How to use this list
Rowing is a sequence sport. On the drive the legs go first, then the back opens, then the arms draw. On the recovery the order reverses: hands away, body over, then the knees come up. Almost every fault here is either that order breaking, or a poor position at one of the two ends of the stroke. If you fix the order, several faults disappear at once.
Film yourself side-on for five or six strokes before you start on any of these (how to film rowing has the set-up). A phone clip at hip height will show most of them plainly, and a rowing video analysis will tell you which one is costing you most, stroke by stroke, so you work on one thing rather than six.
Drive faults
Catch faults
Finish faults
Recovery faults
What video can't see
Pose tracking places joints. It does not see fingers, lungs or oar blades, so the following are real faults that no single-camera video analysis grades, ours included. A coach still has to look for them.
- Gripping the handle too tightly. Tension runs up the forearms into the shoulders. The cue is loose fingers and a hook grip, not a fist.
- Holding the breath. Most rowers exhale on the drive and inhale on the recovery; whatever the pattern, it needs to be regular.
- Blade work. Washing out, skying, depth and feathering are oar faults, not body faults, and the boat is the best judge of them.
- Boat speed and force. A video analysis measures positions and timing. It does not measure how hard you pulled.
The fault-to-check map
| Fault | Measured as | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Shooting the slide | Leg–back connection | 1.3 (Competitive, Technical) |
| Opening the back early | Drive sequence: legs → back → arms | 2.0 |
| Breaking the arms early | Arm extension at the catch | 1.0 |
| Lifting with the back | Forward body angle at the catch | 1.5 |
| Over-reaching / lunging | Forward body angle, shin angle | 1.5, 1.2 |
| Over-compressing | Shin angle, knee compression | 1.2, 1.0 |
| Short at the catch | Arm extension, knee compression | 1.0, 1.0 |
| Too much layback | Layback, trunk swing | 1.5, 0.8 |
| Bent legs at the finish | Leg extension at the finish | 1.0 |
| Knees up early | Recovery sequence: hands → body → knees | 1.5 |
| Rushing the slide | Slide rhythm (recovery ÷ drive) | 1.0 (Competitive, Technical) |
| Body not set | Body set on the recovery | 1.2 (Competitive, Technical) |
That is the whole point of measuring: you stop guessing which of the twelve you have. The technique guide walks the same checks phase by phase, erg technique analysis shows what comes back from a rowing-machine clip, and on-water analysis covers what changes in a boat.
Questions
What is the most common rowing technique mistake?
A broken sequence. Opening the back before the legs have finished, or shooting the slide so the legs go without the handle, are the two coaches correct most often, at every level.
What is shooting the slide and how do I stop it?
The seat moves before the handle does, because the legs push before the back and arms are holding the load. Legs-only rowing with a firm hang on the handle, then quarter-slide rowing, teaches the handle to move with the seat. Feet-out rowing shows you the instant the connection breaks.
Why does my lower back hurt when I row?
Coaching guidance links three faults to lower-back load: shooting the slide, opening the back early, and excessive layback, all of which put the back under load in a rounded or over-extended position. Filming side-on shows whether you do any of them. Pain itself is a question for a physiotherapist, not a video.
How do I know if my rowing form is correct?
Film five or six strokes side-on at hip height and check the order: legs, back, arms on the drive; hands, body, knees on the recovery; shins about vertical and body set forward at the catch; a controlled lean past vertical with flat legs at the finish. A video analysis grades all thirteen checks on every stroke so you don't have to eyeball it.
Is rowing machine technique the same as on-water technique?
The body sequence is the same, which is why the erg is the best place to fix it. In a boat the handle arcs around the pin and the blade has to be placed and extracted, so handle-path and blade faults only exist on the water.
Do these mistakes matter for HYROX or CrossFit rowing?
Yes, because they are all about getting the leg drive to the handle. Shooting the slide and rushing the slide are the two that cost the most on a 1,000 m erg piece in a race, and both are visible on a phone clip.