Originally Posted by
Oarhead
I'm actually going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there. Keeping your heels down really limits the length of your stroke at the handle by a significant margin (1-2 inches). It doesn't sound like a lot but it will affect your splits by about 2 seconds/500m in the long haul. Rolling up onto the balls of your foot does not limit your catch or drive power or delay any other aspect of the stroke. Pushing through the balls of your feet is just as powerful as the flat foot in rowing. During the drive phase you can roll your feet back down onto the stretchers and finish the drive through your heels to ensure full leg extension as you pointed out. You will never see an international level crew rowing with feet flat at the catch. Having said all of that, rolling past the balls of your feet is bad and poor achilles tendon flexibility is bad. The heel only needs to come up enough to allow you to roll onto the balls of your feet. To address a topic that may come up: over-reach at the catch (and thus back injury) can happen with your heels down or up, so it is also not a major consideration IMO. It is the result of reaching too far from the waist, not a product of heel lift.
Keep up the good work folks. Nice to see so many others building a strong hatred of that thing yet returning to it week after week, just like me. I hate it but I know it makes me fitter.