Ever wonder where you should put your feet on the rowing machine?

Or how about should you push through your heels, toes, etc?

This post takes care of those questions.

Gives the optimal positioning for where to push through your feet when rowing. Even gives some info if you walk duck footed and what you can do for that.

If you are more curious about how to setup the machine so your feet are in a good position, check out this video here. 

Once you know the good setup position, watch this video below to know where to push through your legs and feet when rowing. 

You're probably still reading this because you think I am crazy. Either that or you think I am brave and you're curious to learn more about why I would want to do this.

Well, you came to the right place. Even I think I am crazy. I call this my absurd dream. The funny thing is, I haven't signed up for the race I want to participate in. I don't have any money. I don't have a boat. I just have a dream...an absurd dream. It's big, it's daring, it's crazy, but...it's MY crazy dream.

You might be wondering what got me into this...well, here you go.

In December 2017, I randomly heard about this challenge, with people crossing the Atlantic Ocean. I was obsessed with following their boat trackers across the ocean for a couple weeks. I went to my husband and told him I wanted to row across an ocean. He said, "how serious are you?" 

I said, "75%". He said, "okay". 

I forgot about it two weeks later.

Fast forward to December 2018 and the same thing happened. I saw the race, watched the dots, and this time I didn't say anything until about three weeks later. 

I went to my husband and said, "I want to row across an ocean".

He said, "How serious are you this time?"

I responded, "95%".

He said, "oh, you're serious".

Ever since, I couldn't get it out of my head, I read three books in a month, and usually, I read two books a year. I researched and read everything I could. I watched movies about it. I looked at how to find a boat. Everything I could learn, I tried to learn. So clearly, I was into it. 

Needless to say, at the time of writing this, it's been a few months, I still haven't signed up, and who knows if I will. But, I am researching, I am learning as much as I can, I am talking to other ocean rowers, and I still have my absurd dream.

Along the way, I decided I wanted to help people find their love of rowing. Regardless of their reason, we all find our way into new adventures and dreams. Mine was a rollercoaster of hating rowing, loving it, hating it, and loving it again. I am sure after being stuck on an ocean rowing boat for 3+ months I will fall back into the hate category, but I also believe I will find my way back to the love part. Either way, my mission in life is four-fold.

1. Help people learn to row and row without aches and pains so they can enjoy it just like I do.

2. Love what I do and put my love of physical therapy and rowing together.

3. Follow-through on my dreams, which currently, is to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

4. Share my story and make it easy for other people to row across an ocean if that is what their heart desires. 

So, follow along on my podcast if you want to learn more about where I am in my Ocean Rowing adventure and to hear from other ocean rowers. There's only an episode twice a month right now, but it'll pick up as I get closer to my dream date.

Please reach out to me and tell me your story, your love/hate relationship with rowing, ask questions, or even just to say you think I am nuts. I will respond even if you think I'm crazy. 
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Thanks for following along and learning my WHY.

This is a great question that I got the other day. I actually went looking to see if anyone else was addressing this issue, and only found one post on it. So...I decided I would make a video with the pros and cons of some typical shoe types I see people rowing in.

I made this video, and within hours, had someone post a picture of their bloody scraped up heel/ankle from rowing in hiking boots. It's funny, because I didn't even think to mention hiking boots in my video, so I will address that here....not a great idea.

Hiking boots don't allow for a lot of movement, they are designed to keep your foot and ankle stiff so when you are walking on uneven surfaces, you can last longer. However, on a rowing machine, you want to have motion. So your heel will be trying to create motion at the foot and ankle, and the hiking boot will try and limit it, hence unhappy feet at the end of it.

Check out the video for other shoe tips and what is ideal to wear on the rowing machine and why.

Getting hip pain when you are in the catch position (all the way in the front)?

There are a few reasons that this could be happening. It could be because of tightness in the front hip flexors. It could be weakness in gluts or hip flexors. It could also be referred pain from you back. It could also be a combination of some or all of these things. The human body is so annoyingly complex, but no worries. 

This video shows you some things to try, and see if it helps. If it does, awesome. If it doesn't fix it all the way, but does some, feel free to reach out to me. I gave generic info that will help most people, but some people need some more specific advise, because we are ALL DIFFERENT. YAY!

Give these exercises a try. Stuff I reference is below, but most gyms have this equipment.

Here is the equipment I reference:
Orb
Resistance Bands
Some lacrosse like balls
Foam Roller
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There are some common injuries that I see a lot with rowers.

Usually people think ribs, or shoulders, or knees...but honestly that is more common with people that row in a boat. Now with so many people having access to a rowing machine and using it at gyms and in their home-gyms, the number one injury I have been seeing is....

BACK PAIN.

I find this interesting, because it's way more prevalent in people rowing on the machines than it is with people who row on the water.

I have been pondering why this is the case and polling hundreds of my clients/patients. What I have realized is that it really all comes down to form...

I had over 50 people bring in videos of them rowing. This allows me to see what they are doing and help figure out if the problem is coming from being on the machine or maybe from things they are doing in their everyday life.

What I found is that there are some common things that people do on the rowing machine when they haven't been taught great form. So I am going to share those things with you. Today I will write it out, I will post a video with some demos later this week. 

1. Pushing your buttocks back. This is the most common one I have seen. People tend to straighten their knees and push their buttocks back, which increases their hinge at their hips and usually ends up aggravating the nerves in the back and legs.

2. Not hip hinging. What this means is that people tend to keep their back/hips in one position. At the beginning of the stroke you should be slightly hinged forward at the hip, and at the end of the stroke (the finish) you should be slightly hinged backwards at the hip. Some people keep this upright position the entire time and others tend to keep the hinged backwards position the whole time. This puts extra stress on the back because the back is trying to help in the stroke more than it needs to. 

3. Slouching or being too upright. Remember when you were little and a grandparent or parent said, sit up straight? Well, when someone told me to do this, I would shoot straight upward and overextend my low back. There is a balance between being super upright and slouched, and that is usually the good "posture" position. This is the position you want when you row. It should be comfortable and not overly pushed to be upright when you row, but at the same time don't slouch excessively. Life is about balance...so is rowing.

Those are the three big things I see. Of course there are more, and everyone is different, but I will show you a video example of these things later this week. If you aren't sure or have questions about what might be happening, feel free to send me an email with or without a video of you rowing and let's get you going without BACK pain!

Email me!

Do you get leg numbness or tingling when you row for 10 minutes? You aren't alone and there is likely a reason!

There are a few reasons that this could be happening and there are some things you can do on and off the water or rowing machine to try and help. One of the main reasons this is likely happening is from nerve irritation. It's not a big deal, but the more you make the nerve mad, the worse it will get. Nerves are finicky, so you want to stop numbness and tingling as soon as you feel it, if you can. This video shows some things you can do to try and help with some of the symptoms you might be getting. 

1. Check your form
2. Hamstring Stretch
3. Piriformis Stretch (two different ways to do it)
4. Knee to Chest Stretch
5. Knee straighten/bend with rowing

There is another video I made that shows more things you can do on the rowing machine and some form things to pay attention to if you are having this type of pain with rowing. Here it is.

Feel free to comment if you have questions. This is not medical advice, but just general tips. Please follow up with a healthcare professional or feel free to reach out to me for specific questions. 

Are you using the rowing machine as a form of cardio for weight-loss? Or maybe you are just out of shape, like me, and have a bit of belly or thicker thighs. I do. I am a size 16 pants. I can't even get that size in a normal store...which is another ridiculous story, but still. I am by no means a stick figure or a model. I can't get into that amazing "perfect" position for rowing for a few reasons. One, I have a belly and thighs. Two, I have had three ankle surgeries. But...I still rowed in college at a D1 school, even after three surgeries. I row now! I don't let it stop me. However, there are some things we can do on the machine to help us out.

​Check out the video to see what I mean.