Teaching Core on the Erg for rowing
|
Often beginner rowers struggle to understand how to turn their core on at the catch without lifting their shoulders or shooting the slide.
In this video, Ken demonstrates how to solve these problems by teaching core awareness and control around the catch. |
|
Video Transcript
In the last few days i've been helping some under 13 athletes learn how to row on an ergo one of the issues that we find with beginner athletes in particular is that they don't quite understand about which part of the core they should turn on and how to execute the part of that part of the stroke so how to come into the front turn their core on and then push back without lifting the shoulders or shooting your side often we find that they tend to come into the catch fine and then when they get to the front here they tend to push out with their with their seat rather than holding it steady just pushing straight back holding their shoulders and their legs so they're holding their shoulders and their seat at the same angle for that first part of the stroke so what i suggest to do in order to try and improve this is
is have the athletes sit on the ergo without a handle and ask them to come to finish hands away rock over and come into the front and then ask them to just push back to half slide so they're just doing that first part without any weight in the handle at all because they don't have it hold or anything so there's nothing for them to push against what they're doing is just holding their body in the same position and just pushing with their legs once they've got control of that and understand that then i suggest ask them to tense their glute muscles and their pelvic area muscles maybe tense their stomach up by tensing their their belly button poking their belly button out and ask them to do that and do the same exercise in and out of the front then i suggest give them the handle back and ask them do the same thing just that first part of the stroke there like that holding their relaxed grip relaxed shoulders and holding their core muscles on and then ask them to gradually increase the pressure of the leg drive so they've got to turn their muscles on there to catch them push if you get them used to that concept then when they start to row you'll find that you end up getting a lot less of the slide shooting and a lot less unnecessary movement in the upper body because they've practiced it so practice it without the handle first so they get to understand what's meant to happen with the body then do it with the handle and gradually increase the pressure of the leg drive and know they've got to turn their core on solidly each time in order to get that connection so a good way to teach beginners on the ergo so they don't shoot the slide
is have the athletes sit on the ergo without a handle and ask them to come to finish hands away rock over and come into the front and then ask them to just push back to half slide so they're just doing that first part without any weight in the handle at all because they don't have it hold or anything so there's nothing for them to push against what they're doing is just holding their body in the same position and just pushing with their legs once they've got control of that and understand that then i suggest ask them to tense their glute muscles and their pelvic area muscles maybe tense their stomach up by tensing their their belly button poking their belly button out and ask them to do that and do the same exercise in and out of the front then i suggest give them the handle back and ask them do the same thing just that first part of the stroke there like that holding their relaxed grip relaxed shoulders and holding their core muscles on and then ask them to gradually increase the pressure of the leg drive so they've got to turn their muscles on there to catch them push if you get them used to that concept then when they start to row you'll find that you end up getting a lot less of the slide shooting and a lot less unnecessary movement in the upper body because they've practiced it so practice it without the handle first so they get to understand what's meant to happen with the body then do it with the handle and gradually increase the pressure of the leg drive and know they've got to turn their core on solidly each time in order to get that connection so a good way to teach beginners on the ergo so they don't shoot the slide