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:
youtube.com/playlist?list=P...
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.
Details here again are:
RowAlong 30 Days of 30 Minute Rowing Workouts : youtube.com/playlist?list=P...
Enjoy!