Rowing Q for bros in the know

[musketeer]

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OK

So I was in the gym today (did a taxing Squat Bench Dead session) and was just finishing up when I saw this guy, who is 6'3 190lb and says that he is a top amateur rower, doing squats.

He went up to 220lbs for sets of 8 squats just above parallel.

He then put 110lb on the bar and proceeded to go ass to the floor, and then bounce up 6 inches (so still below parallel) and then drop back inot the bottom position. He'd do about 15 fast bounces like this and then stand up and rack the bar.

i don't normally bother people when they do stupid shit, but I hated to see him screw his knees (at the tender age of 22 or so), so I asked him f he would consider stopping the rep at the bottom before coming up and not bouncing out of the bottom.

He claimed that the bouncing was a sport specific technique for rowers because they "never actually stop moving" when the row. He said that the bounce was important to his performance.

I'm not so sure of this because when you bend your legs rowing, there is no tension on them. You therefore get very little stretch reflex when actually rowing. The bouncing bottom half squats were simply putting stretching forces through the quads and glutes, and not training them to expolde from the bottom with no backward force in them.


I recon that he should just be doing sets of straight forward FULL SQUATS and not doing sqauts to above parallel and then bouncing.
Can annyone else see my point/ or is this the right way to train for a rower

 

[KIAN]

Correct development of the legs and back are important for rowing but bouncing the weight at the bottom of a squat is not advisable under any circumstances. Although he was only using a 110 lb weight, the downward force would be considerably more due to the bounce. This would put an unnecessary strain on the ligaments around the knees, interfere with your balance, and leave yourself open for possible injury.

His legs would benefit more from standard, full squats using correct form as it is the upward, explosive movement which is responsible for development. An alternative exercise, and one more suited for rowing, is 45 degree leg presses on a sled.

I don't understand his line of reasoning but I'm sure his rowing coach could explain it in terms which don't make any sense either.

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KP--Fitness Basics

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