Rowing

Harvard University Crew members and coaches advise CrossFit athletes to use pacing to become more efficient on the rowing machine.

For many CrossFit athletes, the rowing machine is like a first date: a blend of dread and discomfort. The problem often isn’t a lack of fitness but a lack of understanding of pace.

“I think I held around a 2:00 or a 2:20 pace on that 2-km row,” is a line many a… Continue Reading

A decision in 1976 by the Radcliffe women’s crew continues to affect every single woman who puts an oar in the water at Harvard University today.

In 1976 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Nelia Newell was a young college student at Radcliffe College, a liberal-arts institution founded in 1879 that essentially acted as the sister school to the all-male Harvard University.

Newell played ice hockey, and she joined the Radcliffe women’s… Continue Reading

CrossFit athletes increased their presence at this year’s CRASH-B event, helping the sport of rowing grow and change its image. Andréa Maria Cecil reports.

When Syn Martinez walked into the arena, he didn’t notice the stares. As a 6-foot-2 tattooed black man who often wears T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Afro Brutality,” a guy gets accustomed to things.

Beside him was Sarah Grey, an athlete at Martinez’s affiliate, CrossFit Harlem. She’s a 5-foot-7… Continue Reading

Krista Guloien is an Olympic rower who brought home a silver medal for Canada last year. She’s also now a CrossFit athlete.

“Working with and for other people was the key to me doing as much as I did or going as hard as I did,” says the rower who competed in the women’s eights in London.

She adds, “(That) extra something ... was about not letting my teammates down.”

Guloien says working with and against others in… Continue Reading

At 13, Ryan O’Rourke decided to try CrossFit as a way to improve at hockey.

“I wanted to play in college more than anything,” he says. “That’s what … I dreamt about.”

The plan changed when he rowed 2,000 meters in 7:17.

“To row those kind of times, you’ve gotta be willing to suffer,” explains Markus Riggleman, owner and head trainer at CrossFit Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. “And to see that he—even at 13—was willing to … go there was cool.”

Today, at 17… Continue Reading

Proper coordination and sequencing of movements will result it efficient, powerful rowing. Joel Martin and Bryan St. Andrews explain.

Rowing requires proper technique to maximize performance. Maintaining correct posture and properly sequencing leg, trunk and arm motion are important aspects of proper rowing technique.

Several research studies have been performed to characterize optimal rowing techniques. Most rowing experts agree that the… Continue Reading

To learn proper pacing and how to relax on the recovery while rowing, CrossFit Rowing’s Shane Farmer likes the uphill drill.

With a plyo box or bumper plate underneath the front of the erg, it’s difficult to rush forward, says Farmer, who also is a coach at CrossFit Invictus.

“We’re looking and focusing on emphasizing a slow recovery, taking your time up,” he says.

Next, he talks hand position and knee position.

“They’re smaller… Continue Reading

Patrick Larcom, a coach at CrossFit Boston, seeks to bridge the gap between the sport of rowing and the sport of fitness. That’s why he created Renegade Rowing.

Rowers arrive at 5:40 a.m. at Community Rowing Inc. to begin a day of rowing and CrossFit that ends at around 8:30 a.m.

“It’s been one of the most tremendous experiences I’ve had,” says one of the rowers. “It’s not completely easy, but it’s doable. You do it in a… Continue Reading