2008

Row, row, row a boat (or a Concept 2 rower)

Row, row, row a boat (or a Concept 2 rower)
Rowing is one of the (if not) best compound exercises you can do to improve and support your cardiovascular fitness.  I've incorporated rowing into my Crossfit workouts and it has done wonders for my endurance.  My cardiovascular system has had some tremendous gains.  Rowing provides me with both an anaerobic and aerobic exercise depending on how hard I push myself.  Last night I took a fairly moderate pace, and rowed 10,000 meters in 39:33.08  (this works out to about a 1:58/500 meter row).  At the end of that I felt great, but at no point did I hit anaerobic threshold.

Alternatively, on days where I feel like working my anaerobic threshold, I'll do 1,000 meter sprints for time.   This is balls to the wall intensity for short bouts of time.  It takes me about 3:20 to complete a 1,000 meters.  I'll rest for 3 to 5 minutes and then go again.  this also forces my body to work its recovery.  Give it a try!

How to use a Concept 2 Rowing Machine


The rowing action has been broken down into this key sequence of movements (as per Dr. Thomas Mazzone ):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlWUPkXrq24

The Catch; The Drive(composed of the leg emphasis, body swing emphasis and lastly the arm pull through emphasis); The Finish and finally The Recovery. I highly recommend visiting the Concept 2 website for a detailed explanation of the muscles used during these 4 sequences.

Also, the concept 2 site provides a wonderful explanation on the technique to use while rowing.

[caption id="attachment_17525" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Concept 2 Rower - EPIC ERG!Concept 2 Rower - EPIC ERG![/caption]

And for all you CrossFitters out there, check out this video for a good " basics on rowers " as viewed at the Crossfit.com website.

A Fantastic Concept 2 Workout - Tabata Time!


Oh yeah, before I forget, if you are feeling adventurous, try a concept 2 tabata workout!  Check  out this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVx7alwlVuE&
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