Re: Technical: heels on foot plate?

Mike Sullivan wrote:
<anton2468@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1144631756.733091.191580@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well Paul, I am not a physicist. For me coaching has never been about
the engineering / fluid dynamics or whatever. Although I do enjoy yours
and Carls posts because clearly you are both very knowledgeable.

For me though I positively coach against an acceleration into the
catch. Accelleration into the catch will slow the speed which which the
rower changes direction and accelerates away from the catch. Which is
fundementally what we are trying to do as quick as possible.


which is what I said.

I claimed that accelerating into the catch was an ideal recovery but that
I didn't coach it as I thought it to inhibit good catches.

some people maybe didn't read that.


Acceleration into the catch can make you feel better and in a single
feel more secure but it is wrong. Interestingly if you compare the


Allow me to explain why.

The mechanics that would allow an ideal recovery I don't believe are
possible by the human body, but as a student I have an eye open.

In an accelerated human body, the muscles have to relax, meaning
there must be a certain quantity of fibers that have to fire to have
a quick catch. By controlling the slide, you are actually firing some
fibers early allowing more muscle fibers to actively engage.

This is my sense, it's not researched. It comes from how an
animal 'gathers' to jump or does a squat.

Mike


But we do not take just one stroke. You're talking here about an animal gathering to spring, just once & from stationary, upon its prey. Sure, we do gather for that first stroke in the same way. But what about all the rest? Does the kangaroo stop & gather between each & every bound as is races through the outback, or the horse between each stride, or the runner?

It would be wrong to accelerate into a catch, but that is not what you do. The body does not all move in the same direction all at once, any more in the rower than in the runner or the horse. It is a fluid action, with different body components responding in a flowing sequence rather than in unison, not a gather & spring for every stroke.

The body is not moving all that fast WRT the boat during recovery, but you are picking up more & more of the body as you make the recovery (hands, body, slide), delivering merged packets of impulse in that sequence which do to some extent sustain the run of the boat in the forward direction.

In any case, the body is not moving astern! The boat is moving far more, relative to the body, than the body is moving relative to a constant velocity reference frame, & the boat is very light compared to the body. At the same time, because of the relatively severe angle of the oar-shaft to the perpendicular it does not have to move at all rapidly during the very early part of the stroke to be working effectively against the water So it takes no great speed of motion, no severe reversal, to connect blade with water. And there is no sudden change of body direction.

I think our view on rowing is too conditioned by what we see happening on ergs.

Cheers -
Carl

--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: The Boathouse, Timsway, Chertsey Lane, Staines TW18 3JY, UK
Email: carl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tel: +44(0)1784-456344 Fax: -466550
URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk (boats) & www.aerowing.co.uk (riggers)
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