The Rowing Machine: A World Without Oars or Water
No doubt if you are in the fitness realm you have seen your share of rowing machines. If you are somewhat less of the gym type you might not recognize a rowing machine if you saw one. Compared to some of those intimidating hulks of workout equipment you see, the typical rowing machine looks like a pussycat. If you remember the contraptions from the days of yore you might envision dual wooden bars on which a seat slid on a track as you stroked against pretend water with something that resembled real oars with their paddles sawed off. (If you do remember, raise your hand and you might be more comfortable exercising in the senior citizens room!)
Evolution
The modern rowing machine has evolved quite a bit. Oars are non-existent. The central track design can be either dual or singular bars. They are made of strong, lightweight materials, most often-extruded aluminum or steel. And as always, all would not be right with the world if there weren’t a few plastic parts thrown in for good measure too. The only common elements left from the old days are the seat for your derriere and the pretend water.
Today’s rowing machine “oars” are a thousand variations on the same theme. It is always some sort of resistance mechanism out in front of the seated rower. This is where the fun begins. The resistance apparatus varies from maker to maker, but can be generally organized into 3 core design types. The different flavors are water, air, and magnetic.
Let's Get Started
All right, to start out with we’ll lay the jokes to rest with the water resistance rowing machines. Yes, they are talking about real water. Before you get too excited the water is inside of an enclosed tank, still out in front of a seated rower. It is something like making homemade ice cream in an old fashioned, hand cranked ice cream maker. The rower uses external cables to crank paddles around and around inside the cylinder of the water tank. Sorry, no playful splashing or gentle lake breezes are to be had here.
The air style rowing machine has some familiarity to many people when the similarities are compared with its more famous cousin, the stationary bicycle. Instead of peddle power, with external cables; spinning a fan with the legs, arms and torso rowing motion creates air resistance. Breezes do abound with the air resistance machines so be sure and keep hair spray in your gym locker.
Magnetic rowing machines are sort of a, "Who would have ever thought of that?" resistance variety. These machines use magnetism for the rower to resist against. There’s a bit more to the force than pulling apart a couple of kid’s horseshoe magnets though. Add electricity and you’ve got electro-magnetism. Changing electrical draw, like a dimmer switch dims a light fixture, varies the strength of the magnetism and the strength of the resistance.
Of course with all our wonderful marketers behind the scenes there are also a few hybrid machines that combine more than one resistance type. There are kid’s sized rowing machines. With lots of choices, there are many considerations when looking for the right one. The list is long. There are larger, smaller, heavier and lighter machines. There are sturdier and flimsier types. The prices vary tremendously from a couple of hundred dollars too more than a couple of thousand. Consider your own size, height and weight. Even the noise that different machines make, when in use, is a factor.
While the rowing motion may seem like a bit of an obsolete technique in modern exercise routines it is far from it. It still produces a well-rounded workout for an old fitness concept, and the rowing machine is still a well-respected apparatus in today’s gyms.