Rowing · Legs-Before-Back Sequencing

Why this matters

The rowing drive is a sequenced movement: legs → back → arms. The legs are the largest, strongest engine, so they fire first; the back swing adds to the already-moving handle; the arms only finish it off. The order is what lets the muscles sum their force instead of fighting each other.

The single most common — and most expensive — rowing fault is opening the back before the legs finish driving.

When the back opens early ("shooting the slide" / "bum shoot"), the legs press the seat backward while the handle barely moves. The leg drive is wasted into the seat instead of the chain, and the lower back is left to do work it shouldn't.

What good looks like

• The seat and handle move together — the legs drive the whole body back as one unit.
• The trunk angle holds its forward catch position until the legs are well into the drive.
• The back opens as a distinct second action, not simultaneously.

Common faults

Back Opens Early (Δt < −50 ms)

The trunk swings open before the legs finish. The seat shoots backward, the handle lags, and the lower back absorbs the load.

Causes: weak leg drive, impatience to "feel" the stroke, or never being coached the sequence.

Effect: major power loss, lumbar strain, weak and inconsistent strokes.

Simultaneous (−50 ms ≤ Δt ≤ +50 ms)

Legs and back open together. Loses the sequential force summation and starts loading the lumbar early.

Coaching cues

• "Press, then swing" — names the order.
• "Legs first, hang off the handle" — keeps the back patient.
• Pause-at-legs-down drill — drive with the legs only, pause, then add the back swing.

How to mark

1. Start in the drive phase, just after the catch as the seat begins to move.
2. Step 1: find the frame the legs first drive — the knees begin extending.
3. Step 2: find the frame the back first opens — the trunk (acromion → greater trochanter) begins swinging back from its forward catch angle.
4. Δt = frame 2 − frame 1. Positive means the legs led.

Related measurements

• Back-Before-Arms Sequencing — the next link in the drive chain.
• Hands-Before-Knees Sequencing — the reversed order on the recovery.