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Mention "rowing for exercise" and most
people will think of using an indoor exercise machine at the gym or at
home. How boring.
But if you are fortunate enough to have
access to the water, there is a much more exciting way to get this kind of
exercise: rowing a boat!
Imagine that!
You go out and have fun on the water—and
you get good exercise at the same time—maybe without even being aware of
it!!
The new FrontRower™
rowing system makes this a lot easier than old fashioned racing-style
systems (which you row facing backward). And you don't need to have
a racing type boat to get good exercise, you can use an ordinary canoe.
Some good points about exercising with
the FrontRower are:
First of all, the FrontRower™ is
comfortable. You can be out rowing for a long time before you start
feeling any discomfort from pressure points.
Secondly, when you row with the
FrontRower, you are using the largest muscles in your body (those in your
legs and back) for power. So, although you may be doing a lot of
"work" in terms of burning calories, the perception of effort is low.
You also exercise your shoulders, arms and abdomen without even thinking
about it.
Thirdly, you can row at almost any
intensity level, from very gentle to moderate to vigorous. You can
row with just you legs or just your arms or both combined. If you
feel like you're not getting enough exercise, you can row harder or bring
a passenger with you.
And finally, rowing is low impact, making
it easier on your joints than high impact activities such as running.
Aerobic Heart Rate Chart.
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There are three major elements to exercise:
(1) aerobic or cardio vascular training,
(2) resistance or strength
training, and
(3) stretching or flexibility training.
Rowing is primarily aerobic exercise.
Aerobic exercise uses large muscles, in a continuous rhythmic motion, to
elevate your heart rate. This conditions your heart, your arteries,
and your lungs. It helps ward off heart disease, diabetes and cancer
and can improve mood, memory and the ability to learn.
Strength training usually involves lower
repetitions at higher resistance than rowing and is typically done with
weights (barbells and dumbbells) at a gym. This type of training
adds muscle mass.
Stretching for flexibility should be done
after you are fully warmed up and should include all the major muscle
groups 3 times a week.
The American Heart Association recommends
aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week, and
recommends intensity levels based on target heart rates according to your
age and fitness level.
The American Heart Association
estimates that you gain about two hours of life expectancy for each hour
of regular, vigorous exercise, and lists rowing as being especially
beneficial.
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