How many strokes does it take to ingrain a bad habit?
Today’s rower typically rows more strokes on the erg, than on the water. Most of the time on the erg goes uncoached. Athletes can easily pick up a bad habit trying to beef up their score that will be difficult to correct.The sheer volume of off-season power strokes on the erg will reinforce a repetitive error cycle. Think about it – three twenty minute erg pieces works out to about 1500 strokes. Six 500 meter pieces on the water is only 300 strokes. Shortcuts taken on the erg will find their way onto the water, especially when the rower is fatigued and stressed during the last 500 meters.
How bad is it if I hyperextend my knees?
First, let’s define it. Hyperextension occurs when excessive pressure forces your knee past its normal straightened position and bends your knee backwards. Repeated hyperextension leads to injury and various kinds of knee pain. The most common of these is IT band irritation, which is knee pain on the outside of the knee, caused by friction between the IT band and the side of the knee.What is overcompression?
Overcompression is when your shins go past vertical at the catch. It puts you in a weaker position because biomechanically, you no longer have the same power in your stroke as when you’re approaching the vertical position. Beyond vertical, your knee caps don’t track correctly.What’s so bad about overcompression?
Young women are especially flexible and need to be careful not to overcompress. There are two consequences to this. Firstly, you can hit your Achilles tendon with the seat, when erg’ing. Additionally, overcompression can lead to erger’s knee, a patellar tracking disorder that occurs when the knee cap shifts out of place, as the leg bends or straightens. When your knee caps don’t track correctly, you can experience pain.