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Step 1
Get in the boat. This may be a bit of a balancing act the first couple of times you do it. The best way to avoid capsizing is to hold the oar handles together with one hand so that the blades are touching both the water and the dock. Step into the center of the boat and get your weight as low as possible as quickly as possible.
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Step 2
Fit your feet into the shoes, and adjust the foot stretchers to match your height to the boat configuration. This means that when you have your legs fully extended and your hands are away, your oar handles should not overlap by more than about an inch and a half. When you pull the oar handles to your chest, the oar handles should just barely touch the outside of your rib cage.
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Step 3
Reposition the foot stretchers. If your position in the boat is not comfortable, loosen the screws on the foot stretcher (the flat board-like thing that your shoes are bolted onto) and either move it forward or backward to correct for the problem. Typically, shorter rowers need to more their foot stretchers forward, while taller rowers need to move their foot stretchers further back.
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Step 4
Push away from the dock first with your hands and then with your oar blade. When you have cleared the dock and both of your oar blades are free in the water, then it is time to row.
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Step 1
Extend your legs, lean back 10 to 20 degrees and pull the oar handles towards your chest so that the handles are under your pectoral muscles and above your rib cage. Neither your hands nor the oar handles should really touch your body, since this can cause agitation and bruising. Not many people can configure the boat perfectly on their first row so keep practicing. This position is technically called "the finish" because it is where you will finish your stroke. However, since rowing is a cyclical activity, it is also the beginning.
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Step 2
Feather the oar blade (if you haven't done so already). To feather a blade means to keep it parallel to the water.
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Step 3
Push your hands away from your body so that your arms are fully extended. This is the first step of "the recovery."
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Step 4
Lean your body forward so that it is about 20 to 30 degrees from being perpendicular with the water. This is the second step of "the recovery."
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Step 5
Slowly pull yourself up the slide by compressing your legs. This, along with the next step are the last parts of "the recovery."
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Step 6
Square the blade (make it perpendicular to the water) just about when your hands pass over your knees. Squaring up early like this is a more advanced technique, but learning it early in your rowing career will give you a huge leg-up later. Used effectively it ensures maximum efficiency with every stroke by keeping the blade in the water longer during the drive.
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Step 7
Insert the blade into the water by lifting your hands. This is called "the catch."
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Step 8
Press first with your legs, then when your legs are fully extended, lean back to that starting position before pulling your hands to you chest again.
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Step 9
Repeat this motion over and over again to fly across the water.
