming into the front now you'll find that we get a better easier catch if you can get yourself set up for the catch a little bit earlier and so you want to sit at the finish hands away and i don't want it robotic like hands away body over it's got to be smooth you make it a smooth motion but it's really about getting your hands away getting the body over before when you're about halfway down the slide thereabouts then you should be ready for the catch so your arms should be fully extended uh and not in your sockets like explain a minute so fully extended your body over and ready to take the catch and then you hold it there as you come into the front a few reasons why that's important particularly with younger crews is that when you're coming into the catch if you continue if your body is still moving as you're coming into the catch then there's a tendency to go over reach and to go too far and then not get a good catch because you're not in a strong position because your body's too close and so that's a real danger with getting it that way the other thing is if you get your body over and in the right position then when you pull yourself down into the front then it's going to be a conscious i'm pulling myself down the slide movement which is going to give you better acceleration in the boat in that recovery phase rather than just sort of having it all happen at all once but it will all merge together so maybe if we set up a couple of ergos and we'll put everyone through an ergo from posture and so if we can get the posture right then when you go out there to take the catch and get the catch right then it's going to be really easy because you're going to be ready for that catch well before you get there and so when you get there we go right now all i'm going to do is just put the blade in and then i've got to push that sequence is so important and then push not pushing in or anything like that so what we're looking for and I want you all to try this is at the finish we want to be about like that you put your elbows out a little bit more but not much your elbow wants to be above the oar handle and likewise essentially because it's stronger that way so then uh the first movement is you've got to sit really tall so sit tall as tall as you can and then hands away let your knees go a little bit soft hang on go back go back to where we started so hands away soft knees don't leave your hand leave your body back righto now up and over so if i put my hand above your head and so try and try you're not going to do it try and hit my hand as you come back don't look at it just try and hit it so go back over to the finish again and try to go up and over again and up and over so the concept is you want to make sure you're sitting tall all the time because if you want to have your pelvis as vertical as you can all the time in the boat so when you see sitting out there you see people sitting in the single a bit like this you're always going to sit tall because it's a really the best habit you can get for rowing it makes it's the other reason from a medical perspective is it gives you much more strength in your lower back if you've got a curved lower back then you're more likely to get back injuries
and again this is a race pace so it's maybe a bit unfair really if you look at what happens so we've just finished there now uh we can all sit a bit taller and there's a all a little bit of slump here in the lower back and so you want to sit taller we'll do it on an erg in a second and so you want to make sure that you're sitting tall now as we come but as i say it's a bit unfair because you're rating quite high and you're in a hurry and so but it demonstrates it perhaps better if we're coming down the slide here you'll see that some of you, not all look at the bow person here the body was largely over before the knees broke before and reached a little bit far coming into the front but not too bad if we look at some of the others
the bodies are continuing to move as you come down to the catch if i go for a slower piece of film it's probably more obvious
and you all do it to different extents if you look at
see our hands our elbows are still bent and we're starting to come down the slide and our bodies continue to go over as we're coming into the front now you'll find that we get a better easier catch if you can get yourself set up for the catch a little bit earlier and so you want to sit at the finish hands away and i don't want it robotic like hands away body over it's got to be smooth you make it a smooth motion but it's really about getting your hands away getting the body over before when you're about halfway down the slide thereabouts then you should be ready for the catch so your arms should be fully extended uh and not in your sockets like explain a minute so fully extended your body over and ready to take the catch and then you hold it there as you come into the front a few reasons why that's important particularly with younger crews is that when you're coming into the catch if you continue if your body is still moving as you're coming into the catch then there's a tendency to go over reach and to go too far and then not get a good catch because you're not in a strong position because your body's too close and so that's a real danger with getting it that way the other thing is if you get your body over and in the right position then when you pull yourself down into the front then it's going to be a conscious i'm pulling myself down the slide movement which is going to give you better acceleration in the boat in that recovery phase rather than just sort of having it all happen at all once but it will all merge together so maybe if we set up a couple of ergos and we'll put everyone through an ergo from posture and so if we can get the posture right then when you go out there to take the catch and get the catch right then it's going to be really easy because you're going to be ready for that catch well before you get there and so when you get there we go right now all i'm going to do is just put the blade in and then i've got to push that sequence is so important and then push not pushing in or anything like that so what we're looking for and I want you all to try this is at the finish we want to be about like that you put your elbows out a little bit more but not much your elbow wants to be above the oar handle and likewise essentially because it's stronger that way so then uh the first movement is you've got to sit really tall so sit tall as tall as you can and then hands away let your knees go a little bit soft hang on go back go back to where we started so hands away soft knees don't leave your hand leave your body back righto now up and over so if i put my hand above your head and so try and try you're not going to do it try and hit my hand as you come back don't look at it just try and hit it so go back over to the finish again and try to go up and over again and up and over so the concept is you want to make sure you're sitting tall all the time because if you want to have your pelvis as vertical as you can all the time in the boat so when you see sitting out there you see people sitting in the single a bit like this you're always going to sit tall because it's a really the best habit you can get for rowing it makes it's the other reason from a medical perspective is it gives you much more strength in your lower back if you've got a curved lower back then you're more likely to get back injuries