CrossFit Journal Preview (http://journal.crossfit.com).

To learn proper pacing and how to relax on the recovery while rowing, CrossFit Rowing's Shane Farmer likes the uphill drill.

With a plyo box or bumper plate underneath the front of the erg, it's difficult to rush forward, says Farmer, who also is a coach at CrossFit Invictus.

"We're looking and focusing on emphasizing a slow recovery, taking your time up," he says.

Next, he talks hand position and knee position.

"They're smaller components," Farmer says, "but they can have a big impact on your stroke."

He advises keeping the hands and fingers relaxed so the handle sits in the fingertips. Death gripping, he says, is no good.

"Everything tenses up. He's now created tension from his hand all the way up to his shoulder, into his traps," Farmer explains as fellow Invictus coach Dave Lipson demonstrates. "It's going to take a short amount of time before your arms start to burn out."

Meanwhile, the knees should be close to the inside of the arms or nearly in the armpit, he says, to create tension and torque in the hip.