Catch to recovery, stroke has 4 phases

LITTLE ROCK — The motion used to exercise on a rowing machine is called “the stroke.” Experts at the Arkansas Boathouse Club say each stroke should flow fluidly into the next, and yet there are four phases of the motion. If you were counting, “1, 2, 3, 4,” the first three steps would happen on the count of “1.” The catch Sit on the machine’s sliding saddle facing the place where the handle comes out. Bend your knees so the shins are comfortably vertical - you don’t want your knees ahead of your ankles. Your upper body is in a 1 o’clock position; don’t hunch forward. Hold the handle lightly with your arms straight. The balls of your feet are touching the foot plate or pads (these are called the “foot stretcher” in rowing shells).

The drive

With straight arms and your upper body still leaning slightly forward to 1 o’clock, press against the footplate and push back with your legs. As they straighten, hinge at your hips and lean the upper body back toward 11 o'clock. Without turning your wrists, draw the handle straight toward your chest so it touches you at the bra line (the lower ribs for men).

Remember that you don’t try to bend your elbows before your legs are straight.

The finish

Your legs are straight; the handle is at your lower ribs and the elbows are drawn past your body with your wrists flat. Your upper body is slightly reclined.

The recovery Slowly reverse the motion, extending your arms until they straighten, leaning your upper body forward to 1 o’clock. Once your hands and the handle are past your knees, let your knees bend and gradually slide the seat forward along the rail until your knees are once again bent.

“Use your recovery time,” says Yates Phillips, a Boathouse officer who recently organized indoor-rowing contests for central Arkansas’ Crossfit facilities’ annual Reindeer Games. “It’s called the recovery for a reason. You want to recover.” Steve Denne describes the recovery this way: “You come to the finish and the handle’s at your bra line. Then quick hands away: So you actually get the handle back out in front of you and then you pivot at the hips - that’s called the ‘arms away motion.’ Then move the shoulders in front of your hips without moving your legs.

“Only then do you slowly compress your legs, with the handle straight out, arms straight, till you get to where your knees are bent at a 90 degree angle.” The key to all this? “It’s all done as one smooth motion.”