Welcome to another great Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up where Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Jen from Pretty Little Grub, Michelle at Fruition Fitness and I bring you workout ideas, motivation, inspiration and recipes to try. Join us each week by reading along, linking up and grab the button to proudly display on your blog/in your posts!
Rowing is something I never really paid much attention to until I started doing CrossFit. These little machines make their way into our workouts quite often. They make for a great warm up to get the blood flowing, but they can also make for a killer cardio-blast during a WOD. I've come to really enjoy rowing (I even just took an entire rowing-focused class at ), so why not share its awesomeness with you?
Now that I'm in marathon-training mode, I'm putting my body through a lot of high-impact activity. I want to compliment pounding the pavement with some lower-impact workouts. Rowing is an excellent ways for runners to cross train as it's easy on the knees and targets a nice chunk of upper body muscles.
...But It's Sill Challenging
Just because something is low-impact, doesn't mean it will have no impact! Rowing can still help you work up a serious sweat, get the heart rate up and burn major calories.
It's More Than Just Cardio
I'm all about workouts that provide multiple benefits, and rowing does just that. It will give you a great cardio workout, but it also involves a ton of resistance. Twofer! Simply increase the resistance and you'll instantly be challenging those muscles even more.
It Works All The Muscles
Ok, maybe not ALL, but rowing works muscles throughout the entire body. Leg pushes work the quads, hammies and glutes. Your core works to stabilize your lower spine and keep your form in check, and your upper back and arms work to pull that handlebar toward your chest. After a touch rowing session, you'll be feeling it ALL over.
"Ok, Nicole. I'm sold on rowing, but I'm not exactly sure how to do it."
I've got you covered, young grasshopper!
How To Use A Rowing Machine:
- Adjust the foot straps so that the strap goes over your big toe.
- Grab the handle using an overhand grip. Hands should be toward the outside of each handle, so that your pinkies are almost hanging off.
- Get into starting position by extending your legs and pulling the bar into your chest. Ladies, the handle should hit at the bottom of your sports bra. Fellas, right at the pecks. This will also be where you end after each stroke.
- To begin, extend your arms back toward the front of the rower, keeping your back straight. Your torso should go from being angled slightly back to being angled slightly forward.
- Once the handle bar passes your knees, bend your knees and slide your body forward. You should now have straight arms and bent legs.
- Now, push off with your feet to straighten your legs but keep the arms straight. As you continue to straighten your legs, begin to lean the torso slightly back.
- Then pull with the arms, bringing the handle bar into the chest. You should be back at your starting position.
- Continue this push and pull at low speed and low resistance until you get the hang of it and it becomes fluid. Remember to keep your back straight and core engaged.
If all else fails, check out these Guinea Pigs. Perfect form...
Once you've got the hang of it, give this Total Body Rowing Workout a try!
Row: (see above)
Push-Up: Place your hands directly beneath your shoulders and turn them outward slightly. Get in a plank position, abs pulled in, back flat. Keep your elbows in tight to your body as you lower your body all the way to floor. Your chest should be touching the ground. Push yourself back up to a plank. Repeat.
Kettlebell Swings: Stand with feet hip-width apart. To begin, soften the knees, shift your weight into your heels, send your butt back and keep your chest upright. Grip the kettlebell (which should be in line with the middle of your feet) so that your palms face you. Then drive through your heels, explode through the hips, and swing the kettlebell up to chest height with the arms extended. Squeeze your booty at the top. Allow the weight of the kettlebell to help bring you back to the starting position and swing back between your legs. Keep moving vs. stopping to reset each time and choose a weight that allows you to swing with good technique while still feeling a bit challenging.
V-Ups: Lay on the floor with legs extended out in front of you and arms extended on the floor overhead. Keep your feet together and your legs straight as you lift the legs up and raise the upper body, reaching for the toes with your hands and creating a "V" shape with your body. Keep the core engaged at all times. If this is too difficult, you can bend at the knees.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Hold two dumbbells up to your shoulders, palms facing in toward each other. Straighten the arms and lift the dumbbells overhead, turning the palms to face outward as you do so. Return to start and repeat.
Alrighty, let's see how you're getting wild with those workouts! Join the link up below and share with #wildworkoutwednesday (full link up rules here).
Let's Chat:
Is rowing part of your workout routine?
