It's row time
By Amy Bertrand
POST-DISPATCH HEALTH & FITNESS EDITOR
Monday, May. 15 2006

Observing a rowing crew in action is a study in contrasts. At the same time the boat is gliding effortlessly through the water, a look at the rowers tells a different story: Grimaces as they pull the oars back. Heavy breathing as they
push off with their legs. Sweat mixing with the soft spray of the water.

It's obvious these people are getting a tough workout.

"Oh, it's tough," says Darlene Hopkins, 43, of south St. Louis County, a master
rower. "It's tougher than you think, but it's so much fun."

For the most part, rowing is a team sport. "It's the ultimate team sport," says Hopkins, a nurse who started rowing three
years ago. "You can't do it unless you all work together." 

Of course, there is a type of rowing that involves just one person, but most people who row do it for the camaraderie and row in eights - boats for eight people.

There are two types of rowing :

- Sweep, in which each rower uses just one oar. Sweep boats come in pairs, fours and eights.

- Sculling, in which each rower uses two oars. Sculling boats come in singles, doubles and quads.

Rowing as a workout:

Tim Franck, head coach of the St. Louis Rowing Club, rowed for three years in high school and four in college, and has spent the past six years coaching. He says the biggest misconception he hears is, "'Oh, you're a rower, you must have
big arms,' That's not the case. It's all in the legs."

Rowing is a total body workout. Though it looks as though the arms are getting most of the workout, it's actually the legs that drive your movements as the seat slides back in the boat.

"And it's great for firming the butt," says Linda Greensfelder with a laugh. Greensfelder, 57, of west St. Louis County, has been rowing for seven years after spending most of her life as a runner. "But your upper body, particularly your lats and back, are working, too. So it can be more intense than running, which mostly works your legs."

Dr. Steve Giddings, a physiologist and director of research with the John Cochran Veterans Administration Hospital in St. Louis, says rowing uses 60 to 70 percent of the major muscle groups.

"The only other sports that use muscles at the same level are rock climbing and cross-country skiing," he says. "To a degree, cycling and swimming are close."

The difference with rowing, Giddings says, is that all of your major muscle groups contract and relax at the same time and you are using resistance.

Giddings says rowing is unique in that the heart not only enlarges by dilating so it can pump more blood per contraction, but the heart muscle also gets thicker, because of the load it has to pump against during the contraction phase of rowing.

In addition, rowing is a nonimpact sport. "The injury levels are low," says Giddings, "mostly overuse injuries ... on the
back." He says even those can be prevented with proper technique. One of the biggest areas rowing works is your core, meaning lower back and abdominals.

In fact, says Giddings, national teams have moved away from weightlifting and now focus on Pilates and stability ball exercises. One look around the boathouse, and you'll find a dozen or so of those balls. 

"That's where you get your stability from," he says. "You have to hold yourself upright and erect in a boat that's already unstable. That's what you're hanging everything on."

Giddings, who teaches sculling five or six hours a week, says flexibility in the hamstrings and hips is also essential. Rowing works in periods of recovery and drive. In recovery your oar is out of the water. In drive, you are hanging on the handle and pushing with your legs. You have to bend forward from the hips to get the best drive. That takes
flexibility.

For Greensfelder, it's as much a mental workout as a physical one. "It takes all of your mental focus," she says. "In rowing you are always thinking about oar placement and body position."  Franck designs the workouts for the junior and masters rowers.  And as they are rowing away on the lake, he's zooming in and out in his speedboat, offering encouragement, advice and guidelines. 

Early in the season, as it is now, he says his workouts are more tailored to build cardiovascular endurance. As the weeks roll on, he'll add shorter bursts of higher-intensity rowing.

He says it takes a certain kind of person to be a successful rower: "You have to be competitive, you have to push yourself hard, you need a good work ethic." 

Rowing in St. Louis:

The St. Louis Rowing Club and its 200 members, along with Washington University's crew team, own the Community Rowing Center at Creve Coeur Lake.

The rowing club, founded in 1875, offers a juniors program for high-schoolers. It also offers open rowing for college students and a masters program for those 27 and older.

Membership has grown exponentially in the past several years, especially since the club built the $1 million boathouse in 2004.

The masters rowing group here is about 60 percent female, and mostly professional people looking for an exercise outlet. To join the masters group you must complete an introductory class, then spend a year in intermediate
rowing.

Many are involved in other sports as well. Some are marathon runners; some are cyclists.

"It seems like everybody has something else they do," says Greensfelder.

Masters work out for about two hours at a time, four times a week. From March through November they are on the lake; in the winter, they work out on the Ergometers, or rowing machines, in the boathouse.

Most of the masters take part in competitions in the summer - four or five races a year.

In 2005, the club decided to branch out and offer something to the community. It started a We Can Row program for breast cancer survivors.

"The idea is to have women reconnect with their bodies," says Greensfelder, the We Can Row coach. "They can feel strength, both emotional and physical. So many times breast cancer survivors feel their body has betrayed them, but this is a really thrilling thing for them. They are achieving something with people that are, pardon the expression, in the same boats as they are."

Interested in learning how to row?

Learn to Row workshop

What: A workshop for those 13 and up in which you can get some rowing
experience.

When: Noon to 3 p.m. May 20 or June 3

How much: $20 per person

Where: 13777 Marine Avenue, Maryland Heights (in Creve Coeur Park, at Sailboat
Cove)

More info: 314-434-8299, or e-mail stlouisrowing-info@yahoo.com

Note: You must be able to tread water for 10 minutes and swim 100 yards.
Because of the nature of rowing, it is not possible to row with a life
preserver.


Learn to Row classes

What: Instruction on rowing technique, water safety and care of equipment.

When: Three sessions are available:

June 5-26, Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 to 11a.m.
July 6-29, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 to 11a.m.
Aug. 5-28, Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 to 11
a.m.

How much: $250

Where: 13777 Marine Avenue, Maryland Heights (in Creve Coeur Park, at Sailboat
Cove)

More info: Call 314-434-8299, or e-mail stlouisrowing-info@yahoo.com

abertrand@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8284