How should a big, powerful rower use their power in a crew boat?

If you're the big power guy or gal in your crew, the one with the big erg, you need to be stealthy with your power. Here's what I mean, and the simple cues that help.

Why you don't want your crew to feel your leg drive

I fell into this trap as well. I had a big erg, I was strong, and I wanted my crew to feel how strong I was and how much effort I was putting into making the boat go fast. That is a trap.

Yes, you're going to be strong, and you're going to need to be strong. But there's a difference between being strong and making sure everyone in the boat can feel it.

"You don't want everyone in the crew to feel your leg drive. That generally means that you're out of time."

What does it mean to camouflage your power?

You need to almost camouflage your power into the boat. It's kind of a weird thing to think about, so here's what it felt like from the inside.

"When I was rowing with some of the biggest and strongest athletes who are really fast, like Eric Murray, they didn't feel like they were laying down this massive amount of watts."

The boat just went faster, because their power sat within the bounds of the rhythm.

I learnt something similar the first time I jumped in a four with Hamish Bond. I worked as hard as I could to impress him, and quickly realised I just needed to chill out a bit. I think Hamish is really good at sending the boat backwards instead of sideways. If you're big and strong you can rip the boat round, and it'll slow the boat down. I wrote about that row in why Hamish Bond rows simple.

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How do you increase rowing power in a crew boat?

This is the nuanced bit. If you're a big, strong rower, you probably have the urge to impose your power on the boat. Resist that urge a little.

"Sometimes just taking a step back off the pressure to feel that rhythm means that you can apply more power and more effective power to the boat itself."

Naturally, if you're big and strong and you work hard anyway, you're going to put down some good power. And if you want your power to be known, that's good. It just needs to be within the bounds of what the rest of the crew is doing.

Rhythmic rowing: let the rhythm drag the work out of you

Next time you're in a boat with a decent rhythm that's going quite well, try to feel the rhythm dragging the work out of you. As you row in the rhythm more and stay within those bounds, the rhythm will pull that work out of you. You don't have to go looking for hard work.

This is something we talked about a lot in the Kiwi eight.

"We're not trying to work hard. We're allowing the boat's rhythm and our collective movement to drag out the hard work."

Try this

Here are four simple cues for your next row, and none of them is about pulling harder.

1. Back off to find the rhythm. In a boat that's going well, take a step back off the pressure and feel the rhythm drag the work out of you. Once you can feel it, put your power down inside it.
2. Blend in. Think about blending your power with the rest of the crew and letting the rhythm drag it out of you. If people can feel your leg drive, you're out of time.
3. Hang off your lats. Eric Murray gave me this one. Feel the hang right in the lower part of your lats and take it out of your arms, so they're just holding on and you're hooked up through your lats and core, down to your legs. It's all in hang off your lats.
4. Complete every stroke. This was one of the simplest things we talked about in the Kiwi eight. Be super thorough with each stroke: swing through, pull through to the lower ribs, drop down together, then get out cleanly. It's particularly powerful on a race start, so talk to your crew about it before you go.

If your crew is struggling to get everyone to the same point at the same time, the three drills we kept coming back to in the Kiwi eight are a good place to start.

Common mistakes

• Trying to make your crew feel how strong you are. I did it. It's a trap.
• Going looking for hard work. In a boat with a decent rhythm, the rhythm will drag the work out of you if you let it.
• Loading up in the shoulders. It feels like hard work, but it's wasted energy. Hang off your lats instead.
• Thinking about the next stroke. The moment you do, you get a bit fumbly around the back and start rushing. Finish this one first.

Being big and strong is a good thing. The boat movers in your squad are scared of the day you work it out and put that power down to the water. If that sounds like you, here's what a Meataxe rower is.

Send this to a Meataxe who needs to hear it.