Master the best stretches for indoor rowing recovery (with video guide)
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Indoor rowing is a low-impact, full-body workout suitable for all ages and fitness levels. To stay injury-free and recover quickly, proper stretching after your rowing workout is essential. In this article, you will learn about the benefits of stretching, why your hamstrings need extra attention and the common mistakes to avoid. Check out the RowAlong video guide at the end to stretch like a pro!
Why stretching is important before and after workouts
Stretching is essential to any workout routine and should not be skipped. While stretching before a workout warms up your body and prepares it for exercise, post-workout stretches boost your flexibility and help with recovery by relaxing your muscles. Research shows that after stretching, your blood flow, capillary region oxygenation, and the velocity of red blood cells to the muscle improve.
5 golden rules on how to stretch properly and avoid injury
While there's plenty of stretching advice, 5 golden rules apply to all pre-workout stretches and post-workout stretches. If you have any health concerns, we recommend consulting your physician beforehand.
Here are the 5 golden rules of stretching:
Hold your stretches for 30 seconds and repeat them twice for each side.
Do not bounce while stretching.
Make sure your posture is right.
Stretch gently and stop the exercise immediately if you feel pain.
Mix up your stretches to give your muscles rest in between stretches.
Why intense stretching during recovery is counter-productive
When recovering from a workout, your body starts an intricate process that can be described as tiny tears in your muscle fibers being repaired, causing muscle growth to occur gradually. This process may lead to temporary discomfort and soreness. At this stage, do not stretch intensively and only commit to light workouts as the risk of injury or prolonging your recovery is high. Generally, the more intense your workout, the more cautious you should be to prevent overdoing it with post-workout stretches.
Hamstring flexibility for rowers: a stretch you can’t ignore
Depending on your physiology and the sports you practice, different stretches may help more than others. For rowers, one important muscle group to focus on is the hamstrings. Perhaps you may feel a bit stiff in the hips or are unable to follow through all the motions of the rowing stroke properly. To gain mobility and flexibility, British Rowing recommends taking extra care of your hamstrings.
After your rowing session at home, you can stretch your hamstrings following various exercises using a resistance band, by leaning onto a wall, or by following yoga exercises that focus on the hamstrings and hip region. When stretching consistently, you will notice that your ability to roll the pelvis after the finish of the rowing stroke improves.
Stretch together with Coach John from RowAlong
You may know John from RowAlong because of his popular indoor rowing channel on YouTube. Besides creating training videos that help you improve and feel better about your performance, he invites you to row with him on EXR – the virtual rowing app. After such a 30-minute online group rowing session, static post-workout stretches are the perfect way to cool down and help your muscles recover.
Leading by example, certified rowing instructor John uses his rowing machine to demonstrate the best stretches for rowing that you can do at home. Follow his guided routine – on or off the rower – to master proper postures and optimize your post-workout recovery.
Are you in the mood for a good indoor rowing workout followed by great stretches? Row with EXR now!
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