Cam Newton gets a lot of flak for his touchdown celebrations, his play style, and his pants, but really none of those things matter. The most important thing Cam Newton needs to improve is his rowing technique.

In case you were wondering, a rower is an incredible tool for physical and mental conditioning and even badass pro athletes like Cam Newton spend time on the erg during their training. And much like the rest of us, even badass pro athletes like Cam Newton need coaching to actually row well and efficiently.

I don't want to be "that guy." You know, the guy critiquing someone's form on a movement without actually being there but...I'm definitely about to be that guy. And for good reason too: in the case of a crappy looking 400lb power clean by some pro defensive lineman correcting form is a matter of safety because, ya know, we get it, you're super strong and explosive. With something like a rower, it's not so much a safety issue as it is an efficiency and power output issue.

Apparently this off-season Cam did a rowing workout with some other people at some place somewhere, I don't particularly care about the details because...well, no details are really given. Here's a video of the workout in question. We're given a short narration by Nate Costa, owner or whatever of whatever:

Nate gives us the context and details like this: "At the end we did a kind of competitive row, which was 2200m paired up in teams of two. We call it a finisher...and the finisher today that was our choice was to use the rowers."




So then we get to see Cam row, and man, do I wish someone actually taught him to row.



Why didn't anyone try to fix the guy in blue? The trainer here should be ashamed.

I'm not going to hold this against Cam or the other guys rowing, but I am going to hold it against his coaches or whoever put him on that thing. Cam is competitive, athletic, driven to be the best, and willing to put in the work: fixing shitty movement shouldn't be that difficult. Since no one else seemed to care, I just wanted to let Cam know that I care. With that in mind, here are some cues for the next time you're rowing, Cam.

The catch

This is a bad position. You're gonna want to get your hands closer to the damper so you can maximize the distance the handle (and therefore the chain) travels. Think of it another way: your hands should be a bit further ahead of your toes.

The drive

If he would look up from his meditative romping, your buddy in the blue would be confused as hell as to why you're doing what you're doing, and he couldn't even stay in his seat while he was rowing. This isn't the right order of operations: use your legs to drive as much as possible from the catch, don't lean back and take your legs out of it right from the get go. 

The finish

Your finish needs work too. This one is actually quite easy to fix: just pull the handles to your sternum instead of your belly button or hips. Finish tall, bro! You're Cam Newton: get your elbows back, puff that chest up and celebrate your fitness!

The recovery

Your recovery is what's going to set you up for success on your next stroke, Cam, and you've gotta set yourself up for success, dude! Your order of operations is all messed up here and your rhythm is janky as well. From the catch, you gotta let your arms relax first, then your hips close, and only then should your knees bend. It's like putting down a deadlift: you're not gonna be bending your knees first from the top, gotta close the hip first.

The celebration

Well...yeah, kinda like that. Got that celebration down pat. 

You know who doesn't need to fix their technique on power movements? These dudes: