Breathing during a rowing stroke

There are two schools of thought with respect to the appropriate breathing technique during the rowing motion: Full lungs at the catch and empty lungs at the catch.With the full lung technique, rowers exhale during the stroke and inhale during the recovery. In laboured circumstances, rowers will take a quick pant at the end of the stroke before taking a deep breath on the recovery that fills the lungs by the time the catch is reached.

In the emptylung technique, rowers inhale during the drive, and exhale during the recovery so that they have empty lungs at the catch. Because the knees come up to the chest when the lungs are empty, this technique allows the rower to reach a little bit further than if the lungs were full of air. Full lungs at the release also can help the rower to maintain a straighter back, a style encouraged by many coaches.A scientific study of the benefits of entrained breathing technique in relatively fit, but untrained rowers did not show any physiological or psychological benefit to either technique.