Hello Steemians!

I'm writing this post to share my love for the Rowing Machine with you.

Back in a February I injured my foot and was advised by an orthopedic specialist to take three months off from impact sports so it could heal. So I had to temporarily say goodbye to my favorite sports, Kickboxing & Wake-Surfing.

Always look on the bright side

Having to take some time off to rest my foot didn't stop me from staying active. With a positive mind I decided to look at the bright side and focus on upper body workouts. I started to spend more time in the weights section of the gym, lifting to tone my arms, shoulders and back as well as doing various ab exercises to strengthen my core. But after two weeks of just using weights, I started missing the adrenaline rush I used to get from my cardio and HIIT training.

I wasn't allowed to run, take long high incline walks on the treadmill or skip rope - which were all my go to cardio based exercises that I used do regularly to get my blood pumping, heart racing and usually leaving me drenched in sweat!

Cardio here we come!

So I decided to take a walk around the gym and explore alternative options to find myself something that would get back my adrenaline rush that I was missing desperately.

Treadmills were out of the question, I wasn't a fan of the elliptical machine, and I couldn't use the bike because my doctor told me to avoid flexing my ankle so the only thing left for me to try was the rowing machine, and boy am I glad I did!

The rowing machine was a perfect solution for me! It gave me the rush that I was longing for, I would get off the rower drenched in sweat, out of breath and with that overall feeling of satisfaction you get after a good workout. And the best thing about it was as long as I made sure my foot was strapped in tightly, I wouldn't feel any pain. I started incorporating rowing into my workouts, I would use the rower as a warm up (1000 meter row) and I would also do a little HIIT circuit after I was done with weight lifting.

Rowing is an amazing full body workout, it's perfect in so many ways!

The Pros of Indoor Rowing

• Rowing burns a lot of calories, so if you are looking to shed some pounds this is a great way to do so.

• Rowing is great for toning your arms, shoulders, and back.

• Rowing is a awesome exercise to strengthen your core! Always make sure to keep your core engaged while rowing.

• Rowing is a great stress reliever, this cardiovascular based training increase the amount of endorphins released in to your body, which helps reduce stress and even lift feelings of depression.

• Rowing is easy on the joints which is great for the elderly or even the overweight who may find running painful on their knees.

• Rowing is very easy to learn, here is a quick tutorial video Indoor Rowing Tutorial

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this little post on my love for indoor rowing. If it has inspired you to use the rowing machine, please do try one of my go to circuits below:

5 ROUNDS

• 200 Meter Row (as fast as you can)
• 15 Push-Ups
• 15 Squats
• 20 Russian Twists (or pick one of your favorite ab exercises)

60 seconds rest.

NOTE: avatar images added into this post were images from my bitmoji app in which I've created my own avatar to represent me.