225 that was what the needle said; I quickly took my shoes off and got on again, 224.5. I at age 37 had my first heart attack, mid life crisis; I suddenly felt ten years older. Let me explain something about my past before I hit that 225lbs. number in the middle of CostCo. In my youth I was a competitive mountain bike racer, martial artist, kickboxing instructor, surfer and free diver weighing in at 175lbs. The funny thing was that I still thought of myself as this elite athlete who could jump right back into anyone of those sports and be competitive, boy was I wrong. Where did that extra 50lbs come from? And how was I going to loose them? I knew how to do it by getting on the bike or hitting the dojo but I needed something different.
That is when I remembered one of my old student’s father, Xeno Muller, who at the time was training for the Olympics again and at the same time opening an indoor rowing gym. Admittedly I thought it was a cool idea but my schedule did not permit me to join since I was teaching at the same time the classes were held. Then a desk job called, specifically a software anti piracy company needed money to get off the ground and I was brought in to help raise it . . . this was the beginning of the 50 lbs. It crept up on me slowly a little here a little there, as an instructor I could eat what I wanted when I wanted. So I did.
The internet is a beautiful thing. After I returned home from Costco I looked Xeno up on the web and saw that he had a beginner’s class. This became the start of a new passion for indoor rowing. It works your entire body hits all of your major muscle groups and on top of that it is very low impact, which unlike martial arts where there is always someone out there trying to hit or pin you. The first class was a chore, the extra 50lbs remember? Getting the motion down was fairly natural. The times and the meters on the monitor got me hooked. Going faster… farther… is very motivating.
Five weeks, 21lbs. later I am addicted. There are great groups people at the IRON OARSMAN and the workouts could not be lead by any better of a coach than Xeno. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to train with an Olympic gold medal winner? Now I have, now I know… The success he has achieved breads the success in the workout. You can feel the determination and motivation radiating out of Xeno’s pores.
David S.
Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.
I rowed a long time :-)
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