How a Rowing Machine Can Change Your Workout

Are you looking for a piece of exercise equipment toAre You Overweight?
add a new dimension to your workouts? The rowingIf you are carrying some additional weight, you will hit
machine can offer you an intense low impact workoutthe gym to try and lose the fat. The greater your body
to offer you training variety while minimising potentialmass, the greater the risk of receiving injuries when
for injury. The rowing machine allows you to get arunning. This is due to a relatively larger stress on the
great cardiovascular workout, quickly bringing youlegs. If weight loss is your goal you want to remain
heart rate up to a high level while also working theinjury free. The rower does not discriminate with
pulling muscles in the upper body. The rower can beregard to body mass; it simply is not a factor.
set at varying resistances, from 1 being least to 10Are you recovering from an injury?
being the greatest.Many sports injuries are due to overuse and stress
There are not many pieces of training equipment in theand rehabilitation has to be performed carefully to
gym which can develop functional upper body strengthprevent further injury. Professional athletes push the
while maintaining the same level of work on the lowerbody to its physical limits so continually pounding the
body. The benefit many people find in a rowingpavement will bring increased injury and potentially
machine is that it is a non impact system. The force ofshorten a career.
your body weight is not being placed on any of yourA non impact form of exercise such as the rowing
joints.machine can allow athletes and gym goers alike the
When you are running, every stride is taking you closeropportunity to exercise at a high intensity while
to a repetition or overuse injury. The stress on youravoiding injury. It is no secret that Olympic rowers are
knees and ankles is approximately 10 times you bodyone of if not the fittest types of athletes experiencing
mass and after time your legs cannot cope withcareers well into their forties, such as Steve Redgrave
repetitive stress of these forces. This results in shin(UK).
splints, runners' knee and a multitude of running relatedThe rower can be applied to intervals really easily,
injuries. When rowing, however, your body weight issimply perform a sprint of say 250 metres and rest
not a factor and these injuries are avoided.for 30 seconds, and repeat three further times.
Rowing can be especially important if you arePerforming 5 sets of this routine will give you an
overweight, recovering from injury or recovering fromamazing high intensity interval training program.
another intense physical activity.