Like most cardio equipment, rowers have been around for a long time. However, in recent years their popularity has increased significantly, especially since CrossFit incorporated rowing into their workouts or when they were seen on the broadcast of the popular CrossFit games. The new Heat Series rowers offer innovative features that blend into many different fitness environments, appealing to both the athlete and the gym owner.
Rowing is a great exercise – it is easy on our joints by being a low-impact exercise and offers a high caloric expenditure. Each stroke works many muscle groups – in fact, around 85% of the muscles in the body. For this reason, rowing is a great training partner for those who want to avoid impact exercises or wish to use it for rehabilitation and mobility improvement, or for the active ageing population looking for an exercise that is kind to their joints and helps strengthen their muscles. On the other hand, its versatility brings many benefits for the gym owner. Rowing could, for example, be part of small group training or be placed in the gym’s fitness room with the rest of the cardio equipment, as a stand-alone piece. The Heat Rowers’ carrying handle allows the rowers to be easily transported anywhere, at any time.
Today, rowers are used in all kinds of settings – they appear in CrossFit studios, are part of HIIT training classes, aerobic endurance workouts, or even interval training classes – and the Heat Series rowers are no exception. Both rowers offer 100 levels of resistance, and the static air and magnetic resistance dial allows you to set them to an intensity level that perfectly suits the nature of the workout you’re looking for. Combining this feature with the intuitive LCD console and available programs with accurate metrics, allows instructors to optimize a small group training class, as well as individual athletes to easily train on their own with simple programs that include goal, distance, time, calories, and interval workouts. The Heat Performance Row takes it a step further with the TFT 2.0 console, which includes Race for Distance or Race with a Friend programs. Innovative Coach by Color® technology informs users of their workout performance in a fun and engaging way. Click-release ratchet foot straps are invaluable for group classes and small group training as they reduce the time it takes for users to change equipment.
It’s well known that rowing offers many physical benefits. While the main one will always be the improvement in aerobic fitness, users also see an improvement in lower body strength and endurance. It can be easily overlooked, but the legs are the primary driving force behind rowing. Rowing workouts work the lower body approximately 60% of the time, the core 30%, and the upper body 10% of the time, so whether you’re a fitness instructor considering the role of rowing in a fitness program, or a person looking for a great all-round workout, rowing should be high on your list of machines to consider.
We must not forget that posture and form are key: the better your rowing mechanics (the way you move your body during training), the better your efficiency will be. You don’t want to waste energy on inefficient movements! We invite you to take a look at our blog on rowing technique if you haven’t read it yet. With proper technique, rowing helps strengthen the core and improves body posture, and in an age where it is estimated that we spend up to 9.5 hours of our day sitting, this is an excellent reason to include rowing in any training plan.
In summary, these are the reasons why you should add rowing to your training program or include it in your fitness equipment:
- The perfect combination: low impact with high caloric expenditure
- Extreme versatility
- Full body workout
- Improves posture