Rowing used to be my cross training to my running, but ever since my metatarsals started to niggle, rowing has become my core low-impact workout.
It is strange to be on the Running Injury Couch with a little niggle - I can walk and go about my daily work - but that little niggle keeps me from running! It sometimes gets a bit worse after a foot-intensive Yoga session and after a few easy restful days it gets better. As they say, ligaments and bones heal slowly and one has to be patient! My hubby promised me that at least healed bones will be stronger than before. So there’s that to look forward to!
So I take it easy on the feet, and one thing which I seem to be able to do without too much impact is indoor rowing.
I am rowing my way through some virtual worlds on Zwift, but have now started a 30 day rowing journey by Scottish rowing & film-maker John Steventon as part of his RowAlong (row along his videos) YouTube channel:
It had dropped during “Rovember” last November 2021, so still hot off the press, and it has 30 days of 30 min rowing, all along to his videos which talk you through different types of warmups, workouts, and choices of paces and intervals whilst rowing jolly-ly along. I’ll not be doing these every single day, maybe 5 or 6 per week, but they do keep me immensely motivated. And recovery seems shorter after rowing workouts then they do for running workouts! So 5-6 days of workouts per week, if not overdoing it in terms of intensity, should be fine.
They’re also great for getting into the world of rowing. Just as my Yoga Journey taught me all I needed to know about props, vinyasas and flows, this time around I’m learning a lot there is to know about rowing techniques, 2k paces at 500m and why these are important, force curves, dampeners, ErgData and ErgZone apps, and virtual rowing events.
His videos are really well made, and it’s very easy to listen to him chatter away whilst you make sure you keep up with his interval settings or other instructions.
So if there is anyone interested in getting started with rowing as a brilliant way to do cross training, at home or at the gym, and you want a video to row along to, this is a great way to do it. All his row-along videos are also available as podcasts, so there is really no excuse for even in a public gym.
I am in my final days of this series, and it has kept my stint on the injury couch very active, fun and hopefully also increased my fitness and strength in legs, core and back up for when I return to rowing.
So just to keep my links available, here the links to the posts during the weeks on the injury couch. I’ve added a few terms to each link, as a means of reference:
Tales from the IC: Getting to know my Metatarsals (# 1) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (Metatarsalgia, fracture vs Morton’s Neuroma, shoes, barefoot and zero-drop shoes, exercises to strengthening toes)
Tales from the IC: zero-drop shoe quandaries (# 2) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (more about barefoot running, yoga for toes)
Tales from the IC: Reader, I ran today. (#3) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (trying out a short hill run, IPhone issues)
Tales from the IC : More Virtual Running Fun (#8)healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (update on my rowing in all virtual races, also start of RowAlong 30x30)
Tales from the IC : Rowed runner intervals and hot lava! (#9) healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (third week of daily rowing and missing running)
Tales from the IC (#10): Running vs Rowing. My experience of two different worlds healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (differences between rowing and running, differences between different running vs rowing online communities, differences in stats)
Tales from the IC (#11): I dreamt I was running healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (update on all virtual rowing challenges)
Tales from the IC (#12): Strong knees and cute toeshealthunlocked.com/bridgeto... (finished Jan rowing challenges, starting to think how to get back to running)
I’m redoing this series of 30 rowing workouts! Day 1 done and my time has improved considerably. Day one has intervals, alternating between 20 and 24 strokes per minute.
Last December when I did this session I managed 4.4 km in 30 minutes. Today I managed 4.9 km, without straining too much! Pretty happy about that!
Day 19: Getting through these slowly. 11 days to go. And a few other rows in-between! Today’s session: 30 min 5k, 5 times 6 minutes with 18/22/26/22/18 SPM.
I’m currently doing the 2022 Version of the 30x30, where you can choose between a music and a naked version. ‘Naked’ as in no music …. I know what you were thinking !🧏🏼♀️ 🤔🫢🤭
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Intermediate workout 
30 Day BREATH day 18 
