Use a Strong Core to fix Diving into the Catch when rowing
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Diving into the catch is a common problem among rowers, and there are many approaches to combat it. However, we've found that the most effective technique is teaching athletes to turn their core on before they reach the catch position.
In this video, Ken demonstrates the problem and describes how to turn the core on early to avoid diving into a weak position at the catch. |
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Video Transcript
When you talk about diving into the catch you're getting to the catch and you're saying i'm going to get a bit more length
here we have Annabel demonstrating how to approach the catch correctly with the body in a strong position as you can see from the side view the body is in a strong position with minimal curvature in the lower part of the back conversely here annabelle is coming into the catch and slumping when she gets there this is usually caused by the athletes not having control of their core well enough and holding a strong position in the lower back it's important to not slump into the catch as you can see in the slow motion footage it tends to limit how far you can get the seat forward i annabelle shins here are not vertical and it puts the back into a weak position meaning that the drive phase is not going to be as powerful additionally it puts significant load on the lower part of the back and can lead to back injuries so very important to get this fixed commonly caused by two things firstly a core that's not strong enough to hold the athlete in the correct position and secondly not understanding that as they come into the catch they want to be in a strong upright position the easiest way to fix this is with a series of drills particularly about making sure that the athlete gets the body into the catch position before they come down the slide or soon after they've broken their legs if we do that then you'll find that they come into the catch in a much stronger position and sit tall put your hands away rock over come to about half slide and there i want you to stop there now put your hands further away from your body feel that difference that's what you want to be doing it there you don't want to do it at the catch because when you talk about diving into the catch diving into the catch is in your case i reckon what you're doing is you're getting to the catch and you're saying i'm going to get a bit more length and so what you want to do is get off the back full extension half slide check am i out right out there yes i'm right out there hold that body position because your body position is fine and then just come into the catch and then all you do is put the blade in and push it sounds really simple when i put it like that doesn't it but it is a bit and so just row down there i want you to really focus on just leaving everything right out there so get off the back put your arms right out so you feel that stretch up here and then come into the catch and then just put the blade in and then just don't do anything different up here just turn your lower core on push okay it's important when taking the catch to make sure that the initial part of the drive phase is done with the core turned on very solidly so that you don't get any slippage here you can see annabelle taking the first part of the catch correctly so the blade's buried as she undertakes the first part of the drive phase
here we see it again and this time we've paused you can see here as the blades entered the water and the shins are vertical the back's on that nice sharp angle without a big curve in the lower part of the back and the arms are straight now it's difficult to practice this drill in a stationary boat with beginners and so what i suggest you do is have them practice their body positions at this initial part of the drive phase with the blade flat on the water as you can see here whilst it's not the same because there's no weight on the blade it's certainly enough for them to demonstrate how the body should move here you can see annabelle demonstrating how if she doesn't have a core turned on then the seat shoots out and the oars don't really move much at all leading to that very slumped position of the catch see the angle in the back as it curves outside the red line and the shins are way past vertical and a lot of the leg drives being used without the blade even being in the water or connected and certainly even if it was in the water then it wouldn't have been connected through the body because the body's in such a weak position turning the core on at the beginning here is vital to having a good stroke if you watch the handle here compared to where the seat goes you can see that the handle in relation to the boat doesn't actually move very much even though the leg drives been substantially used so be careful with that here Annabel demonstrates the opposite where there's too much lift in the body at the catch so essentially trying to row the blade into the water lifting shoulders at the catch here we see in slow motion very clear lift and you can see here that a lot of the body swing is used in that early part of the stroke which is a very inefficient way to take the catch you can see here that the back is pretty much vertical and the shins have lost a little bit of their vertical position tends to load up the back as well and the chest which is not good from an injury perspective critical step really is to make sure the core is turned on and the body is locked solid in the position as you can see here so turn the core on at the catch that nice angle on the back shins vertical core turned on and then commence the leg drive make sure of course the blade's in the water when you're rowing normally you can see here that the body angle in relation to the to the seat doesn't change much at all during this initial part of the drive phase and that's important and so it's important to get that connection first and then drive out with the legs holding the body in the right position until about half slide and then the body can open up to finish the stroke off in a powerful way exercise is about teaching athletes to turn their core on right at the catch before they put the blade in before they commence a leg drive keep their upper body stationary most common issue we find with beginner athletes is one of these two issues
here we have Annabel demonstrating how to approach the catch correctly with the body in a strong position as you can see from the side view the body is in a strong position with minimal curvature in the lower part of the back conversely here annabelle is coming into the catch and slumping when she gets there this is usually caused by the athletes not having control of their core well enough and holding a strong position in the lower back it's important to not slump into the catch as you can see in the slow motion footage it tends to limit how far you can get the seat forward i annabelle shins here are not vertical and it puts the back into a weak position meaning that the drive phase is not going to be as powerful additionally it puts significant load on the lower part of the back and can lead to back injuries so very important to get this fixed commonly caused by two things firstly a core that's not strong enough to hold the athlete in the correct position and secondly not understanding that as they come into the catch they want to be in a strong upright position the easiest way to fix this is with a series of drills particularly about making sure that the athlete gets the body into the catch position before they come down the slide or soon after they've broken their legs if we do that then you'll find that they come into the catch in a much stronger position and sit tall put your hands away rock over come to about half slide and there i want you to stop there now put your hands further away from your body feel that difference that's what you want to be doing it there you don't want to do it at the catch because when you talk about diving into the catch diving into the catch is in your case i reckon what you're doing is you're getting to the catch and you're saying i'm going to get a bit more length and so what you want to do is get off the back full extension half slide check am i out right out there yes i'm right out there hold that body position because your body position is fine and then just come into the catch and then all you do is put the blade in and push it sounds really simple when i put it like that doesn't it but it is a bit and so just row down there i want you to really focus on just leaving everything right out there so get off the back put your arms right out so you feel that stretch up here and then come into the catch and then just put the blade in and then just don't do anything different up here just turn your lower core on push okay it's important when taking the catch to make sure that the initial part of the drive phase is done with the core turned on very solidly so that you don't get any slippage here you can see annabelle taking the first part of the catch correctly so the blade's buried as she undertakes the first part of the drive phase
here we see it again and this time we've paused you can see here as the blades entered the water and the shins are vertical the back's on that nice sharp angle without a big curve in the lower part of the back and the arms are straight now it's difficult to practice this drill in a stationary boat with beginners and so what i suggest you do is have them practice their body positions at this initial part of the drive phase with the blade flat on the water as you can see here whilst it's not the same because there's no weight on the blade it's certainly enough for them to demonstrate how the body should move here you can see annabelle demonstrating how if she doesn't have a core turned on then the seat shoots out and the oars don't really move much at all leading to that very slumped position of the catch see the angle in the back as it curves outside the red line and the shins are way past vertical and a lot of the leg drives being used without the blade even being in the water or connected and certainly even if it was in the water then it wouldn't have been connected through the body because the body's in such a weak position turning the core on at the beginning here is vital to having a good stroke if you watch the handle here compared to where the seat goes you can see that the handle in relation to the boat doesn't actually move very much even though the leg drives been substantially used so be careful with that here Annabel demonstrates the opposite where there's too much lift in the body at the catch so essentially trying to row the blade into the water lifting shoulders at the catch here we see in slow motion very clear lift and you can see here that a lot of the body swing is used in that early part of the stroke which is a very inefficient way to take the catch you can see here that the back is pretty much vertical and the shins have lost a little bit of their vertical position tends to load up the back as well and the chest which is not good from an injury perspective critical step really is to make sure the core is turned on and the body is locked solid in the position as you can see here so turn the core on at the catch that nice angle on the back shins vertical core turned on and then commence the leg drive make sure of course the blade's in the water when you're rowing normally you can see here that the body angle in relation to the to the seat doesn't change much at all during this initial part of the drive phase and that's important and so it's important to get that connection first and then drive out with the legs holding the body in the right position until about half slide and then the body can open up to finish the stroke off in a powerful way exercise is about teaching athletes to turn their core on right at the catch before they put the blade in before they commence a leg drive keep their upper body stationary most common issue we find with beginner athletes is one of these two issues