When it comes to implementing the best fitness program for you and your goals, most people think that if I want to get strong then the only thing I need to do is to lift heavy weights, then completely disregard flexibility training or cardiovascular exercise.
Then the flip side happens when people think that in order to gain speed and have a faster running time for a run all they need to do is run.
The truth is that everyone no matter what your fitness goal, you need to make sure that your program is comprehensive of cardiovascular training, strength training and flexibility training to prevent injury and overtraining.
Incorporating all three will help your body to perform at it’s best and better yet, it will feel effortless!
This month I want to challenge everyone to try something new and to implement a piece of equipment that they may have never used before or never thought about.
Let’s talk about the benefits of incorporating the rower into your weekly routine 🙂
Benefits:
- This Total Body Exercise utilizes 86% of the muscles in your entire body which helps to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time
- Rowing is a low-impact exercise. If you have bad joints you can still increase the intensity and activate the muscles involved in running without increasing injury.
- Rowing is great for all fitness levels.
- Rowing can be a meditative exercise by helping you get into a “zone” and help you to decrease stress by clearing your mind.
- Rowing can be used as a cross-training tool for people who usually walk, run, bike, or use other cardiovascular machines such as a treadmill or elliptical to help increase their cardiovascular endurance but takes the compressive force off their joints.
Common Issues/Misconceptions:
- People don’t activate their core properly during the entire movement which can result in low back pain. Start implementing this exercise in small increments so that you can maintain proper form during the entire workout before increasing the amount of time that you are on the rower.
- This machine utilizes 65-75% legs and only 25-35% arms which most people would think it’s more of an upper-body exercise…..false!
Main Muscle Groups Incorporated:
Quadriceps
Glutes
Calves
Abdominals
Obliques
Upper Back Muscles
Chest Muscles
Biceps
Shoulders
Triceps
Are you up for a CHALLENGE?
Join us for a 30,000 meter rowing challenge. Download the free accountability worksheet and fill in the stars for every 1,000 meters rowed. Try to hit 30,000 meters within a month.
Happy Rowing 🙂
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