Row, Row, Row Your (Non-)Boat

Row, Row, Row Your (Non-)Boat

A rowing machine, or rower, is a low-to-the-ground apparatus with a seat, footboards,and handles. Adjust the seat so your feet can brace comfortably against the footboard when you are leaning back at the apex of the rowing stroke. Most rowers’ footboards have straps to secure your feet. The secret of effective rowing is to begin pushing back with your legs before you begin pulling on the handles. Although this is a good upper-body exercise, your legs should be doing 60 percent of the work. As you pull on the oars, allow your back to arch naturally but try to keep your elbows close to your sides.Return to the starting position in one fluid motion.
The machine’s console tracks how many meters you have rowed, your time, your stroke output, and the approximate number of calories burned. Studio rowing classes and even competitions abound. There’s even a computer interface that can simulate races with up to 10 boats at a time, and you can team rowers as singles, doubles, fours, or eights, as if they really are sculling on a lake or river.
If you prefer a kayak, Crossrobics makes a machine that simulates kayak paddling rather than rowing with oars. You sit astride the machine, brace your feet on the footblocks, and paddle with an alternate-arm movement. The bar angles across the body, and the end that is “out of the water’rises while the one “in the water” dips.