- When I first saw a rowing machine in a gym
I was in college and it didn't really make any sense to me.
I'd never seen the sport.
And the machine just sat there taking up space
and I had no idea how to use it.
So I did what any self-respecting gym goer does
and I waited until no one was watching
and gave it my first try.
(swooshing)
So, having successfully not figured it out
in anyway whatsoever because I had no idea what I was doing.
I pretty much never touched the machine again until
I transferred schools and was accidentally recruited to row.
That however, is another video.
So this one's for you, confused gym goer.
I want you to be able to get on that machine confidently.
Knowing that no one will secretly film you
while you enjoy your workout today.
Because of how bad your technique may look.
(upbeat music)
First, you gotta get acclimated with your set up.
Think of it like the first time you sit down in a new car.
You generally don't start driving until you go through
a little bit of a checklist.
Like setting your steering wheel, your seat position,
and your mirrors and maybe putting the top down.
Well, on the machine, you're gonna have a similar checklist
except that it's feet, seat and handles.
Now, for your feet, you wanna make sure
that the straps run across the widest part of your foot.
And that your straps are always nice and tight
when you're using the machine.
Got your seat.
And on the seat you wanna sit as far forward
as you're comfortable sitting.
You will literally hoist your butt into place.
To make sure that your pelvis is in that anterior tilt
that we always want to achieve.
When we're on that machine that's gonna allow
your hips to actually move when you're taking the stroke.
And third, you're hands.
Thumbs underneath the handle, nice and wide on the handle.
The hands do not make up for a very strong component
of the stroke so keep that grip relaxed
just enough so that you can connect to the machine
but not actually death gripping the handle.
Getting moving though is really the hardest
part of this whole thing.
Because more often than not you're probably thinking,
I don't know what I don't know.
How do I know if I'm doing it right or wrong?
And where do I even start?
So, let's keep it simple.
Not that simple.
Thank you.
(bell ringing)
So the stroke is really three parts.
And a very specific order performed in one direction.
And then you just reverse that order
going the other direction.
Basically, the reason that we reverse the order,
is to get you back to where you started.
So if you use one order in one direction,
and you do that thing in reverse,
it'll get ya back to where ya started.
- Marty, you've gotta come back with me.
- Where?
- Back to the future.
- So you're gonna start and the most important thing
for you to recognize is how to push through your legs.
So you're gonna start in this front loaded position
arms are straight, shoulders are reaching.
You're gonna brace tight through your midline.
As if somebody was gonna punch you in the gut.
And you're then gonna push just your leg.
You're not gonna pull with your arms.
You're not lead with your shoulders.
And a very quickly and aggressively, push through the legs
to get the handle moving.
All right, now that's the legs portion
that ya need to understand.
The hips are the relay from the leg.
So, my hips are gonna swing from 11 to one or one to 11.
Depends on which side of the clock you're on.
But those hips aren't going to engage or kick in
I should say, until the knees are about to extend.
Once they do, then the hips are going to swing open
11 to one and you'll stop it at that back angle.
That 11 o'clock angle.
The arms are the nice icing on the cake of the stroke.
We snap in and immediately release them again.
That gives us a sequence or a mantra
that you can always be thinking of legs, hips, arms.
To see that in real time it's legs, hips, arms.
Legs, hips, arms.
Now comes the return.
We call it the recovery because you recover
and you can't do any work to the machine
as you slide forward.
But what you basically need to know is that
this phase of the stroke should be a lot more relaxed,
a lot slower and you should take your time.
There's no rush to move through this phase of the stroke.
Because it doesn't give you any benefit.
Instead we want to think of it
as turning a light switch off.
And what this will result in is giving you
what we talked about earlier which is an arms,
then a body and then the legs.
So if you're thinking a mantra in your head
it's arms, body, legs as you move forward.
And what about the benefits?
Well, for one.
Well, I guess the first major benefit is that
it works pretty much every single part of your body.
Except for a few areas that we probably just
wouldn't even know if we said them out loud.
So you get to hit your arms, your legs, your abs
and your back.
(straining)
All in the same workout.
Second, you get to improve all of the internal stuff.
Your cardiovascular health, your resting metabolic rate,
your sensitivity to insulin, your strength
and even your strength endurance.
Third, it helps improve kinesthetic awareness.
Which is your understanding of where your body is
in space and time.
And this is personally one of my favorites.
Because there's a huge advantage on this machine
because you have to learn where you are on it.
It doesn't move you through the motion
like a bike or a treadmill.
So that, I don't know, for example,
if I asked you to touch your right hand
to your right elbow do you think, wait,
my right hand will never know
what my right elbow feels like.
Or do you take your left hand and touch your ear thinking,
that it's your hand touching your right elbow?
So, now that you understand the technique
and benefits of the machine you're pretty much
going to have unfettered access to this machine
at your gym anytime you want.
Because now that you understand how to use it
and you know that everybody else avoids it,
because they're not sure how to use it,
you can safely guess that you're gonna be
the one using this machine comfortably
getting great workouts.
And you never have to worry about getting caught
in a gym fail video.
So there's that as well.
So guys, if you loved this video and you enjoyed
picking up all these techniques and benefits
and you wanna dive deeper.
Or you wanna know about the next fantastic video
that we come out with make sure you hit
that little subscribe button somewhere.
And if you really loved it make sure hit the little bell
next to it so that you can get alerted every time
we come out with a new video.
Guys, I honestly believe that rowing is for everyone.
That rowing can be for everyone.
And that's why we're here.
Because I want you guys to find the same enjoyment
on this machine that you do for anything else.
And that you can get a ton of value out of it.
That is why we do this.
I am so excited that you guys decided to join me today.
So hit that subscribe button.
And if you want more guidance on your workouts.
You've been following along.
You're enjoying these things and you're like,
you know what Shane, I'd like to know a little bit more
and I'd like a bit more guidance.
We gotcha covered.
That's what we have on darkhorserowing.com/athlete.
It's a program for you to follow along with.
Where you can pull from our entire library of workouts
to get better at anything that you want.
From rowing for calories.
Understanding your drag factor.
Or choosing us a specific distance or time
or whatever it may be.
But that's where we organize all of our content
and we would love to have you join us over there.
So guys, thank you.
And as always, we'll see ya on the other side.
(upbeat music)