Updated: Full-Body Warmup for Rowing

Archive post from 3/13/23

My new updated video includes new options for different mobility/activation categories, as well as an 8-minute train-along warmup series.

Anyone who has been skipping the warmup due to boredom or lack of time, this is for you! 

These have been the two main pushbacks I’ve gotten over the years.

I get it, but the warmup is still non-negotiable for me in my coaching and in my own training. If I don’t have time to warmup, I don’t have time to train.

Make time for it before erging, rowing, strength training, and even cross-training. As I demonstrate, it takes just 8 minutes once you know the movements. Do it consistently for a few weeks and you'll learn where you can trim things back, or maybe where you need a little more attention instead. We get this time back in improved efficiency in the rest of the session. Spend 8 minutes on land preparing to perform in order to get going better and faster in the actual workout, instead of wasting at least that time of the actual session feeling stiff and uncoordinated.

This applies equally to those training first thing in the morning and to those training after sitting at school, at work, or while commuting to the boathouse or gym. The warmup is a mental transition as well as a physical one.

Yes, it’s not as much fun as “real” lifting, rowing, or even erging. It’s just what we have to do to prepare to perform our best. I like to rotate movements in my own training to mitigate the boredom a bit, while still achieving the general goals of each movement category, so I've added in options like that to this series as well. Ultimately, it’s 8 minutes. Get through it and set yourself up for success in the rest of the session.

I updated my “Rowing Warmup: Complete Guide” and also made a new tab in my exercise index video spreadsheet with the warmup series and options.