Rowing….
As you know our new summer quarter challenge here at HFA is
the Sloth-a-thon. Now this training is meant to be totally doable for any level
of athlete. In the period of time allotted for the 3rd quarter
challenge you must complete the distance of either a half ironman triathlon or
for the ambitious a full ironman triathlon. We intended that this challenge not only would
get participants out moving, but would also encourage them to try some new
forms of exercise.
The most intimidating sport in triathlon is by far the
swimming events. Very few people have real confidence in the water. Since most triathletes
start out as runners or bikers, most have to learn how to competitively swim to
participate in this genre. Because we realize that learning to swim, for the
non-swimmers out there for the sloth-a-thon was not a reasonable request for
most we have also given you the rowing options.
The rowing machine as gained popularity in the last few
years thanks to cross-fit gyms everywhere, but before that, I had named it the
machine most likely to gather dust. You always saw one in the dark corner of
most gyms, shiny and new, lonely and forlorn looking. I often asked myself why
these great machines went without use. I have one word for those out there with
the same quandary. HARD, rowing machines are hard. They are heart rate raising,
upper body shredding, core and low back strengthening monsters. Even the most
cardio fit people out there will find themselves worm out in a matter of
meters, not minutes. Even CrossFit gyms are most likely to use them for warmups
that last 5-10 minutes at most. Athletes that can stay on them for endurance
training are some of the fittest people I know. This also makes them
intimidating, but it is time to face your fears and climb on.
HFA has been proud owners of our own rowing machine for a
couple of years now. This trainer was in fact gifted our machine from a client
who had purchased a house in which the previous owners had left the machine
behind. There loss was our gain however, and here are a few workout ideas to
get you started on your road to rowing mastery.
The 30/30
This is simply the easiest way to build stamina. After a 2
minute warm up pair 30 minutes of high intensity rowing with low intensity
recovery rowing. To really mix it up, Every 3 minutes jump off and perform 30
push-ups or sit ups depending on what your target muscle groups are.
The one minute pyramid
It’s time to watch the clock. Setting your meters per minute
at a challenging pace, simply row for 1 minute, and then come to a complete
stop for one minute. You think these sounds easy because you are getting to basically
stop completely every minute but you will be surprised how challenging it will
start to feel after the first 10 minutes. Keep up the intervals for at least 25
minutes, and don’t forget to cool down.
So get your cardio on and get with those challenge miles.
Good luck!
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