Three Decades of Excellence: Every Concept2 machine is
grounded in a 30-year legacy of rowing excellence. In 1976, Concept2
founders Pete and Dick Dreissigacker were competing for a spot on the
U.S. Olympic Rowing Team. Eager to shave precious seconds off their
time, they applied their engineering backgrounds to oar design. They
missed making the team that year but were right on target with their oar
design concepts, which quickly developed into Dreissigacker Racing
Oars. Since then, their blade designs have changed the face of the
sport, and have been used by Olympic and world champions around the
globe. In 1981, they applied their rowing experience and engineering
expertise to the creation of a stationery exercise machine that could
replicate the extensive fitness benefits and exhilaration of on-water
rowing. Today�s Concept2 Indoor Rowers are found in health clubs, homes,
schools, and Olympic training centers around the world.
Whether you already row or are considering rowing to keep in shape, lose
weight, cross-train for another sport, compete on the water or
rehabilitate from injury or surgery, rowing is the complete exercise for
you.
Arms, legs, chest, back, abs�even your mind. Your whole body gets a
complete workout from the efficient, rhythmic motion of rowing. Rowing
is such a great exercise in so many different ways.
- Low-impact (easy on the knees and ankles)
- High calorie burner (because it uses so many muscle groups)
- Great for joint health (joints move through a wide range of motion)
- Upper body (completes the stroke)
- Lower body (the legs initiate the drive)
- Works the back and abs too!
- Superb aerobic fitness (great for cardiovascular fitness)
- Relieves Stress (for overall health and well-being)
This is different from the rowing you may have done as a kid in a
rowboat. The difference lies in the sliding seat. Your legs compress and
extend with every stroke�in addition to the more obvious work being
done by the back and arms.
Legs: You begin each stroke with your legs
compressed and your shins vertical. You initiate the drive with the
powerful muscles of your legs, and finish with your legs fully extended.
Rowing promotes both strength and flexibility through this wide range
of leg motion.
Arms: At the catch, your arms are outstretched;
at the finish of the stroke, they have pulled the handle into your
abdomen. As with the legs, this range of motion promotes both strength
and flexibility.
Core: chest, back, abs: At the
start of the stroke, the power of the legs is connected to the handle by
means of the arms and the core muscles of the body. Then the back is
more fully involved as it swings open through the middle of the stroke.
Finally, the body is stabilized at the finish by the abdominal muscles.
And finally,
Your Mind: Customers tell us that the rhythmic
nature of rowing helps clear the head and ease the stress of the day. Or
you may be the kind of person who is fascinated by the data produced by
the Performance Monitor. If motivation is what you need, you will find
it
as well with rowing on a Concept 2 We think you�ll also find peace of mind in the improvements you make to your health and fitness.
Muscles Used While Rowing
The basic rowing action is a
coordinated muscle action that requires application of force in a
repetitive, maximal and smooth manner. Every large muscle group will
contribute to this action. The muscle requirements have been analyzed by
Dr. Thomas Mazzone
1. The rowing action has been divided into the following sequence:
- The Catch
- The Drive
- Leg emphasis
- Body swing emphasis
- Arm pull through emphasis
- The Finish
- The Recovery
The Catch
The erector spinae muscles of the back are relaxed to allow for trunk
flexion, which is provided by the abdominals. The psoas major and minor
and the iliacus flex the pelvis and hips. The sartorius muscle rotates
the thighs which allows the body to flex between the thighs to obtain
maximum reach. The hamstrings and gastrocnemius are contracting while
the knees are in flexion. The quadriceps are elongated and stretched,
yet the rectus femoris is contributing to hip flexion. The ankles are
dorsiflexed by the tibialis anterior.
The elbows are extended by the
triceps brachii. The grip on the handle is accomplished by the flexor
muscles of the fingers and thumb.
The Drive
Legs Emphasis
The initial portion of the drive demands maximal power from the legs.
The quadriceps extend the knee, and the feet are plantar flexed by the
soleus and gastrocnemius muscles. A number of stabilizing muscles aid in
supporting the lower back.
All the muscles of the shoulder are contracting. These include
the supra and infraspinatus, subscapularis, teres major and minor, and
the biceps brachii. The scapula is stabilized by the serratus anterior
and trapezius muscles.
Body Swing Emphasis
As the knees are finishing their extension, the hip is also extending
by the contraction of the gluteus and hamstring muscles. Back extension
is occurring by contraction of the erector spinae.
In the upper body, elbow flexion is occurring via the biceps, brachialis, and the brachioradialis muscles.
Arm Pull Through Emphasis
The knees are maximally extended, and the ankles are plantar flexed.
In addition, hip and back extension are being completed. The upper body
musculature is contracting with high force to finish the drive. The
elbow flexors are dominant. The flexor and extensor carpi ulnaris
muscles of the forearm contract to stabilize and adduct the wrist. The
shoulder is extended and adducted. The upper arm is internally rotated
by the latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major. The teres minor, posterior
deltoid, and long head of the biceps are acting on the shoulder joint.
The scapula is rotated downward by the pectoralis minor and then drawn
backward by the trapezius and rhomboid muscles.
The Finish
The knees and ankles remain constant as the hips complete a full
extension. The back extensors are continually contracting, and the upper
arms are internally rotated by the contracting latissimus dorsi. The
triceps are extending the elbows slightly.
The Recovery
The arms are pushed forward and away from the body by the triceps
until the elbows reach full extension. The anterior deltoids contract
along with the coracobrachialis and biceps, and the upper arms raise
slightly as they pass over the extended knees. The abdominals flex the
torso, and once the hands have cleared the extended knees, the slide
begins its forward motion through ankle dorsiflexion and hip and knee
flexion.
1Kinesiology of the rowing stroke, NSCA Journal, Volume 10, Number 2, 1988, Thomas Mazzone, M.D. Wyoming County Community Hospital, Warsaw, New York
Rowing Compared to Other Forms of Exercise
|
|
Low Impact
|
Lower Body
|
Upper Body
|
Core
|
Full Range of Motion
|
|
Indoor Rower
|
***
|
***
|
***
|
***
|
***
|
|
Treadmill
|
|
***
|
|
*
|
**
|
|
Bicycle
|
***
|
***
|
*
|
*
|
***
|
|
Elliptical
|
***
|
***
|
*
|
**
|
**
|
|
Stair Stepper
|
**
|
***
|
|
*
|
*
|
|
Recumbent Bike
|
***
|
***
|
|
*
|
*
|
|
Ski Machine
|
***
|
***
|
*
|
**
|
**
|
|
Swimming
|
***
|
***
|
**
|
*
|
**
|
