Rowing - The Most Suitable Body Type
It is clear that the build of rowers has changed since the early days of the sport. 40 years ago the average build of a rower was nothing extraordinary, their bodies being quite lean and not particularly tall. Nowadays however, rowers are a great deal larger and their body proportions are very different. Put simply, they have been optimised for the art of rowing; they are handpicked based on genetics and their diets and exercise routines are aimed at sculpting the perfect rowing machine. So what is the best body for a rower to own?
Rowing performers are more often than not taller than average. Woman can often be over 6′0″ and men above 6′4″. What this essentially means is that their pull distance is more than most peoples and the forces that can be generated increase proportionally. Rowers do a lot of work in the gym on their legs, often being able to lift their own body weight whilst doing squats. These strong legs are the driving force of the movement and are as important in during the acceleration phase as they are throughout the race to maintain momentum. Next time you are at the Henley Regatta Hospitality take a look at the legs of the rowers when they are pulling away from the start. You will view a supreeme site as they pulsate and create great power. These strains would likely be unbearable for a normal humans lower body to bear.
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. A rowers back has good muscles density and size which means the their stoke is functionally very efficient. As with the legs this also helps sustain power during the entirety of the race. Surprisingly rowers have a large amount of slow-twitch fibres in their key areas as well, which is something more often linked to sportspeople who take part in longer endurance events. This means that they can work for long periods of time which is useful as a large number of races are over a mile long. A lot of corporate hospitality events are long distance and you’ll see these are often suited to slightly body types. That said, rowers also hold a good number of fast-twitch muscle fibres,giving strength and speed that are required as well.
Tags: events, Henley, Henley Regatta, River, Rowing
