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| 09/20/06 15:35
What's it like to train at Pat Miletich's camp, the camp that trains UFC's top champions Matt Hughes, and Tim Sylvia? It's like no other martial arts gym you've ever experienced. No Katas. No ...
(More...) | 08/11/06 22:51
Looking for a convenient prepackaged meal program to control your hunger and help you loose weight? Nutrisystem could be for you. It's a great system that I continue to use every day, but also ...
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WorkItSmart.com is a fitness and weight loss community designed to keep you motivated, track your progress and measure the performance of
your fitness program. At WorkItSmart you can track as much or as little as you want to help you reach your goals:
- Track and blog your activities, your speed, distance, calories burned, weight lifted, etc, etc.
- Track and blog your meals as balanced by your activities to control your weight.
- Track and blog your weight over time to keep you on goal.
- Sign up with a friend and keep yourself motivated by keeping an eye on their fitness program!
To see exactly what you can do with WorkItSmart check out my WorkItSmart blog:
http://workitsmart.com/user/drachs/
To get started, just click "Create New Account" to the left. After you have an account, this dialog
will no longer appear. Also, if you're in to it, please check out my new website for the
Marine Reef Aquarium Community
If you have any questions, concerns, comments or suggestions please email me at:
David Hinkle
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Think you know what rowing is? Think again. Sport row boats are nothing like the fishing boats you may be familiar with. For starters, the rower sits on a sliding seat, almost 80% of the power he generates comes from his legs, and the seat runs on top of a boat no more than two feet wide. All in all, I've discovered that rowing is a great cardiovascular workout that works your legs, abdomen, back and chest with none of the joint problems associated with conventional exercises. Not to mention providing great views and a relaxing environment that I've never experienced in any other sport | |
| by David Hinkle - 08/04/06 00:51
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When I arrived at the QCRA boathouse I was immediately struck by the great shape everybody was in. Unlike your average health club, everybody here was toned and muscular.
The walls are lined with pictures of past victories. Considered one of the traditional powerhouses of the American rowing scene, the QCRA is a favorite in every event they send rowers to. With only about 70 adult members, the QCRA funds it's $700,000 boat house on the Mississippi river with private donations, city funds and a strong high school/college program in partnership with Augustana
The dues were surprising low. Only $250 bought me complete access to the boats and boathouse for a full year. Several training options were provided, none of which required membership to pursue..
$125 buys a seat in the standard beginners program. Taught in a multi person boat called a sweep, each rower handles one large oar, the class offers a low pressure environment for beginners to get comfortable in the boats and learn basic rowing skills as well as a discounted membership if he/she decides to join. Classes are 1.5 hours a piece, two days a week for one month.
Corporate row is a two week course open to 4 or 8 member teams from a single company that culminates in a 'regatta' (Rowing race) that pits company vs company. Each company that fields a team donates $200-$400 to the organization.
I missed the sweep class, so I opted for private lessons. $25 an hour bought me excellent advice from Brent Peterson, respected coach and former national champion.
I consider myself quite well coordinated, but I was surprised to discover how difficult the smaller one person boats called a skulls are keep upright. Spitting water and swimming back to the dock, I tell myself: "I guess he wasn't kidding when he said never let go of the oars."
My minor setback aside, rowing was great fun and an incredible workout. I've been working with Brent in the boat one or two days a week and on land in a rowing machine (Called an Erg) another one to two days a week.
On the river time flies, keeping my balance and steering have been my primary focus, as well as conditioning my body to row with proper form. The boat traffic and natural hazards keep things more interesting than you'd think. (I'm talking water plants, wakes and the occasional log, not class 4 rapids).
On land, I'm able to push myself much harder. Working on maintaining a consistent stroke rate for the full duration of my workouts has been my biggest challenge. The sport requires a great deal of conditioning, but after two and a half weeks, I've been excited to discover my muscles feeling harder and stronger than they ever have before.
The rower sits inside the boat facing the stern (rear) on a sliding seat with his feet inside a pair of shoes attached to the deck in front of him. He starts each stroke at what's called the release... Legs flat, upper body leaning back, hands with oars pulled into his chest just under the pecs. He spins the oars flat to extract them from the water, then pushes forward with his arms, leans forward with his abs, then pulls himself forward on the sliding seat with his legs, until his shins are perpendicular to the water, his chest is very near the back of his legs and his arms are extended forward in front of him. This is called the catch. The rower then spins the blades back upright and drops them into the water, pushes off hard with the legs and follows through with the back and arms.
This basic motion seems to work almost every muscle in the body. After a hard session on the erg I ache from shoulders to calfs. I expected a strong leg, bicep and upper back workout, but what surprised me the most was the degree to which the movement works the abs (As you pull yourself upright from the leaned back position to a sitting position), lower back (After you extend your legs, the lower back picks up where the legs left off), and pecs. (I don't know why it works your pecs, but I'll testify in court to some serious aches and pains.)
I'm looking forward to improving my technique to the point where I can get real workouts on the water, and when I do, you'll get part II!
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