I see my friends doing heavy exercises in the gym either seeing them physically or their face used to tell about their workout. Today almost all the people especially the youth spend their maximum time in the gym, doing heavy exercises in order to make their body fit. But have you feel being exhausted by doing these heavy exercises? Do you know any exercise or the equipment which is meant for us in calculating the power without making us fatigue? If not, here I am with this article that will make you know about the equipment.
WHAT IS ROWING MACHINE?
Rowing basically means the sport of propelling a boat. The rowing machine is the one which is designed for physical exercises. Also known as ergometers it is used for the purpose of exercise for rowing. An ergometer is a device which is used to give the result of the work performed. It basically measures the output power of a human being and is used to the strengthening the muscle. The rowing machine is also known as an indoor rower and as the name specifies the exercises can be done inside the home or at the gym. There is one another type of rowing which is known as outdoor rowing. It includes the sports such as cycle rowing, water rowing and much more.
HISTORY OF ROWING MACHINE
Knowing the history of anything is always full of fun and excitement. It is the curiosity of the human beings that make him think about the past theories of anything, whether it is related to inventions, war or anything. The invention of any new thing takes lots of time and hard work. The one who is trying to invent anything has to think about the whole society that how the invention would be useful for the mankind and how it can be easily used. Well, talking about the history of rowing machine the first rowing machine was introduced by Chabrias, an Athenian of the 4th century. From the study, it has been found that the early rowing machines existed back in the 1800s. At that time the machine does not simulate actual rowing nor it measures power. However in the 1950s and 1960s first rowing machine came which was used to measure power or the amount of work performed by a human being. It was John Harrison who came up with the rowing machine. The model was a large heavy solid iron flywheel with a mechanical friction large brake. He realized the importance of a machine which would be used for power measurement without exhausting the human beings. He was influenced by the ideas of Frank Cotton who was one of the fathers of modern athletic physiological training and testing. The ideas made him think of a machine which would tell the power without making the human being feel fatigue. He came up with the frictional brake which was adjusted according to rower’s weight. Harrison was honored with the father of athletic power evaluation for his extraordinary work. He died on February’s 2012.
In 1970 new rowing machines came up with industrial strapping. Strapping means applying strap which is a flexible flat material made of steel to modify it by making it more stabilized, faster. In the new one, weights were hung from the strap which ensures that the desired friction is calculated.
LEADING BRANDS OF INDOOR ROWING MACHINE
The companies which manufacture these rowing machines look upon many factors to make their products more popular among the people. But most important they think about the reliability of the product. Further, they proceed on brand reputation, comfort, functions and features, and price. The customer who is buying the product give less importance to price and are more concerned about the reliability and comfort.
- CONCEPT2: – Starting back in 1978 by two rowers Dick and Pete Dreissigackers, today it is one of the leading brands of the rowing machines. Their two models Model D and Model E created a benchmark in the field of physical exercises and are the most trusted model to be made. Model D came around 2003 and contains the new PM5 performance monitor which was enough to compete with other models. It is most popular in gyms. The brother of Model D came in 2006 and was Model E which became more popular than Model D. This model share some of the components of its brother and became the most popular in gyms because of its seat height, as it becomes easier for other people who is suffering from any injury. It is also considered to be as the gym favorite machine. The first ever model made by this company was Model A in1981 that uses the bicycle wheels with flaps for resistance and consists of a normal speedometer to measure the amount of work done by a human being. Then came Model B in 1986 which uses more sophisticated flywheel fitted with large fans for resistance and was considered to be as the modified form of Model A. After Model A and Model B, Model C came in 1993 and became the most popular rowing machine till Model D came into existence. It uses a more advanced flywheel with attached lever for resistance.
- BODYCRAFT: – One of the companies renowned for its affordable equipment aims to bring the quality products to the customers and has been in the market since 1994.
- PROFORM: – They made both rowing machines and treadmills but most popular in making treadmills. They first started selling their products in U.S and further expanded their market around the world.
- KETTLER: – This German company came into existence in 1949 and since they have been known for making treadmills, bikes and rowing machines. With their first bike in 1970, it has revolutionized the world of bicycles.
WHAT IS OUTDOOR ROWING?
Outdoor rowing includes the sports such as water rowing, cycle rowing. Water rowing is one of the oldest sport played since Ancient Egyptian Times. In this sports people sit on the boat and using the oars, they cut the stream and propel forward. However there is always a confusion between a paddle and an oar, But there is a difference between these two. Paddles are held by the paddlers and are connected to the vessel but an oar is connected to the vessel through rowlocks which transmit the force to the boat. Water rowing is almost same as of canoeing and kayaking. However, the main difference is that the oar is fixed in case of canoeing and kayaking but it is not fixed in rowing.
From the detailed study by historians and archaeologists, several shreds of evidence have been found regarding water rowing. An Egyptian inscription says that the sport was renowned for its oarsmanship. In the 1700s it became popular in the United Kingdom where the sport was organized on River Thames and the prizes were distributed by London Guilds and the wealthy families.
Rowing cycle is a wheeled vehicle moved by rowing motion of the body. The rowing machine is different from traditional bicycles with respect to the output generation of torque. This idea of propelling the bicycle by means of rowing was put forward by George W. Lee in 1870. After it became popular it was organized many times with some modification in the product. In 1920 a German Company made a land boat which was further known as Row mobile and it became popular in many parts of the world. Water Rowing includes these types of races; head race, bump race and stake race. Head races are the time trial race which takes place from autumn to early spring. Head to the river race is one of the most popular head race was founded by Steve Fairbairn in 1926. This event takes place in March every year on river Thames. A Bumps race is a multiday race in which the boat is lined in regular intervals. In this race, the crew member has to overtake the boat ahead of it, so there is a chance of having physical contact with the boats. The Stake race is most popular in America. Only two boats are allowed in this race to avoid a collision. Lightweight Rowing is also one of the sports included in outdoor rowing, where the limits are placed on the weight of the competitors. Lightweight is most popular in the United States. In the United States this sport is regularly held in schools and colleges which prove its popularity. In 1974 first lightweight events were added to World Championship for men and 1985 for women. It was added to the Olympics in 1996.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INDOOR ROWING AND OUTDOOR ROWING
In many respects indoor and outdoor rowing are different. In outdoor rowing one does his exercise in the open air where one can enjoy the beauty of nature, however, in indoor rowing, it doesn’t happen so. For outdoor rowing one should know all the ways of using it and also must have some experience in the same thing, but in indoor rowing, even a person is the first time to it he can understand everything in few minutes. Outdoor rowing requires a great deal of balance but it doesn’t require so in indoor rowing. Outdoor rowing equipment is much costlier than indoor rowing equipment. One must be concentrated in the sports such as water rowing, but it is not required to be fully concentrated or you don’t have to worry about the bumping of lands while doing exercises at home or at the gym.
BENEFITS OF ROWING
The primary benefit of rowing is that it makes us mentally tough. It helps in burning calories as it includes exercises in which there is a lot of wear and tears in our body. It increases the heart function and helps the carbohydrates in providing energy to the body. It offers low impact exercises because it exercises all the major muscle groups in our body. It reduces stress and exercises all the parts and joints in our body. It offers the best aerobic exercise. The rowing exercises help in muscle toning. The rowing muscle starts with a powerful push, which exercises our legs. It enhances our lung’s ability to supply oxygen to the heart which it pumps throughout the body. During rowing, our body suffers a large number of movements which make our joints and muscles more flexible. One must also take care of the diet. The person should take an excessive number of eggs and must not take the spicy and junk foods. Before doing any exercises on rowing machine one must do stretching as it makes the movement of muscles and joint more flexible.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ROWING
The word interesting always creates curiosity in the mind of people to know about that particular thing. Here are some of the interesting facts about rowing.
Rowing is the most original sport played in Olympics and the sport demands high strength and the pain that muscle can tolerate. The most interesting fact about rowing is that the founder of modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin was himself a rower. According to the report, it is the third largest delegation in the Olympic games. The first ever rowing race took place in 1852 between Harvard and Yale. However, rowing was accepted as a sport back in 1828 where Universities of Oxford and Cambridge ran the first boat race. In 1839 first ever rowing club was found in the USA. In 1999 Jamie Koven became the first American to win the gold medal in this event since 1966. He created the history in the field of sports. Rowing is a full body exercise and the most interesting fact about this game is that anyone can row. The usual distance for a race is 2000 meters. In 1843 Yale college founded the first collegiate boat club in the USA. Basically, there are two types of water rowing, sweep rowing and sculling rowing. The main difference between the two is that in sweep rowing athlete has to hold one oar with his single hand while in sculling athlete holds two oars in each hand. This sport seems to very easy but it is not so. Holding oars in hands and cutting the streams of water in a faster way is very difficult. The speed of the boat is measured in Strokes per Minute.
Also reading, HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF THROW UP OR VOMIT
TOP ROWING MACHINES
- MODEL D AND MODEL E: – They had created a benchmark in the field of physical exercises. Concept 2 is the company that manufactured this product and later on, it became popular among all the indoor rowing machines. Among these two MODEL E is most popular in gyms.
- NATURAL WATER ROWING MACHINE WITH S4 MONITOR: – This indoor rowing machine gives the feel of rowing a boat and it is designed in such a way only.
- PROFORM: – This rowing machine is easy to fold up and transport due to the small features including the seat and handlebars.
WHO IS BETTER INDOOR ROWING OR OUTDOOR ROWING MACHINES
It is very difficult to say which one is better. Each has its own advantage and offers different features to the human being. What we can do in indoor rowing, is not possible in outdoor rowing and vice versa. So it is very difficult or rather we can say odd to say that this particular thing is better than other.
HOW TO USE ROWING MACHINES
There are some people who don’t know the way to use it and handle the machine in their own way. But it is very important to know the way to handle or use the equipment because the improper way of using it causes many problems. It causes problems in joints and muscle and sometimes the pain also leads to infection. So it is very important to know the proper way of using an indoor rowing machine. One can do the exercise in two ways. First one is by making the legs straight and the other one by bending the legs. In both the cases the main thing is that one should wear form-fitting clothes. The next thing is that the resistance should be kept low so that one can easily do the exercise and then go on increasing the weights. Now as the first way of doing exercise by straightening the legs one should secure the feets on the pads so that our feet doesn’t move while doing exercises. After this one should bend towards the machine and grab the handle in the hand and then slowly pull the rope towards themselves. Here it is very important to note that one should not hold the rope tightly. Then slowly again bend your body towards the machine. This completes one stroke and the steps have to be repeated as many times one can do. The next way is by bedding the legs. All the steps are same but the difference is that one should bend the legs while resting on the pads.
REVIEWS ABOUT ROWING MACHINE
From the survey report, it has been found that rowing machine has faced mainly the positive reviews. People says that the rowing machine is the best machine curing many heart diseases and developing upper and lower body muscles. It burns more calories than a treadmill, around 2times more than it in the same timespan. It has also been found that doing exercises on rowing machine exercise 86% of muscle in our body.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION AND ANSWERS
Q1. WHAT IS THE PROPER WAY OF USING ROWING MACHINES?
First of all, there must be a connection between the handle, the footplate, and the seat. After the connection is established now apply the force on the footplate to rotate the lever so that it would measure your output.
Q2. HOW EFFECTIVE IS IT TO USE A ROWING MACHINE AS A PRIMARY FORM OF EXERCISE?
It’s an all-body exercise which exercises all the muscles and joints in our body. It is a low impact exercise, anyone can easily do and understand it. It’s fun and competitive.
Q3. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ROWING MACHINE FOR THE STOMACH MUSCLES?
The rowing machine exercises all the muscles in the lower part of the body on every stroke. It depends on strength of rowing. If one is not able to do the exercises properly then they may not be getting a flat stomach.
Q4. HOW SHOULD ONE KNOW WHICH ROWER MODEL IS BEST?
Saying about a particular lower model is not the right thing. It depends on many factors such as age, height, fitness level and above all the user comfort.
Q5. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANUAL AND MOTORIZED RESISTANCE?
In manual resistance, one has to adjust te resistance according to its own comfort level but in motorized resistance, the resistance is automatically set up with a simple push of the button.
Q6. HOW MANY CALORIES DOES A ROWING MACHINE BURN?
It depends on the intensity of the workout done by a person. But it has been found that it burns nearly about 1000 calories an hour.
Q7. WHAT SHOULD ONE KNOW ABOUT WORKOUT ROUTINE?
First of all, one should do the exercise daily. Whatever free time they get they must do the exercise in- order to be fit. One can do the exercise according to their own limit.