In this video, CrossFit Endurance founder Brian MacKenzie works on rowing with Rich Airey of CrossFit Counter Culture.
Airey is rounding his shoulders and back, MacKenzie notes.
“What we’ve got here is one broken dude,” he says. “And he doesn’t have to be.”
For a quick fix, MacKenzie takes Airey’s feet out of the straps, sets the damper to 1 and prohibits him from touching the seat to the back of his feet—all while maintaining the integrity of his spine.
“He’s going to have to turn that hip over in order to come forward,” Mackenzie explains. “What it’s teaching me is how to use this machine—or use my body with this machine—right. I’m trying to find where the most powerful position is.”
Airey says he begins to feel the stretch in his hips, rather than his quads as he did before.
MacKenzie then has Airey do multiple reps of body-weight deadlifts at 135 lb. On the final reps, Airey begins to slightly round his shoulders and back. He should move just as he did on the rower, MacKenzie says.
“You’re making a much more symmetrical athlete.”
Video by Again Faster.
Click here for more information and a list of upcoming CrossFit Endurance Trainer Courses.
9min 59sec
Additional reading: Smoother Rowing for More Power by Tom Bohrer, published April 1, 2008.