Over the last couple weeks here at Northeastern, I have had the opportunity to work with the women’s crew team with Coach Mike Zawilinski.  This team is extremely large and the physical demands on the body are extremely unique to the sport, to say the least.  Imagine sitting down in a boat for 7+ minutes, constantly rowing using your legs from a deep squat position to a full extension and on top of that pulling your arms to your chest using your entire posterior chain!!  It seems extremely intense especially in the course of a very competitive race.

Coach Zawilinski has developed a rowing specific warm-up program designed to meet the dynamic warm-up needs of a rowing team.  It is simply called “Rowga” and yes, it is yoga specifically designed for rowing.  It incorporates all the physical aspects of rowing ranging from hip extension and flexion, spine extension and flexion, thoracic mobility, and shoulder mobility and stability.  Over the last week, he has incorporated specific breathing techniques made famous by Sue Falsone that trains our rowers to breathe while maintaining their core stability.  This technique is called the child’s pose where the athlete is on their knees, sits back on their heels with their glutes, and places their arms at their side while they lie face down.  This forces the athletes to mobilize their ribcage while maintain good breathing techniques.  This is extremely important for the rower who must mobilize their ribcage in order to maintain good posture in the boat.

The warm-up usually lasts anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes and can be a workout for rowers who are new to a strength and conditioning program.  It is an extremely valuable warm-up that has greatly benefited our athletes and improved their posture in the boat and in the weight room.  It is used every time prior to a team lift and will continue to be used on a daily basis based on the improved posture, improved thoracic mobility, improved squatting techniques, and improved breathing techniques.