Correct Rowing Technique

Good form is not only for the Pilates studio! We practice Pilates to strengthen, stretch, balance, and tone our muscles to hold our skeleton in good posture, and to be aware of how to engage the proper muscles while lying, sitting, kneeling, standing, and moving. So remember to take what you learn in the studio and bring it in to all of your other activities, whether you are sitting at your desk, playing basketball with your kids, or working out in the gym.

I love rowing and know that some of you enjoy rowing as well, and good form is important to prevent injuries, so I wanted to offer this brief tutorial on proper rowing form.

This article is from Men's Health Magazine:

The Five Rowing Mistakes You Don't Know You

Are Making

By Kelsey Cannon

...we reached out to Bryan Volpenhein, head coach of the U.S. men's Olympic rowing team and Olympic gold medalist, to set us on the right course.

Master Your Form

1. The Catch: Sit with your legs bent and feet in the stirrups so your shins are almost 90 degrees to the floor. Fully extend your arms to grab the handle and lean your body forward so your shoulders come just in front of your hips. Keep your back flat and your core engaged.

2. The Drive: Maintain a straight back, tight core, and locked arms and then drive your legs back until they are just about straight. Once they are, hinge from your hips and lean your torso backward. As your torso reaches a 90-degree angle with the floor, begin to pull with your arms by bending at the elbows. 

3. The Finish: Here your legs should be straight, your elbows bent, and you should pull the handle to your lower chest. Your arms should be slightly away from your ribcage, but not flared out to the sides. Maintain a strong core and a straight back. 

4. The Recovery: "This is a mirror image of the drive," says Volpenheim. The arms begin to straighten. When they are almost fully extended, the torso hinges forward from the hips. Maintaining a straight back and tight core, the knees begin to bend once the handle passes over them. 

Manage Common Mistakes

The Problem: You row in the wrong order.

On the drive portion of the stroke, guys usually use their bodies or their arms too soon. "This is probably the most common mistake I see," says Volpenheim. 

Fix it: Think of the sequence as working your way from your big muscle groups to the smaller ones, says Volpenheim. You want the large muscles in your legs to do most of the work. He suggests rowing without strapping your feet into the machine. If you can't keep your feet in contact with the footholds, something is out of order, says Volpenheim.

The Problem: You "shoot your seat."

It’s more common than you think. "This is where your seat moves and your legs extend but nothing else moves," says Volpenheim. It delivers a major blow to your explosive power and momentum.

Fix it: "The handle should move at the same time as your seat," says Volpenheim. Try focusing on the first half of your drive. Sit in the catch position—with your knees bent, back straight, and core tight—and extend your knees half way. Make sure the handle travels at the same rate as your seat.

The Problem: You pull too much with your torso.

Leaning your torso too far past a 90-degree angle with the floor puts your back in a weak position. "I see this a lot because most guys want their power readout to jump up, but it actually puts you at risk for injury," according to Volpenheim. You should try to stay as close to 90 degrees as possible.

Fix it: Row without strapping your feet into the machine. Only hinge your torso as far as you can without your feet breaking contact. You can also try squeezing your glutes at the final phase of the arm pull to keep you more upright, he says. 

The Problem: You don’t sit like you should.

 It seems so simple, but if you don’t sit correctly, you sabotage your power. "I see a lot of people row with their backs curved and their hips rolled forward—I call this rowing behind your hips," says Volpenheim. 

Fix it: “Think of your torso as stacked right on top of your hips,” says Volpenheim. Try practicing rowing with only your torso. With your legs and arms extended, hinge backward and forward from the hips, he suggests. By isolating the second part of the drive phase—when your torso hinges after your legs straighten—you can focus on feeling the seat move under you. 

The Problem: You don’t have a good grip. 

Most guys hold the handle only with the first knuckles of their fingers or hold the handle with an underhand grip.

Fix it: Your fingers should wrap around the handle so your second knuckles face forward with your thumbs on the underside of the handle. The top of your wrist should also be completely flat, and not rolled to the outside. To improve your grip, try rowing with an overhand grasp and your thumbs on top of the handle to strengthen your fingers. Or tape a Popsicle stick to your wrists to remind yourself to keep them flat, he says. If you feel pressure from the stick or if it pops off, that means your wrists are bending too much. 

And here is a great YouTube video that explains everything above :)

Down Stretch

Teaser on the Box

Up Stretch

Stomach Massage Series

Some Facts About Cellulite

Guys, this doesn't really apply to you, but if you read the article you will understand why :)

This is a great article that I found on Pinterest by Deniza. Her site is called, Ask Deniza Fit As Medicine. She describes herself as a 24 year old medical student from Germany. If you have a Pinterest account, here is the link. On her site are links to related articles and ways to get more information.
http://sumo.ly/jQEU

If you don't have a link, I have copied and pasted the article below:

Thunder Thighs Series – How to get rid of cellulite

“Orange peel”, “mattress”, “dimpling” – These are a few of the names we use to describe one of the most common “diseases” women experience nowadays – Cellulite.

What is most frustrating is that cellulite is not only an issue of overweight people. Otherwise healthy women that might look fit and slim can have just as much cellulite on their hips and legs, sometimes even in the lower abdomen. Those flawless pictures you see of models on covers? They are not real. Have a look at them before adding filters in photoshop and you will realize that cellulite does affect every woman. In fact, I have never met a woman without any cellulite, have you?

Last week, we talked about thigh fat and why women tend to store more body fat in their lower body than men. Today, I would like to address Cellulite. What is cellulite and is there are a way to get rid of cellulite naturally?

While there are some men who might get it, 90-98% of cellulite cases occur in women. To understand what cellulite is, take a look at this picture showing the anatomical structure of our skin.

As you can see in the picture, the epidermis is the outer layer of our skin. Right below the epidermis comes the dermis, filled with hair follicles, sweat glands, blood vessels, nerve receptors and connective tissue. The third part of our skin is called “Hypodermis”. This layer consists mostly of subcutaneous fat. In fact, this is where 50% or more of our body fat is stored.

As you can see in the picture, the dermis and subcutaneous fat are not clearly separated. Some of the fat cells in our Hypodermis might also protrude into the dermis. This is the main cause of cellulite and leads to the uneven look and the “dimpling” of our skin.

Why is cellulite more common in females?

Just like the number of alpha-receptors and beta-receptors in fatty tissue, the anatomy of skin in males is different. There are two main differences between female skin and male skin structure.

1. Thickness of fat layer

The epidermis and dermis in the thighs of males is much thicker, while the first layer of Hypodermis (the fat layer) is much thinner compared to females. This difference occurs during the third trimester  of fetus development and is manifested at birth.

2. Distribution of collagen fibers

Another very important difference of skin structure between men and females is the distribution of collagen fibers.

Collagen fibers form our connective tissue, found in the Dermis. Think of the connective tissue as the framework that provides stability of the dermis layer. It offers a necessary insulation between the various nerve receptors, blood vessels and other organelles in our dermis. It consists primarily of collagen. There are different types of collagen fibers, some are inelastic and provide great tensile strength, while others are more elastic and give our skin the ability to extend and return to normal constituency.

While collagen fibers in male skin form more of a mesh or a chain, the collagen fibers of females run vertically through our dermis.

As you can see in the picture, the structure of collagen bonds in males seems to make it impossible for the fat cells underneath the dermis to protrude and lead to uneven look of the skin. In contrast, the vertical alignment of collagen fibers in female skin makes it very easy for fat cells to protrude and grow as they like.

Why is cellulite more prevalent in the lower body?

As I explained in the last article “”, women tend to hold most of their body fat in their thighs. The reason for this is the different distribution of adrenal receptors regulating fat burning and fat storage. While men have more beta-receptors (for fat burning) in their thighs and less in their belly, it is the exact opposite for women.

Cellulite gets worse as we age

As we age, the dermis area starts to get looser, due to the aging process of our collagen and elastic fibers. Thus, this will allow more fat cells to protrude into the dermis and further increase cellulite. In addition to that, muscle mass decreases as we age, while fat storage in our Hypodermis increases. However, this process largely depends on your lifestyle, nutrition and exercise regime.

Cellulite is not a problem of overweight people

Don’t make the mistake to assume that cellulite is directly linked to obesity. In fact, cellulite is most common in very slender women. The reason for this is the structural formation of their dermis. Often called “skinny fat”, those women might look skinny but their connective tissue in their dermis is loose and their subcutaneous fat layer could be just as thick as for someone overweight. In contrast, individuals with less body fat and more muscular definition tend to have less visible cellulite.

How to get rid of cellulite

To reduce the protrude of our fat cells into our dermis, we need to address the two main causes I explained above.

1. Build a strong mesh of collagen fibers in the dermis

2. Reduce fat cells in our subcutaneous fat

Thus, there are two main methods we can use to fight cellulite. The most effective way to strengthen our connective tissue is exercise, particularly strength training.

Lifting weights does not only lead to muscle mass but also to tighter and more collagen fibers. Collagen consists of amino acids, protein, just as muscle fibers. In addition to that, increased muscle mass burns more calories, which leads us to the second most effective method.

The most effective way to decrease fat cells in our subcutaneous fat is fat loss (not to be mistaken with weight loss!).

Make sure to read my series on muscle-building and fat loss at the same time. To reduce cellulite, this is the program you need to follow!

Other methods to speed up the process

Increase blood flow

Effective ways to increase circulation are frequent massages and foam rolling. Foam rolling might be very painful to you but it is one of the best ways to loosen up your muscles and increase blood flow to your problem areas. This will help eliminate toxic end products and increase fat burning, when combined with the right nutrition and exercise regime.

Antioxidants

Free radicals occur as end-products of metabolic pathways and can attack our DNA. This does not only lead to development of cancer but also speeds up the aging process. Foods such as turmeric, lycopene, green and white tea, rosehip, silybin / silymarin contain antioxidants that bind those free radicals and make them ineffective, thus protecting our dermal connective tissue.

Effective supplements

There are many supplements on the market and only a small percentage of them are effective. I recommend to stick to a diet consisting of whole foods and antioxidants, as listed above. However, these two supplements can be very useful for people with cellulite, joint pain, rheumatic diseases and arthritis.

• Collagen: Collagen is a kind of protein our body needs not only to build connective tissue but also for our joints. You might not be getting in enough collagen through protein sources, thus it makes sense to supplement collagen. If taken in daily, it will tighten your skin and your joints and ligaments will feel much more stable.
• Glucosamin: This is a carbohydrate that can be found in our connective tissue, ligaments and joint capsules. Glucosamin consists of sugar and binds a lot of water. This is crucial for tight, full skin and healthy joints.

Regenerate Collagen

Eat foods high in Vitamin c and bioflavonoids, such as rutin, quercetin, luteolin to improve dermal collagen integrity. Collagen can be found naturally in green lipped mussel and chicken sternum / cartilage.

Improve estrogen elimination

Excess Estrogen stored in our fat cells can decrease fat burning and enhance fat storage. Thus, we need to improve our body’s (especially our liver’s) ability to eliminate toxic end-products and hormones that are not needed anymore.

Increase your consumption of green vegetables, such as broccoli, broccoli sprouts, kale, spinach, radish, watercress, cabbage and cauliflower. In addition to that, make sure to get in enough B vitamins, which can be found in most vegetables and complex carbohydrates, such as quinoa a wild rice.

Another way to increase excess estrogen elimination is to add 30 grams of fiber to your diet daily. 2 great ways to do this is to add chia seeds and FiberMend to your day. Chia seeds have 5 grams of fiber/tablespoon. You can add them to any drink such as protein shakes, kombucha, or juices, or you can see my earlier post: "Chia Seed Pudding" for a great recipe for a delicious snack.

FiberMend is a fiber supplement made up of plant fibers (not psyllium husk which is very hard on your intestines) that we sell in the Life Time Cafe (don't forget to tell them you are working with me as your trainer and get 10% off any nutritional supplement purchase in the cafe or if you purchase them on line use my trainer code e128369). FiberMend has 5 grams of fiber/scoop and adds almost no flavor or texture to your drink.