Who has time to workout out and how to get started:

Who has the time to workout out and how to get started:

I have a busy life. I am married and we have four children. This alone makes life busy, right? But of course to make things more busy, we also run our own rowing business. Being busy has taken a whole new meaning over the last 8 years of my existence, which brings me to wonder how others find time to stay healthy and what a struggle it is to make time for working out in a day that is busting at the seams.

We get up early and go to bed late. We work and care for others, because we are selfless. By writing this sentence moms come to my mind. Yes I am selfless, but I also know that if I don’t take care of myself, I can’t take care of others. In order to make time for a daily workout, and I mean daily workout, you have to look at your situation two ways. For one, you must make the decision to workout, which requires you to find the logic in it. Think of the saying: “Use it or loose it.” The list of benefits are endless when it comes to exercise, do you want those benefits? The answer is a resounding “yes”. The second way to look at it is by understanding that exercise will help you be a better person. You may give all the love that you can, but if your body is not maintained your “love-giving” is on a path of diminish returns, do we want that? “NO!” is the answer.

We just came back from a few days in the mountains. I did not have a rowing machine and had been exercising less because I had been coaching more on the water. My body started feeling lethargic, which gave me thoughts of horror, “me feeling like that, I used to train 4 hours per day, aah what is happening!” So I took off for an early morning walk at a California state park. It was 7 in the morning and no one around. I marched and quickly noticed that I could be doing one knee bend every fourth step... After five minutes of step-step-step-step-squat, I stopped and decided to do 50 knee bends all at once while alternating the position of my arms to strengthen my back while I was pushing the quads, gluts and hamstrings. After those 50 my legs felt like rubber and so I proceeded to walk back to where I came from. Shortly before dropping into my long chair and looking at the sky, I piled on another 50 knee bends. Overall I had been walking and moving my body for 55 minutes. I exercised between 7 and 8 in the morning, which is possible because I was on vacation and the kids were asleep. You may ask, what about enlisting your children into the exercise routine. You are absolutely right, my three oldest kids start-to-want-exercise, I learned that in the last couple of months.

Here is my advice about starting to workout: Don’t set goals that you can’t reach. Be flexible with your type of exercise and adjust the type of workout to the environment that you are in, I had no rowing machine, therefore I went for a walk etc. Look at breaking a sweat one way or the other. Approach the intensity of your workout carefully, because you don’t want to overdo it and you want to stay clear of injury at all cost. Remember that you only have one body and that exercising is a daily and gradual process. Daily moderation is the way to go with working out.
Make your exercise entertaining by using music or in company of a person who supports you.
Accept the fact that spending time on you helps you spend to time and energy/love on others.

That is it for now.

Live life, break a sweat, because not too long ago we were hunters and gatherers. Socially we evolved faster than physically, LET’S WORKOUT OUT and have fun doing so!

Xeno

Join one of the fastest growing communities of indoor rowers at www.row2go.com
Xeno Muller won an Olympic Gold in Atlanta and an Olympic Silver in Sydney, and is the current Olympic Record holder in the 2000m Single Scull. He is also the President and founder of Row2Go which is quickly becoming THE online community for both indoor and on-the-water rowers providing its members with weekly online workout routines and individualized coaching programs.

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

Tasting my own medicine...

For years I have been rowing every day. I started when I was 13 and a half years old and kept rowing daily until I turned 32. Now I am 38, married with four children under the age of 13 and I coach daily and reduced my daily rowing routines to 5X 45 minute sessions per week.

This change in exercise pace made me appreciate the rowing workouts that much more. By being forced to NOT row, I enjoy that much more getting on the rowing machine and feeling what makes rowing so enjoyable.

First, I find that the rowing range of motion and its repetition loosens up the body from ankles through the lower back to the shoulder blades. I always begin my rows by warming up fragments of the rowing stroke which emphasis full extensions of the limbs and hinging at the hip joint thus also stretching out the hamstrings.

Second, breaking a sweat comes gradually and easily. With rowing almost 90% of the body's muscles are being used all while being seated on a comfortable seat which makes sliding and using the leg drive smooth as if floating on air. I find power for my muscles by adjusting my stroke per minute rate to my breathing rhythm. I take deep breath throughout the stroke cycle. Rhythmic breathing is in its own right a strength exercise, because the lung volume is more utilized during exercise than during sedentary work. The combination of breathing and moving the body up and down the rowing track gently warms the body up.

Third, by the time I am 3/4 through my rowing routine, I feel better about myself mentally. The positive endorphins kick in and I come to truly appreciate how doing a rowing workout delivers the "goods" so to speak.

I have always said to beginners how powerful of a life changing discipline rowing is. Now that I do not have the luxury of rowing everyday, I get to taste my own medicine and I LIKE IT.

If you have never rowed before, I hope that my short piece will make you curious about rowing. Rowing is a gentle sport on your joints, no impact. This is the one sport where you will see elder athletes in their 90ies still compete.

All the best, row soon, row far,
sincerely,
Xeno Müller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, Olympic record holder
www.row2go.com

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

A new intermediate rowing workout for rowers and their rowing machine :-)

Hello Row2goers
My name is Xeno Muller. I won Olympic gold and silver in the men's single scull. I still own the Olympic record. Here is a short description of our latest workout that you can find on www.row2go.com
We had a solid workout pushing over 1100 strokes in 45 minutes. We made sure that the warm up covered the technique fundamentals. Rowing is an easy exercise to get into. When you join Row2go you get all the information you need to familiarize yourself with the proper rowing technique that enables you to enjoy rowing for the next 300 years. We broke a great sweat and had smiles on our faces. Register to read more about the details of the workout and download availability for smart phones, big screen TVs, or MP3 players, always row with your Olympic gold and silver medalist and Olympic record holder :-) find all the information here

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

Hello Row2goers,
This workout was filmed Saturday morning early, prior to the two group classes that I usually lead at 8 and 9 in the morning. Needless to say, I put in my miles that morning. I rowed 30 kilometers total and felt great. This workout was a solo row during which I pushed 45 minutes. I always make sure to warm up with technical drills. Read on to get the written detail of the workout, as a stream, downloadable video files and MP3 version of the workout....

Xeno Muller

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

A great beginner workout on Row2go!

Hello Rowers!

Last Saturday we rowed an easy workout with slow technical drills and a few power pieces at low rates.
Overall we pushed a good 45 minutes and it felt great. We carefully went through each part of the rowing stroke before we set out to push a few hard strokes at lower stroke rates. Although the workout is labeled "beginner" even advanced rowers can reap the benefits by adding solid amounts of torque to each stroke. Read further to get the details of the workout and download it as an MP3 or a video file.

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.