Strength Coach Roundtable #16: Ankle Mobility for Rowers
Blake Gourley has written a book on ankle mobility for rowers, detailing his comprehensive strength-and-rowing-coaching approach from initial assessment to strengthening, stretching, mobilizing, and making rigging adjustments. Tune in to hear about how the ankle is connected to rowing performance, and how rowers of all levels can improve ankle function to benefit rowing technique, speed, and lower body health. Co-hosts Will Ruth and Joe DeLeo join for catching up, questions, and general discussion.
Hear it also on Soundcloud and iTunes
Hosts:
- Will Ruth, RowingStronger.com, @willruth335
- Blake Gourley, RowingStrength.com, @rowing_strength
- Joe DeLeo, LeoTraining.io, @jdeleo
Catching Up:
- Will’s webinars on minimalist strength training and “Build the Back, Spare the Spine”
- Blake’s webinar on ankle mobility for rowers
- Joe’s webinar on strength training for masters rowers
Episode Discussion:
- Origin Story of “The Movement of Rowing” book
- Why is ankle mobility important for rowers?
- What does a rowing coach or strength coach see that triggers an assessment? Or, should we be assessing everyone from the start?
- What key points from the comprehensive approach are particularly important for rowers to go beyond static stretching?
- Managing variables of the foot plate angle and height, rowing technique, and ankle mobility.
- Implementation: how many times per week/day, how long, what considerations as far as pre/post-practice?
Resources:
- The Measure App on Android/Google Phone
- Blake’s Pass/Fail Ankle Test
- Blake’s “Ankle Number” Test
- Blake’s Foot/Big Toe Screen
- Setting Footplate Angle
Thanks to Blake for sharing his experience and creating a great resource. You can buy “The Movement of Rowing: The Ankle” in print and ebook here. And thank you for joining us! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below, or contact us individually via social media or email. As always, you can see past episodes in the archives here on Rowing Chat.
