Meet Jonathan Drake who teaches rowing using Alexander Technique methods.
Timestamps
01:00 Jonathan is an expert in rowing, Tai Chi and the Alexander Technique. His awareness of his co-ordination issues comes from being an Alexander teacher. Insights into how adults learn. His book is Rowing from the inside out: The art of indoor rowing with on the water in mind.
What is it like to scull on the water while you’re learning to row indoors?
05:00 The Mind Body Connection
Understand how rowing is “in your head” and how to connect this to what your body does. Ingrained movement habits are hard to change especially as you get older. Move more lightly, freely and less movements creating tension.
06:00 The origins of the Alexander Technique
Pulling your neck forwards and downwards creates tension in the rowing stroke. Feel how the dynamic opposition of one part of the body connects or separates from another part. Using your body changes through the rowing stroke. In the power phase the spine lengthens and changes at the finish before lengthening again on the recovery. The perspective is novel – indoor and outdoor rowing combined with Alexander Technique and Tai Chi. Learn from the inside rather than copying someone else from the outside.
10:00 There’s a sequence in the feet – pushing off the balls of your feet causes calves to tighten and then after your heels are down and the stroke finishes, people lift the balls of their feet again. That’s why gym rowers strap in their feet tightly. The basic dynamic is through the feet – the inside of your heels means you access the whole of your foot arch, this gives you the power you need to perform rowing while sitting dynamically.
11.45 The benefits of AT and teaching rowing
It gives you more awareness of when you’re using more effort than necessary. Engage in the journey yourself because you cannot teach what you do not know. You can get results without all the effort.
Encourage your athletes not to strap in your feet from the beginning. How to hold the handle without gripping (creates tight wrists and shoulders). When you understand about how to control the blades in the water – feather into your fingers – you can use your fingers on the indoor rower in the same way.
15:30 Using AT principles
The key to coordination is the relationship between the neck, the head and the back. If your neck stiffens it creates spinal compression and tension. Our habits feel comfortable. Come to a state of quiet to help the body to organise itself. Learn to do less in order to achieve more. At the start of the drive the connection comes from the feet, then moves into the legs / hips / back and into the arms. As the recovery begins the pelvis takes the energy into the arms and body.
Ed Coode, rowed for Great Britain in Athens 2004 – he was taught AT.
20:00 The book is very clear on how you teach. When Jonathan is on the rowing machine he views each stroke as a potentially new experience. Use them as an opportunity to be constantly refining and improving your movement patterns. It’s never too late to make improvements. The book has links to video clips on YouTube to show what to do.
Contact Jonathan [email protected] www.everydayfitness.co.uk
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