Rowing

August 29, 2012

American Dunkirk 2

by Barry Strauss • General, Rowing • Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

New Orleans is soaked with water. Tampa is full of hot air — and that’s just the press. Actually, with so many of them holding their mouth in a permanent sneer, it’s a miracle that they get the air out.

Case in point: I tried to find a transcript of Rick Santorum’s speech online last night. I watched it on tv and found it alternately eloquent, maudlin, and weird. Wanting another look, I googled it, only to discover scorn and a headline announcing that Santorum had his facts wrong. At least he had facts. More

May 21, 2009

Core Values 2

by Barry Strauss • Rowing, Spartacus

When I took up a rowing some years ago, I learned that things were not as they seemed. People speak of “pulling an oar,” but in fact, rowing is more about pressing than pulling. By pressing against the foot-stretcher, a rower’s legs do more to move the boat than his arms do by pulling the oars. If that seems counter-intuitive, consider this: in every stroke, bracing is just as important as pressing. Unless a rower braces the stroke with the abdominal and lower-back muscles, he loses a lot of the power of the leg drive.
More