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A Strong Row Starts With Your Feet

Proper pressure application will allow you to recruit the strongest muscles on every pull.

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The importance of power application onto the foot plate while rowing is often overlooked, especially when teaching basic rowing technique. However, proper pressure application through the feet is critical in recruiting the strongest muscle groups to move the handle through the rowing stroke. Check out the video below for an illustration of the following phases:

  1. At the catch, pressure should be applied through the balls of the feet, similar to the jumping position. This turns on the quads, glutes, and hamstrings. However, if the connection is too much in the toes, the glutes and hamstrings will turn off, and the quads will bear more load than they should. Conversely, if the heels are forced down at the catch or too soon in the drive, there will be too much tension in the calves and hamstrings to allow for proper firing of the glute and hamstring muscles.
  2. Through the drive, power is transferred down through the heels, keeping the glutes engaged. Again, if the connection is too much in the toes or only stays in the balls of the feet, the glutes and hamstrings will turn off, and the quads will bear more load than they should. It will also be difficult to keep a strong core in the second half of the drive if the glutes are not turned on.
  3. At the finish, pressure should be maintained through the balls of the feet and heels. The heels may lift slightly at the very end of the drive. This is only okay if the glutes stay activated in supporting good posture. Without the pressure on the foot plate, it is easy to fall back too far with the body, and to lose connection through the core. You will be forced to use the foot straps and your hip flexors to pull yourself back through the recovery. Instead, with adequate pressure thru the feet, squeeze the glutes to pivot your body forward to “float” back up the slide with little to no effort.
  4. On the recovery, the weight should be on the seat with little to no pressure through the feet. Your muscles should be relaxed in preparation for the next drive. On the drive, about 50 percent of your body weight should be applied to the foot plate, while still maintaining solid contact with the seat for stability.

About Ellen Tomek

Ellen is a 2x Olympian, 8x National Team Member, and 5x World Cup Medalist in the sport of Rowing. After making the 2008 Beijing Olympic Team, she was a member of the 2009 USA Women’s Double (W2x), the only American crew to ever win this event at a major World Rowing Regatta. She missed out on the 2010-2011 World Championship Teams and the 2012 London Olympic Team due to injury. However, she was able to rehab herself back to health and was a member of the 2013-2016 USA W2x, representing her country again in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She plans to continue training for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

She was a two sport athlete in high school (basketball, softball) and began rowing her first year of college at the University of Michigan, where she graduated with a degree in Economics. She has been rowing for over 14 years: 10 years as an elite rower. During her career as an elite rower, she has worked as a personal trainer at New York Sports Club 2007-2008, as a coach at the Junior B National Sculling Camp 2011-2012, as the Varsity Boys’ Assistant Rowing Coach at the Mercer Junior Rowing Club 2012-2013, and as a personal rowing coach for Masters’ rowers since 2012. When she is not rowing, Ellen enjoys running, hiking, biking, paddle boarding, canoeing, kayaking, and swimming. She plans to continue working in the fields of sport and health and wellness after she is done training for the Olympics as a rowing coach and personal trainer.

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