(It’s good for your heart…and your mind!)
Forget all that commercialised romance stuff, rowing is where our heart is… Here’s why we know it’s the perfect workout partner, and we’re not alone. Two great indoor rowing initiatives are happening this weekend too…
Why We’re in Love with Rowing
For us at FloatRower™, this is what ticks the boxes for us:
Full body workouts – those satisfying ones that don’t just focus on a single body area
Low impact, but high intensity – less stress on your joints is and therefore far less likely to result in injury, or make an existing one worse, but you still get a top cardio workout
Fast results, your way – a workout that helps your fitness improve faster, and you can modify it if you’re carrying an injury
You get all of this and more in a single rowing session (and trust us, it’s even better on a FloatRower™)…
Full Body Workout
Rowing isn’t just about your arms and shoulders – in fact, a rowing session will work a staggering 86% of your muscles. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that your quads, glutes and calves play a major role, but your core is particularly important too – especially on FloatRower™, which requires you to keep your core engaged at all times to keep your balance. Your arms, upper back and pectoral muscles. also get involved, and not forgetting, the workout your mind is getting whilst you row. It's one of the most effective and efficient ways to work your body all over.
And because it’s also a great cardio workout, your whole cardiovascular system benefits too, ensuring a happy mind.
Low Impact, High Intensity
High impact exercise such as running stresses your joints and muscles, and can exacerbate existing injuries. Rowing is the perfect solution for this, because it gives you a great cardio workout without putting all that stress on your body – meaning you can get all the benefits of a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout without the strain and greater risk of injury.
FloatRower™ is even better than a standard static machine at this, because it mimics the floating action of a boat, which naturally distributes its weight over a wider area – meaning as you row, FloatRower™ pitches, which in turns means the strain is even less, and you can keep rowing harder for longer.
Faster Results, Your Way
On a rower, you can go at your own pace, and the harder you drive, the more resistance you get but because it’s a full body workout, your overall fitness will increase much more quickly than it will with a method that only works your legs or arms.
Plus, FloatRower™ has dual resistance. This means that instead of one rowing bar to pull when you’re rowing, there are two separate handles, like the oars in a boat - and the resistance of each one can be changed up or down to suit you and your fitness. Especially useful if you are carrying an injury, or need to favour one side over the other.
It's also the perfect partner if you’ve got a prosthetic. Read what adaptive rower Sophie Harris thought when she climbed aboard, in our previous post here: https://www.floatrower.com/single-post/meet-the-athlete-sophie-harris
Trade your Run for a Row at Acton Park
So rowing is clearly the ideal choice as a warm-up and/or workout partner – and the David Lloyd Club at Acton Park are helping their members to discover those brilliant rowing benefits on Saturday 5 Feb. They’re inviting them to “Trade their Run for a Row”: swapping their usual warm-up on the treadmill for a session on one of their two FloatRowers™ instead, with the aim of adding up everyone’s efforts to the distance of a marathon over four hours - that's 40k metres on each one!
Hollie Strawson is a personal trainer at the Acton Park Club, and has at least 40 members signed up for the challenge already. As a triathlete and runner herself, she knows well that running can take its toll on the body. “I love running, but it’s hard on the knees. Rowing offers a brilliant warm-up option instead, because it’s low-impact but still gets all the key muscles going, including the core - so we want to show our members how great it is too.
"We’ve got members coming to take part as teams to take turns in their slots, and as individuals as well - all contributing to the total metres rowed and discovering the benefits of a different type of warm up.”
As well as building a community and encouraging members to try a FloatRower™ row instead of a run, the four-hour marathon will also be part of the incredible 2022 EnduRow challenge...
EnduRow 2022 – Pulling Together
We passionately believe that rowing should be open for everyone to enjoy, and it’s one of our top values at FloatRower™ – so we were delighted that through Acton Park’s involvement, we could be part of the EnduRow Challenge in partnership with the Para Rowing Foundation, also being held on 5 Feb. This global, livestreamed charity rowing event was founded by Steven Dowd, who sustained a spinal cord injury in 2016 which left him with no movement or sensation below the neck. After a clinical research trial his sensation began to return – and against the odds, he regained his mobility. He now creates charity challenge events in support of those with impairments, and this is the second annual EnduRow event he has held.
Steven describes it for us: “It’s the world’s biggest, live-streamed, fully-inclusive charity rowing challenge. Anyone, no matter their age or ability, can take part – and everyone’s contribution counts.
“You can do it on your machine at home (that’s called a Mic-Row) or at a participating venue – row the whole four hours, or complete it as part of a team. The whole event is live-streamed, and this year we have 25 countries from all over the world taking part – on five out of six continents.
“It’s everyone, everywhere, pulling together – and all of the money we’re raising will go to Para Rowing.”
If you’d like to find out more about the challenge, it’s not too late to take part or donate! Discover how to sign up on the website, and follow along on social media on the day: https://www.endurowchallenge.com/
Fall in love with rowing this Valentine’s Day – your heart will truly thank you for it (and so will your joints, core, pecs, quads, overall fitness and of course, your mind…)
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