Workout Wednesdays - #4 - Row Row Row Your Boat

Here's a workout idea for those of us on a budget...  Instead of an expensive gym membership - hit up your local Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul for used gym equipment.  The prices are great (mine was $24!) - you're supporting an awesome cause, and it's eco-friendly - reduce, reuse, recycle so they don't end up in a landfill somewhere!  Here's the best part - if after a few months you don't like the equipment you can always re-donate it and keep the cycle going.  One man's trash is another man's treasure?  Well I thank whoever donated their practically new Precor rowing machine at my local store, because it has been a fun new version of cardio to incorporate with my Tracy Anderson tapes.  Plus - it's a heck of a workout!

Benefits of Rowers:

1. Effective aerobic workout: Because it requires the use of so many major muscle groups, a rowing machine is an effective way to raise your heart rate and increase your oxygen uptake. The adjustable resistance on most rowers lets you easily work up to your target heart rate as well as slow back down to your resting rate. Some of these home gym machines even come with a wireless heart-rate chest strap to help you monitor your heart rate hands-free.
2. Efficient calorie burning: A rowing-machine workout burns an average of 600 calories an hour. That's more efficient than many other home gym machines on the market. On a stationary bike without arm involvement, you'd need to ride about an hour and 18 minutes to equal an hour workout on a rowing machine.
3. Conditioning for the upper body: As you might expect, rowing machines provide a decent upper-body workout. They involve the rhomboids in the shoulder, trapezius in the upper back and lats in the lower back. Your biceps, pecs and abs also do some work, although to a lesser extent. Because you need to maintain a strong grip on the oars, you'll also develop stronger hands and wrists, which are a benefit in many sports.
4. Conditioning for the lower body: Perhaps surprisingly, one of the top benefits of rowing machines is the workout they give the lower body. In fact, rowing enthusiasts consider rowing primarily a lower-body workout. The main leg muscles involved are the quads in the upper front of the thighs, but the calves and glutes (buttocks) are also involved. For the best lower-body workout, choose a rowing machine with a sliding seat.
5. Low risk of injury: The motion of rowing is natural and low impact, putting minimal stress on the joints. Because you're seated low to the ground, there's even less risk of falling than with a stationary bike. While back strain is a concern, you can minimize the risk of back strain by using correct rowing form. Proper rowing posture lets your legs do the work, taking the pressure off your back.

Article here.

Rowing Technique

Rowing technique on the erg broadly follows the same pattern as that of a normal rowing stroke on water, but with minor modifications: it is not necessary to "tap down" at the finish, since there are no blades to extract from water; but many who also row on water do this anyway. Sometimes an exaggerated finish, pulling the hands further up the chest than would be possible on water, is used.

Rowing on an ergometer requires four basics phases to complete one stroke; the catch, the drive, the finish and the recovery. The catch is the initial part of the stroke. The drive is where the power from the rower is generated while the finish is the final part of the stroke. Then, the recovery is the initial phase to begin taking a new stroke. The phases repeat until a time duration or a distance is completed.

Catch

Knees are bent with the shins in a vertical position. The back should be roughly parallel to the thigh without over extending. The arms and shoulders should be extended forward and relaxed. The arms should be level.

Drive

The drive is initiated by the extension of the legs; the body remains in the catch posture at this point of the drive. As the legs continue to full extension, the rower engages the core to begin the motion of the body levering backward, adding to the work of the legs. When the legs are flat, the rower begins to pull the handle toward the chest with their arms while keeping their arms straight and parallel to the floor.

Finish (or Release)

The legs are at full extension and flat. The shoulders are slightly behind the pelvis, and the arms are in full contraction with the elbows bent and hands against the chest below the nipples. The back of the rower is still maintained in an upright posture.

Recovery

The recovery is a slow slide back to the initial part of the stroke, it gives the rower time to recover from the previous stroke. During the recovery the actions are in reverse order of the drive. The arms are fully extended so that they are straight. The torso is engaged to move forward back over the pelvis. Weight transfers from the back of the seat to the front of the seat at this time. When the hands come over the knees, the legs contract back towards the foot stretcher. Slowly the back becomes more parallel to the thighs until the recovery becomes the catch.

Article here.