Power stroke: when a competitive rower lands in a class, the lessons she learns indoors give her an edge on the water

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, Feb, 2004 by Eileen Hansen

iT's THE DARK HOUR OF 6 A.M. AND I'm at a strip mall in Costa Mesa, Calif., seated alongside a dozen other hardy souls, sweating, smiling and moving in unison to the pulsing sounds of techno-pop. An instructor urges us on, his voice fighting to stay above the music and a background whir of flywheels.

An early morning Spinning class? No. I'm not climbing imaginary hills or racing over fantasy terrain. Instead, I'm moving up and down the slides of an indoor rowing machine (known as an ergometer), engaged in an indoor workout that's unlike any other I've ever encountered.

In fact, you can usually find me rowing at this time of day--only not indoors, but out where I watch the sunrise from my single scull in relative silence. I'd never contemplated taking an indoor class until Alison, a friend and fellow rower, promised that the Iron Oarsman class would not only be great exercise, but would also help me improve my outdoor rowing. "And the class is run by Xeno Muller, an Olympic gold medalist," she said, adding the clincher. "Say no more," I told her. "Save me a spot."

THE INDOOR DIFFERENCE

So here I am, puffing through what Muller calls his "rowing cocktail," an entertaining 50-minute medley that pushes the body's limits with a mix of drills and sprints. The routine is lively and Muller keeps his students, who range in age from their early twenties to late forties, on their toes. "OK, now I want you to travel only a quarter of the way up the slide for 10 strokes, then a half slide for 10, and full slide for 10," he says. "And Eileen, don't break your arms so soon. Get the power from your legs, from your hips."

I take Muller's advice and the numbers on the ergometer's performance monitor leap to action. Suddenly, I'm sprinting faster and rowing farther and, rather than feeling more difficult, it feels easier. I keep it up, trying to emulate Muller's technique, using the ergometer's monitor to guide me. Alison had told me that she drives an hour and half to take Muller's class before going to her job as a marketing manager because nothing else gives her the same kind of feedback. In one of those "aha!" moments, I begin to understand why.

Muller's teaching is all about the application of power. In other words, it's not just how strong or fit you are, it's how efficiently you use your body to apply power. Nice as the view may be on the water, I have to admit that it's hard to tell how well you're actually doing when you're out there rowing all by yourself. The ergometer display, on the other hand, especially combined with a heart rate monitor, gives you a pretty good measure of your fitness, strength and economy of motion--and that's something you can't get on a Spinning bike. "Besides," says Muller, making the case for the class, "rowing, even on an erg, uses the entire body. It's great cardiovascular exercise that engages every major muscle group and burns maximum calories for the effort. Plus, it's non-impact and promotes flexibility."

MULTIPLE BENEFITS

The fact that the class can benefit anyone--rower, cyclist, swimmer, runner, your average fitness seeker--seems borne out by the attendees. After class, I ask a few fellow "ergers" what their sports are. There's a competitive body surfer, a cyclist, a runner and a sprinkling of rowers. They all say they've become more fit and that their sprint times on the erg have dropped. To prove it, they show me a log book where Muller notes each student's times. He keeps it, he says, not to show who's fastest, but to help individuals chart their progress, relate it to power application and apply it to their other sports.

I think back to Spinning classes I've attended. While I worked up a good sweat, they lacked this sense of athleticism, this idea that we can learn how to engage our bodies to become not just fitter, but also better at what we love. The next day, I put this theory to the test. As I row in my racing shell, I flash back to Muller's words. As the boat glides beneath me and my oars engage, I think about my legs as pistons, my hips as the source. Pressing against the footstretchers, I apply the power, and the boat shoots forward toward the rising sun.

RELATED ARTICLE: INDOOR ROWING COMPETITIONS

Indoor rowing competitions offer a great way to beat the wintertime training blues. Competitions are held across the country, and the granddaddy of events, the C.R.A.S.H.-B. Indoor World Rowing Championships, takes place in Boston in February. Anyone, from beginners to Olympic athletes, can enter. The races are typically 2,000 meters. For more information visit www.crash-b.org or go to www.concept2.com and look under "Indoor Racing" for a list of events around the country.

RELATED ARTICLE: ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT

GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR STATIONARY WORKOUT

Working out on a stationary rower, or erg, is a great way to build all-over strength and fitness. As with any new exercise, take a gradual approach to increasing intensity. Keep your stroke rate low--around 20 to 26 strokes per minute, says Xeno Muller, and build from there. Here, his "rowing cocktail" for beginning ergers.