Rowing Resolutions: Getting Started on the Concept2 Indoor Rower

Did you find a shiny new rowing machine under your Christmas tree? Or perhaps you’re ready to take on the indoor rower at the gym as part of a New Year’s fitness resolution? However you use it, there’s nothing quite like the Concept2 Indoor Rower to help you reach your fitness goals, and the Concept2 website has an excellent Tips and General Info section to get off to a great start with your indoor rower. The basic keys to success are:

1. Start slowly and build. (Here’s the usual disclaimer: Check with your doctor before beginning any fitness program.) Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes and include plenty of cool down, particularly if fitness isn’t a habit for you. A warm-up or cool-down should include easy, light rowing.

2. Join the community. As much fun as it can be to row in solitude, there’s nothing quite like the online community that Concept2 provides with its SkiErg and rowing challenges. Create an online logbook and start tracking your meters. From there you’ll be able to join teams—like UCanRow2’s in the Virtual Team Challenge. 

3. Get the technique down. There are two excellent videos on technique that you should watch before you start, one that features American Olympian Caryn Davies and the other from Concept2 UK. If you want more help after that, or if you’re looking to perfect your technique, consider signing up for one of the Indoor Rowing Foundations workshops that are offered throughout the year, or look for a Certified Indoor Rowing Instructor in your area.

4. Practice, practice, practice. Rowing is a lifelong sport and, like golf, the quest for the perfect stroke is eternal. There is no substitute for putting in the miles on the water or the meters on the machine. Need a quick refresher while you’re on the machine? There’s a visual on rowing technique in your Performance Monitor at More Information>How to Row. The more you row, the better, more efficient, and fitter you will get!

May you reach and surpass your health and fitness goals in 2012. ROW ON!