The Sweep Grip

“How do you describe the grip a rower should have on a sweep oar?” If only the question could be asked so simply. The problem is that most people when they first learn to row don’t just use their hands to grip the oar, or what I prefer to call “carrying” the oar handle on the recovery and during the drive. They use their shoulders, neck, head, forearms, entire torso -- you name it. The actual grip is best described through two different images -- one for the drive and one for the recovery.

The drive grip is best described through the image of a person hanging from an oar-sized monkey bar on a swing set. Imagine the feeling of resistance in the curve of that hanging person’s fingers. Now gradually imagine that same resistance in the person’s hands only with their arms extended out in front of them. The wrists are flat, shoulders are low as a result of the lats’ engagement. The thumbs are under the handle with gentle pressure against the curve of the thumb. The hands are in a position to “tow” the handle. When I have access to a rowing tank, I check the athlete’s grip during the drive by sticking my forefinger between her palm and oar to make sure that she doesn’t “over-grip” the oar, which usually requires a slight bend in the wrist mid-drive in anticipation of the inevitable finish. If you don’t have access to a rowing tank, then do the same thing with the boat on the dock, checking the athlete’s grip at the finish, catch, and mid-drive positions, getting somebody else to give the athlete manual resistance on the oar handle.

The grip during the recovery is an entirely different feeling. The hand position remains the same, only there should be very little pressure felt in the athlete’s fingers. The oar should be treated like a helium balloon -- the downward pressure from the hands is minimal since there is a natural tendency for the oar to rise. I ask my athletes to think about not only light hands but light arms on the recovery. The key to light arms and hands is the athlete’s ability to engage her lats at different pressures during the drive and recovery. Once the shoulders rise, the lat connection is broken. The athlete is stuck using more forearms and traps than is necessary. The oar handle should be “carried” around the finish and away versus released and “pushed” away onto the recovery.