First of all, thank you for your feedback for my first fitness session, Ready to Row, last week. It’s great to hear from you. Hopefully session 1 was a wee kick-starter to get you up and going, or added a bit of rowing focus to your regular routine.
MUSCULAR BALANCE
Last time, we looked at the importance of good posture by maintaining muscular balance across all of our joints and preventing injury. Let’s continue.
Our bodies work by using opposing pairs or groups of muscles to control our joints allowing us to move and function: put simply push and pull. Our posture is dependent on the front (push) and back (pull) of our body being in balance to maintain a neutral spine, similarly across all our joints. (Here’s a reminder of what good posture looks like).
It is our lower body that is our power house during the catch and drive phases, but the power has to go through our upper body, shoulders, arms, and hands, to get to the oar. It is also key in returning the oar during the recovery.
In rowing not only does the lower body dominate over the top. If we only train the main rowing muscles, the upper body becomes the weak link that will tire quicker and can increase the risk of injury.
In addition to this, the back of our upper body also dominates over the front and one very important imbalance to avoid is our shoulders. Imbalances here can affect our posture and lead to over-use injuries in later life. To allow the big range of movement our shoulders consist of a shallow ball and socket, a structurally weak joint, held together by a tangle of muscles, tendons and ligaments. These can be easily damaged. A healthy shoulder requires these to be strong, mobile … and balanced.
BEFORE WE BEGIN, HERE’S A WEE FITNESS CHALLENGE
In line with this week’s theme of muscular balance I challenge the front (push) muscles of your upper body with press ups. Don’t panic you can do a simpler variant if that suits your current condition. Begin in plank (drop your knees to the floor if you prefer), your legs should be straight out behind you, your feet hip width apart, and your hands flat on the ground below your shoulders. Inhale and lower yourself until your arms are parallel to the floor and your elbows are at right angles. Exhale and push through your hands and feet to bring your straight body back into the start position.
Being really mindful of good technique, how many press ups (full or kneeling) can you do in 30 seconds? Make a note and see if you can build on this.
EXERCISE OF THE WEEK: YTW
The easiest way to explain this week’s exercise, is that it is similar to the ‘YMCA’ dance you might do at a party! Except, we are going to be doing a ‘YTW’ instead.
YTWs are great rowing exercises as they help build strength in our upper back and shoulders. This solidly links our strokepower to the oar and is very important in stabilising our rotator cuff for overall shoulder health and maintaining good posture in and out of the boat.
For a YTW rep we start by standing straight with our shoulders back and down. Bend forwards to about 45-degrees with knees slightly bent and your arms hanging straight down below our shoulders.
Engage your core to keep your body straight and squeeze your shoulder blades together to slowly raise your arms from the start position as high as they can go, without changing the angle of your torso, to form each letter in turn:
For the “Y” raise your arms straight in front “above” your head slightly wider than shoulder width. Then the “T” by raising your arms straight out to the side. And finally the “W” in the same direction as the “T” but bend your elbows to 90-degree angle before you start.
With each move hold the shape for 2 seconds before slowly lowering your arms back to starting position ready for the next letter.
1 rep consists of one each of Y, T and W, and aim to start with 2 sets of 3 reps.
Things to look for: start with the backs of your hands facing the direction of each movement and lift leading with our knuckles into each position in one controlled smooth motion. Keep core tight so your back remains straight, try not to extend at your low back; if this happens, reduce the weight so that you are not compensating by using other muscles.
What to Remember
The beauty of this exercise is that it can be done easily at home with little or no weight but still work the muscles correctly with full range of shoulder movement; this not a big weight exercise.
To progress, aim for 3 sets of 3-5 reps. Hold light weights e.g.dumbbells, or simply tins of beans or water bottles. Or try the challenge of increasing the hold in each position to 3-5 seconds.
I will emphasise again; remember to stretch afterwards to keep your shoulder range of movement and help your posture. Stick to the plan and let me know how you get on, or if there’s anything you’re unclear about. (gregorcranston@hotmail.com)
