Learning to row before/while clocking up the miles.

With rowing, technique is very important. You can be the worlds fittest and strongest person but if you can't move a boat properly then its of no use in rowing. Therefore a person must first and foremost, learn the proper set of movements which they can use to move the boat in the most efficient way possible. 

Efficiency in rowing means long, horizontally powered strokes. Any fool can throw their back into it but it takes a lot of learning to use the correct muscles in the correct sequence. A Lot of people know that the drive should commence with the legs with the body only swinging through on the last quarter of the leg drive but how many actually do it or try and make a change for the better each and every time they go out?

Time is well spent mastering the basics of rowing, the fundamentals with which will you will later be able to reap the benefits from when they are ingrained in your brain. Some people however enjoy spending hours rowing up and down rivers and lakes further ingrained bad habits into their heads. If you're not actively trying to improve your technique every time you go out for a row then don't row. If you want to get fit get on a bike or go for a run. Better that than injuring yourself from hurling yourself up and down the river using your back and bent arms as means of propulsion. 

The leg drive, when properly used accounts for just under 50% of the boat movement. The body swing 30% and the arms 20%. Most people have a lot more boat speed in them which they can unlock just by improving their technique.