In a previous post, I discussed the Grok C2 Erg Suspension Strap. In essence, the strap allows a coach to teach or an athlete to learn how to hang their body weight off the handle. The device allows the athlete and coach to work together to feel the correct activation at the drive begins. 

Adjustable C2 Erg Suspension Strap (New Release!)

Grok rowing has recently released an adjustable C2 Erg Suspension Strap, which provides more flexibility when teaching drive mechanics. This strap can be adjusted so that the athlete can work on their application of force at various points in the drive and not only at the beginning of the drive. Once again, this strap can help a coach teach an athlete how to activate and coordinate various muscle groups in their body to produce the most amount of force.

In addition to these suspension tools, Grok Rowing also has three more tools to help position the rower at various points in the drive. All three of these tools (or 4 if you include the strap) work together very well to provide a process to help rowers learn and establish a correct biomechanical habit. 

Leg Compression Guide

Visit GrokRowing.com to learn more about the Leg Compression Guide

This is a very simple piece of rubber that has been fashioned to fit on the slide of the Concept2 rowing machine. It is accompanied by a sticker that can be attached to the slide prior to attaching the seat guide. The seat guide should be positioned at the desired leg compression. When the athlete moves forward on the slide, the seat guide prevents the seat from moving any further.

I personally have found this very helpful when I am training as it helps me experiment with leg compression and how that affects power during the stroke. 

It’s always a trade-off at the beginning of the drive, a little more leg compression past the shins vertical, might provide more stroke length, but you typically trade that off for an initially less dynamic leg push at the beginning of the drive. 

This post is not going to debate the merits of more or less leg compression and what context that experimentation is appropriate. 

However, I will comment that whenever a change to the technical occurs there can be some gain and some loss. It’s up to you to decide whether the gain is worth the loss.

The Concept2 Leg Compression guide is only appropriate for low-rate steady-state or warm-up or drills where the intensity is on the low side. It is not recommended for higher intensities both in terms of safety and practicality. It does tend to move forward if the seat hits the rubber too hard. It’s a good idea to instruct the rower to “kiss” the Leg Compression Guide on the way forward, which can also help with slide control. If the Compression Guide does move forward, it is an indicator the athlete might be slamming into the catch. Athletes could check the position before and after their steady-state to see if the Compression Guide has moved forward. Additionally, the Leg Compression Guide could be used to check under-compression. Finally, it could help with rehabilitation to ensure that an athlete does not go too far when recovery from something like a knee injury.

However, as it stands, I have found it helpful to help me improve my over compression habit and has led to increased performance in that regard.

Erg Body Compression Guide

The next tool is the Concept2 Erg Body Compression Guide. This involves the use of a reusable zip tie which allows for the adjustment of the tool. Similar to the Concept 2 Leg Compression Guide, it does come with a sticker that has numbers on it so that each athlete on your team can reference a log you might create so that they can adjust for their body dimensions. 

This tool is appropriate for working with athletes in a static context as well as a dynamic one. It provides the opportunity to work with the Leg Compression Guide to set leg compression and upper body angle at the catch. Ideally, the athlete can be positioned at the catch with the handle touching the vertical rod and the seat wheels just barely touching the Leg Compression Guide. While rowing, the athlete tries to “kiss” the vertical rod and the leg compression guide to ensure that they are achieving the coach’s desired position at the beginning of the drive.

As mentioned, both of these tools can adjust so there is plenty of flexibility for all athletes on your team.

Hand Height Guide

Finally, the last tool is the Concept2 Hand Height Guide.  Out of all of the Grok tools that I have tried, I feel that I must disclose that this tool is probably the most difficult to install on the Concept2 rowing machine. Installation involves undoing the bolts around the chain guard, removing the rectangle, and then wrapping the guides (two of them) on each side of the chain guard. The final step is reattaching the chain guard and fastening some bolts. 

I do like the use of the tool once it is installed. I would imagine that once you have installed one or two of these, you will come up with your preferred method of installing it and the process might move more efficiently. 

The guide provides bands each with a letter A, B, or C. This tool can be used to adjust the height at which the athlete holds the handle at any point in the stroke. This would be helpful for providing a visual cue for an athlete developing the skill of approaching the catch at the right height and starting the leg drive with their hands at the correct height of work. 

A common technical fault I typically observe with novices is dropping their hands as they approach the catch. The root cause of this is typically because they lack the early upper body preparation earlier in the recovery, and so establish their forward body angle too late right before the catch and so end up dropping their hands. This is a big issue because if the hands are too low when the drive is started then the point at which the athlete really connects with the work is later on in the drive. This is a missed opportunity and results in less power being transmitted to the machine. This problem also promotes skying the blade at the catch. This, in turn, leads to connection issues on the water as well as balance problems.

It’s a classic case of the need to first identify the problem or cause of the problem before developing a solution. 

The Grok Hand Height guide serves as a helpful solution to this technical teaching point. It would also lend itself to helping teach a rower how to tap down at the end of the drive and how to carry their hands at any point in the drive or recovery. For example, an athlete could be instructed to keep the chain at the top of the B zone on the drive, and then maintain the chain height at the bottom of the B zone on the recovery. 

I would imagine that an organized coach could keep a spreadsheet or notecards of all of the different numbers for each rower on their team for the Leg Compression Guide, the Hand Height guide, and the Body Compression Guide. This would enable a quick setup if athletes were switching on and off machines.

In conclusion, the suite of Grok Concept2 rowing machine tools provides some effective and reasonably priced solutions to help provide novice coaches (and rowers either land-based or on the water) with some coaching aids to help support their teaching environments.