by I recorded a new video to go with my new article on how to start strength training for rowing. I recommend a focus on bodyweight exercises for beginner strength training, but the chin-up is a bodyweight exercise that is simply too challenging for most rowers, even those beyond the beginner level. In this post, we’ll get into why chin-ups are so challenging and how I work with this in my coaching for rowers of all ages, types, and levels.
Chin-ups are hard anyway, and they’re extra challenging for rowers because of biomechanics. Rowing typically selects for a taller body type. Taller typically means longer limbs. Longer limbs means greater range-of-motion (ROM), which means greater force needed to move over a longer ROM.
I often reduce ROM on pushups and deadlifts for this reason as well. All things equal, it’s more work for a taller athlete to do pushups from the floor or deadlifts from the starting height of a 45lb plate or bumper plate. We can easily scale this on pushups by elevating the hands to an aerobic step, bench, or box height, and by elevating the starting position of a deadlift with high handles on a hex bar, using a Romanian deadlift focused on the top half hip hinging motion, or doing a block or rack pull deadlift variation.
We can’t change the ROM of the chin-up quite as well, so it takes a little more creativity to scale to athlete ability. This is the focus of my new video. Check it out below for how to use the slow-lowering chin-up, band-assisted chin-up, band/cable lat pulldown, and the seated position chin-up.
Even with rowers strong enough to do bodyweight chin-ups for sets of 8+ reps with good technique, I still like to use these different variations for higher rep training, to keep training engaging, and to focus on different elements of strength and muscular development. Most rowers doing year-round strength training don’t want to do the same five exercises all the time. If you do, great! If you don’t, here are some ways to keep training engaging and effective.
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