correct indoor rowing technique
to maximise your workout experience
Too often the rowing machine is overlooked on the gym floor, appearing menacing if you haven’t learnt the basics of proper indoor rowing technique. Learning the six stages of a robust indoor rowing stroke will help you get the most from each workout and ensure you are using your FluidRower correctly.
Indoor rowing improves cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength by engaging all major muscle groups simultaneously. Not only will a rigorous workout on a FluidRower burn fat and combust serious calories, but it will also challenge you no matter what your level of fitness.
good indoor rowing technique
explained in 6 simple steps
top indoor rowing form explained
the six phases to complete a rowing stroke
01
HANDS AWAY
02
BODY PREP
03
THE CATCH
04
DRIVE PHASE ONE
05
DRIVE PHASE TWO
06
THE FINISH
Now the 6 steps are repeated. Your hands are away first (Position 1) and your legs don’t follow until the handle is past your knees.
To quickly improve your technique find a mentor to watch and study &/ or film your technique so you can see for yourself exactly how you are rowing. You can slow the video down and compare it to the 6 phases presented here. Check your technique like this at regular intervals to make sure you are not developing any bad habits and keep refining your technique.
a realistic rowing stroke
– like rowing a boat
If you are accustomed to the natural Catch and feel of on-water rowing, your rowing technique will immediately appreciate our FluidRower’s unrivalled emulation of a boat moving through water.
Similar to rowing a boat, FluidRower’s multi-bladed impeller and internal baffles within our patented Twin Tank Fluid Resistance system, generate a smooth and uniform stroke unrivalled in its precise replication of on-water rowing.
What stands out on a FluidRower is the instant Catch at the start of every stroke and the consistent resistance all the way to the finish. The seat mechanism is precisely manufactured to make recovering down the slide, silky smooth and silent.
The Catch is instant because the water in our tank is not acting as a flywheel but as a brake. During the recovery phase (see Rowing Technique) this braking force slows the impeller down so that at the start of the next drive phase the load is ready to be “caught”. Other rowers that use air or water as their “resistance” mechanism, generally have high impeller momentum at the end of the drive phase and this to a large extent is maintained during the recovery phase, meaning the Catch is mostly absent. The load isn’t felt again until 25% way through the next drive phase.
FDF FluidRowers stimulate the senses by replicating the sight, sound and feel of real on-water rowing. The ability to adjust your resistance, your range of motion and your speed means you can tailor a FluidRower to meet your fitness and exercise requirements in the safest most effective way possible.
From Phase 3 of our Correct Rowing Technique, “the Catch”. The FluidRower catch is instant, and the resistance remains consistent throughout the stroke no matter what your rowing speed.
