As a former rower for the University of Washington Huskies, I witnessed numerous teammates obtain injuries - including myself.

If only I had known about yoga prior to beginning rowing, I would have been much better off. I would have done the Sun Salutation before and after practice along with numerous other poses and stretches.

I found this great article about Common Rowing Injuries.

Stretch Stretch Stretch.

Also strengthen the heck out of your abdominal muscles. If they are weak, then your lower back falls to poor posture while rowing. Once our coach made us do 700 sit ups of different types, back injuries fell dramatically. We also stopped using hatchet blades during practice. Those things are nasty but sure make the boat go fast.

Be safe. Love the sport - but be safe.

And...kick ass.

Labels: rowing, rowing injuries, washington crew, yoga