Engine#12

Any keen rowing enthusiasts will have seen a change over the years in the build of top rowers. The arcitypeal rower 40 years ago was no different really to his average man. They had no height increase and did not wiegh of whole lot more. Things are different in current times however with rowers have very altered body shapes and more size. Rowers are now seletced when they are young if they show promising shape and what they eat is closely monitored in order to allow their bodies to develop in the right way. What then is the ideal rowers body and why? Firstly rowers are as tall as surfboards , men often reaching above 6’5” and woman above 6’0”. This length translates into lots of power during the stoke movement and means that each effort is more efficient than it would be of a smaller person. The legs of rowers are very powerful indeed. they maintain this power by squatting weights in the gym, regularly exceeding their body weight. This strong lower body is the powerhouse of the motion and is essential in both generating momentum at the beginning of the race and keeping the boat moving at a steady pace until the boat crosses the finish line. Next time you are at a rowing event, cycling along the river bank on your mountain bikes take a look at the legs of the rowers when they are pulling away from the start. You can witness the immense strength of the legs, which will shudder and strain. This is a force that most people could not withstand. A rower’s back is the other element that is super-humanly strong. Often rowers have poor posture but like a duck, they may look ungainly on land but once in the water, their anatomy makes sense. Huge power can be cleaved from the back of a rower as they are well developed and rounded at the top. This not only provides explosive power but the development allows sustained work also. Lastly, an unsuspected phiological element of rowers is the fact that slow-twitch fibres are found in abundance. This is something more normal seen in longer distance performers. This allows the athletes to maintain their movement over extended time which is very important as rows can take place of very long distances. A lot of rowing events are long distance and you’ll see these are often suited to slighter body types. That is not to say that rowing athletes are not in possession of fast-twitch element’s and provide speed and gross strength attributes. For snowboards and canoes please visit EST. Bookmark It Hide Sites