Row For Health

Shoulders, Mental Health and Rowing by Dr. John Degnan

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:02:00 -0800

John’s an Orthopedic Surgeon and sport medicine specialist and a Whitehall Spirit® owner in Knoxville, Tennessee. He sends the following in response to questions on whether rowing is good for those with shoulder issues and what about stress in general.

My dear fellow Whitehall Rowers

We will discuss shoulders, mental health, and rowing, not in any related order.

Your shoulder is not stable; try to balance a cue ball on a quarter, that is your shoulder without a rotator cuff. Now add a fishnet over the ball and the balance is simple. The stability of the rotator cuff is the net.

Most exercises compress and challenge the cue ball/quarter causing instability. Rowing is a tension stretch of the rotator cuff thus strengthening and stabilizing the shoulder. Rowing is made to make the shoulder live happily ever after.

Mental health and stress cannot be mentioned in the same sentence because of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol allowed cave man to survive (and modern man to take pills).

Rowing is a 99% stress free, harmonious, total body exercise including cardio and strength. It would be 100% if not for the 80mph Tennessee bass boaters closing on your transom in a blink of the eye. So, I recommend that you row with all the positive effects of cortisol free living when others are not speedboat fishing.

Next time we will discuss endorphins and exercise and peace within.

Strength and honor
Dr. D.

Another Mile of Blood Vessels? by Dr. John Degnan

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:19:00 -0800

Good morning fellow rowers and today a special welcome to the seasoned ones that worked hard to build our wonderful NORTH AMERICA. Therapy usually starts with a goal so I am going to ask you to dig out that old shoebox of memories. In it find a flattering photo of yourself, sit down, close your eyes and take a trip....feel yourself in your old Chuck Taylors, and lets go!

Whitehall Rowing and Sail has built for each of us a time capsule with which we can row your physique back in time. The physiology of non-contact aerobic exercise is ideally suited for the aches and pains that have ever so slowly crept into our lives.

Your blood not only carries oxygen to the cells but also the waste products away. The more you exercise the more efficient this process becomes. Lastly a pound of fat is not only ugly, it requires over a mile of blood vessels, which contributes nothing to your health...SO think about how much less work your heart has to do with each pound you row away.....

Strength and honor
DR.D

Adaptive Rowing Procedure Produces Amazing Results

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:59:00 -0700

Here are links to a couple of videos on You Tube about Dave Estrada who is a paraplegic, has been for several years, and how he is using some modern technology combined with rowing to achieve some amazing results including bone re-growth. This is really great news for those affected by osteoporosis or forms of bone loss as it indicates that regular slide seat rowing will prevent or reverse this condition.

Go to:

http://multimedia.boston.com/m/24990990/basic-training.htm?q=Ann+Silvio

http://multimedia.boston.com/m/25138870/rowing-reinvented.htm?q=Ann+Silvio

Arthritis is Helped by Regular Slide Seat Rowing

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:28:00 -0700

I am now 73 years old and row regularly, off Gibsons in the ocean, on lower Howe Sound and Shoal Channel. These days I seem to be averaging two or three sessions per week, year round, over a 2.5 nautical mile course. This is in addition to a 1.5mile round trip walk to the marina, where the boat resides on a floating ramp. The main restriction on rowing frequency is adverse wind condition: out flows in the winter and westerlies in the summer. My last job each night is reading the marine weather forecast.

I have severe arthritis in both knees and one ankle. As a result I recently gave up down-hill skiing after 60 years on the slopes. Also, cardio-vascular heart disease is a new enemy.

Rowing is the best and most sustainable low impact cardio-exercise for me. In addition, it is great pleasure and relief of stress to be out on quiet water with only sea life and water birds for company.

Bert Reeve Gibsons BC

Weight and cholesterol levels down by rowing almost daily

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:21:00 -0700

I have had my Solo 14 for 16 months now, which I bought because I used to row years ago on a Chesapeake tributary. I missed rowing. In the back of my mind I thought the exercise would be good for me, being a heart attack victim in 2004; but it was all about the fun.

I have been rowing almost daily with the exception of February and March during the past year. During my regular annual physical checkup in July both my doctor and I were amazed to find these results: my weight had dropped 20 pounds, and my cholesterol ratio of bad to good had improved 300%. The most exciting was the HDL number was slightly above 59 mg/dL which means I now have a "negative risk" of plaque ( my body will actually remove plaque from my blood vessels! ).

I have recently completed a floating dock which will allow cold weather rowing and I plan to include February and March in my rowing schedule.

I feel better since rowing and will keep it up as long as my bones hold together.

Bill Owen

Rowing has lowered my blood pressure and my weight

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:36:00 -0700

I took delivery of my Solo 14 rowing boat at the end of the first week of May. Other than three weeks of work travel and three days of bad weather I have been on the water every morning. I am a 63 year old that was 30 pounds over weight with high blood pressure. I have had a very active life but for the past six years due to personal and work issues I have not done any consistent exercise.

During this past 2 and one half months I have lost 17 pounds and dropped my blood pressure by 25 points. I started rowing only for a 1/2 hour and I am now up to 1.5 hours. Longest distance is 7 miles, averaging 4.5 miles an hour with a top speed of 6 mph.

My Doctor could hardly believe my health improvement and is really pleased about my new sport.

Thanks to you all at Whitehall

Norm Holm

The Case of the Tingling fingers By Dr. John Degnan

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:12:00 -0700

A letter and a question from Solo 14 owner David Z. follows…

Wow what magnificent rowing weather! I just came back off of Boundary Bay to the delight of people on the beach as they came around to look at this beautiful Solo 14. But while rowing I seem to continuously get tingling hands… have you ever heard of this?

Now I am not out of shape at all, I run, swim, cycle, throw around weights all the time… but this is peculiar… it feels like my hands are going to sleep. Is it just a matter of getting use to the pull on the tendons? Remember, I have not used my boat for a year… last May I broke my arm and tore three major muscle groups in my forearm, so rowing was nixed.

Nonetheless I love it… I love the variable pace. I LOVE the sliding seat and the sweet serenity of it all. David Z David's question about his hands tingling has to do with grip..... all the flexor tendons pass thru the same tunnel as the median nerve (carpal tunnel). The nerve is real gushy while the tendons are like steak gristle...thus when competing for space the nerve gets the short end and starts to malfunction. The tingle more than likely is in thumb and adjacent two fingers. The cure is a light grip with slight extension of the wrist. Hope this helps.
Marie also mentioned some of our fellow rowers don't like to look over the shoulder for waypoints. First of all it is very healthy for the cervical spine to do this maneuver. It really helps to wear rimless sunglasses (Maui Jim) and it is important to have depth perception in your peripheral vision. Try looking over the opposite shoulder of your dominant eye (usually right) to find your dominant eye. Look at a distant object then block your vision with a finger alternate closing each eye and your dominant eye is the one where the finger does not move.

Doc Side 101 – Rowing and Weight Loss by Dr. John Degnan

Fri, 01 May 2009 14:23:00 -0700

Doc Side 101 – Rowing and Weight Loss by Dr. John Degnan

by Dr. John Degnan Orthopedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine

Greetings fellow rowers. The topic of interest is weight loss and the possible advantages of rowing versus the more traditional regime. Lets start with common sense and say "GET A PHYSICAL".

That said, you may like to know the number one fuel burner in your body is your basal metabolic rate (BMR); those are the calories used to keep your vital organs happy and warm, and warm is the key word when talking burning calories. Our analogy will be your home’s utility bill; the more you insulate the lower your cost of staying warm. Well the more you exercise the less you insulate so the higher your BMR and subsequent WEIGHT loss. Ideally you want your body like a trailer on the open plains not a well-insulated submerged wine cellar.

When you row you protect the impact zones and involve all skeletal muscles except those of mastication (Webster), thus the thermostat is on high and your caloric utility bill will be outrageous, about 800 cal/hr. I alternate between anaerobic (2 mile fast pace) and aerobic (4-5 mile casual pace) the former is cardio and latter fat loss. Lastly to enhance fat usage, no food, a couple cups of black coffee and pace yourself such that you can maintain a conversation with nature. . ( Below is a chart for my Heart Rate Monitor and GPS)

My best
John Degnan

Rowing and Weight Loss By Dr. John Degnan

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:10:00 -0700

Greetings fellow rowers. The topic of interest is weight loss and the possible advantages of rowing versus the more traditional regime. Lets start with common sense and say "GET A PHYSICAL".

That said, you may like to know the number one fuel burner in your body is your basal metabolic rate (BMR); those are the calories used to keep your vital organs happy and warm, and warm is the key word when talking burning calories. Our analogy will be your home’s utility bill; the more you insulate the lower your cost of staying warm. Well the more you exercise the less you insulate so the higher your BMR and subsequent WEIGHT loss. Ideally you want your body like a trailer on the open plains not a well-insulated submerged wine cellar.

When you row you protect the impact zones and involve all skeletal muscles except those of mastication (Webster), thus the thermostat is on high and your caloric utility bill will be outrageous, about 800 cal/hr. I alternate between anaerobic (2 mile fast pace) and aerobic (4-5 mile casual pace) the former is cardio and latter fat loss. Lastly to enhance fat usage, no food, a couple cups of black coffee and pace yourself such that you can maintain a conversation with nature. . ( Below is a chart for my Heart Rate Monitor and GPS)

Rowing and Joint Nutrition by Dr. John Degnan

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:18:00 -0700

Dr. John Degnan, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine authority, gets right into the nitty gritty (no pun intended) of why rowing is good for the joints and prevents pain and problems.

Today we talk about your articular cartilage (AC); the slippery stuff that lives at the ends of most bones and allows frictionless motion of your joints. AC is avascular and much thicker in the large, weight bearing joints, such as your knees, and much less so in fingers and toes. All this means that AC depends on local synovial joint fluid for nutrition and long life.

The heart of this machine is motion, more specifically repetitive axial compression. With loading the AC is compressed, squeezing out waste and with unloading the expansion draws in the fresh synovial fluid. Thus AC loves this repetitive compression cycle and hates its counter part, SHEAR (side to side) which quickly leads to cellular demise and osteoarthritis (OA). The rowing motion is the panacea of AC and not only protective, but in my opinion therapeutic for early OA.

Rowboat in a Hurricane

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:52:00 -0700

by Julie Angus

This is an absolutely incredible account of positive human attitudes perseverance and high adventure. In 2005-06 Julie Angus along with her husband Colin Angus rowed nearly 6000 miles across the Atlantic ocean becoming the first woman in the world to voyage under oar power from mainland to mainland.This action packed story is a must read for anyone with an appreciation for distance rowing and high adventure. It’s truly hard to imagine rowing in five story high waves however Julie describes this experience extremely well.

Harold Aune

Bijaboji - North to Alaska By Oar

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:00:00 -0700

by Betty Lowman Carey

In 1937 his intrepid young woman heads north from Anacortes in Puget Sound rowing her carved cedar canoe. She travels solo and this account is of her 66 day voyage under oar power alone through the wild and inhospitable inside passage all the way to Alaska. A wonderful description of the times, people, places and some pretty amazing adventures enroute..

Harold Aune

Down the Nile – Alone in a Fishermans Skiff

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:59:00 -0700

Rosemary Mahoney overcomes cultural prejudices, fear of crocodiles and intense heat in order to experience rowing alone down the Nile. Although there’s not a lot of actual rowing involved her in depth observations of the culture, individuals met and the Nile itself make for a very interesting read.

Harold Aune

Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:44:00 -0700

Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond by Chris Crowley and Henry S Lodge, M.D. and published by Workman Publishing 2004
This book is written for men in their fifties by two men who are passionate about revitalizing the second half of life. At a time when most men are beginning to have more resources and time to fully engage in all of their favorite things many are instead facing painful conditions and even serious health problems. This is an easygoing, humorous and informative read which I found helpful in supporting and understanding my own 50+ partner and how important it is for us both to keep moving.

Marie Hutchinson, President, Whitehall Rowing and Sail

Here’s a direct quote from “Younger Next Year”
“There is no better exercise in the world than rowing a single scull or a Whitehall or any other good pulling boat. It’s aerobic, of course, but it exercises your whole body while it immerses you in a rhythm and takes you to places that are good for your soul”

Chris Crowley rowing in a Whitehall Spirit 17

Click here to Purchase this book from Amazon

Click Here to Visit Chris Crowley's Website

Rowing to Latitude : Journeys along the Arctic's Edge

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:46:00 -0700

by Jill Fredsto

"Written by a woman who is hard core; she and her husband have journeyed under oar power alone to some of the most remote parts of the planet. Exploring 20,000 miles of the wild coastlines of the Arctic regions they are an example of extreme adventurers who stay mentally and physically fit by challenging conditions no normal human would even consider by rowboat. They prove in their own unique way that less is more."
Harold Aune, Designer, Sailor, Rower and Owner of Whitehall Rowing and Sail

Click here to Purchase from Amazon

On The Water : Discovering America in a Rowboat

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:45:00 -0700

On the Water: Discovering America in a Rowboat"
by Nathaniel Stone and published by Broadway Books, New York 2002

"A delightful travel book that is as much an account of the mental and spiritual benefits of finishing what you begin and fulfilling your dreams as it is of the waterways traveled by Nathaniel Stone in his Whitehall. From the beginning of Stone's travels where he measures his distance rowed in city blocks, to the end when he's completely lost track of the miles he's rowed, this book is an eloquent testimony to the people and places met along the way."
Marie Hutchinson, President, Whitehall Rowing and Sail

Click Here to Purchase from Amazon

The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:45:00 -0700

"The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion: A revolutionary Program That Lets you Rediscover the Body's Power to Protect and Rejuvenate Itself"
by Pete Egoscue with Roger Gittines and published by Quill Harper Collins in 1992

"Peter Egoscue offers you the opportunity to take control of your physical well-being for life. Read this book, but more importantly, use it!"
Anthony Robbins, author of the bestsellers Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within

"Wow! Pete Egoscue has discovered what's most causing the modern epidemic of pain and how we can protect ourselves. Simply do it by the book - this book"
Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The One Minute Manager.

Click here to Purchase from Amazon

Younger Next Year : A Woman's Edition

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:43:00 -0700

Now, a women’s edition. A New York Times bestseller with 115,000 copies in print in hardcover, Younger Next Year is the breakthrough program for men to turn back their biological clocks and live healthier, more active lives into their 80s and beyond. Experts believed, the press raved:

“An extraordinary book. It is easy to read and the science is right.”
— K. Craig Kent, M.D., chief of vascular surgery, New York–Presbyterian Hospital

“Brain-rattling, irresistible, hilarious . . . it could change your life.”
— Washington Post

Click Here to Purchase from Amazon

Oar & Sail: An Odyssey of the West Coast

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:39:00 -0700

In the logbook of his rowing boat trip up British Columbia’s coast from Vancouver to Prince Rupert, Dr. Ken Leighton recorded the horsepower of his craft as “one old man.”
His command of language peppered with his delightfully self-deprecating humor combined with a rare degree of determination at the age of 66 to row and sail a distance of 500 miles in a 14 foot boat resulted in this highly readable 152 page account, complete with maps and illustrations by Roderick Leighton.

Click Here to Purchase from Amazon

Rowing Our Whitehall

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:36:00 -0700

ROWING OUR WHITEHALL
My wife, Marcia, and I row our 17’ Whitehall Spirit at least once a week year around.

We live in Seattle, Washington where we trailer our boat, most often, to either Lake Union or Lake Washington.

Lake Union has about four miles of shoreline, so, on that lake, we might typically row 3 miles. Sometimes, if the wind is favorable, we also sail. We often row against a southerly wind and sail back to the boat ramp.

Lake Washington is about 20 miles long: good sailing, but we find the mix of industry and moorages on Lake Union more interesting than the redundant lakefront houses on Lake Washington.

We also frequently trailer our boat to salt water venues on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. How frequently? Probably a dozen times a year.

We like to camp at campgrounds to which we tow the Whitehall with our Vanagon Westfalia.

Recently, the installation of a Subaru engine in the Vanagon made it particularly easy to trail the Whitehall to several large lakes in British Columbia, lakes about a nine hour drive from Seattle. The lakes are on the Nehaliston Plateau at an elevation of about 3,000 feet.

One of my logs for that trip reads: “Rowed/sailed 13 nm on Greenlake, 6.4 kts. max.” (To n.e. end of lake). The 6.4 kts was under sail, of course. A second time on Greenlake, there was absolutely no wind, so we rowed to the other end of the lake, about a six mile row. The wind came up very strong and we sailed back to the campground, a couple of times reaching or running at 6.6 knots. That was a perfect day on the water: rowing a good distance, then getting a “free” ride back.

Assuming no wind or current, Marcia and I row with ease at about 3 kts. I suppose that our very maximum rowing speed would be nearly 5 kts. (Interestingly, when we have a third rower, we don’t go much faster: probably the increased wetted surface.)

It is very nice to be able to take one or two friends in the boat. When we take two, the fourth person becomes the coxswain.
Sometimes he/she uses the tiller; sometimes just gives commands.

The point I want to make is that it is really good to have oars (two sets, two rowers) as well as a sail. We can go directions (up wind) under oars that it would take three times as long to get to as it would under sail. We get the exercise and get to intricate waters that would not be possible to sail in

We really don’t much like simply sailing back and forth. Doing so seems like what Garrison Keillor once called “mindless gerbil activity” (he was referring to jogging).

And sometimes we judge it unsafe to sail, so we take to the oars.

The British Columbia trip lasted a week and we rowed and sailed every day.

We don’t use sliding seats in our boat because we think that they would add a complication to the sailing rig.

I am 75 years old and Marcia is 61.

Bob Dunshee

20 Minutes a Day

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:35:00 -0700

20 Minutes a Day

When Lucy B was told by her doctor that she had diabetes and was carrying too much weight she looked out her window at the water in front of her house and thought rowing might be a good way to get more exercise. Her concern was that she needed a stable slide seat boat capable of handling her 225 pound weight and possibly carrying a passenger. Read her comments we received this month after six months rowing her Whitehall Spirit 14.

Thank you for the note. YES I am loving my boat. Losing weight and keeping my sugar numbers down. I love the peace and quiet and the inner competition. The boat glides in the water, much better than I could even imagine. I am getting used to the other oars slowly. I try to row each day around my bay. Of course life gets in the way and I do miss from time to time. I had my daughter rowing with me with the help(?) of my 3 year old grandson. Was fun to be on the water together. Next year I think we need to invest in a sail boat.

Add my comments! May help someone else. I have my numbers into the high 90s' with just a 20 minute row a day. And I am also losing inches which helps since my daughter gets married in September. Thank you again, time to hit the water.

Lucy B

A Year in the Life of A Rower

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:28:00 -0700

Year One in the Life of a new Slide Seat Whitehall Owner.

Dale Colclasure's short photo essay features his rowing partners, including his dogs and his first race entry.

Remember me? I am the proud owner of, I think, the only Whitehall Spirit in Arkansas. I bought the boat, which was delivered by your very efficient staff and truck last July, 2005. I live within a few minutes of the Arkansas River in Little Rock. I know everyone is always excited the day they get their Whitehall, as I was, but I wanted to write you almost a year later and let you know how excited I still am about the "Spirit".

Upon arrival of the boat I was ready to go, but I found that your packaging of the boat required a little more time so I had to delay the initial launch for a day or two. This gave me time to view your video, which greatly helped to prepare me and the boat for the initial launch. Since I am only two minutes from a launching ramp I got the dolly with a trailer hitch attachment, which allows me to pull the boat with an ATV. Once in the water and after a few awkward moments moving around in the boat off I went. It really was very comfortable even from the very first, and the boat was extremely stable in the water.

There was a little current in the river that day so I decided to go downstream initially then turnaround. Even going against the current I found it very easy to row and the boat just glided though the water. After that time I had a rowing buddy in either my wife or more often my golden retriever, Buck. He loved just setting on the stern seat watching me row. In March he went to the big rowboat in the sky and I had to find a new rowing partner. Enter in Boomer, another golden retriever. I think Buck told him how much fun this was because from the very first ride Boomer loved it.

Everywhere I would row everyone admired the boat and mentioned how nice it looked in the water.

Recently I entered a competition called The Arkansas River Canoe and Kayak Race. It just happened that they had a rowing division so I entered. They had a staggered start to the race so that all divisions wouldn't be bunched together. The rowers were to be the first to go so we could get out of everyone's way and they could pass us. At least that is what they said.

The course was four miles down the river. As I manoeuvred out of the inlet into the main channel of the river, I never saw another boat even though as you know in rowing I was looking to the area where the boats should be coming. I had about ten minutes head start. The other row boat, a kayak with a conversion, started at the same time with me. In ten minutes I could no longer see her. I finished the race about fifteen minutes ahead of the next boat and stopped once to talk on the cell phone. They didn't have to worry about me being in their way. This attributes to the smoothness and stability of the Whitehall. It is no wonder I still enjoy the boat, and will for years to come.

Thanks Whitehall for taking the time to make such a fine investment. An investment in my exercise regimen and one I will be able to pass down to my grandkids, who also enjoy riding with me.

Dale Colclasure, D.D.S. Little Rock, Arkansas

The Health Benefits of Rowing

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:57:00 -0700

The Health Benefits of Slide Seat Rowing

by Marie Hutchinson

Slide seat rowing is the most magnificent sport there is, according to Fritz Hagerman, Ph.D., a professor in the Biological Science Department at Ohio University. Hagerman, who studies exercise physiology such as aerobic and anaerobic capacities, metabolic response, and the effects of blood lactate levels on athletes, found that competitive rowers expended almost twice the number of calories on a 2,000-meter course as a runner in a 3,000-meter steeplechase. He says the latter is considered one of the toughest events.

Doctors say there are now 1,000,000 joint replacement surgeries performed each year due to high impact sporting related activities. In 1999, 440,000 people had joint replacement surgery in the United States, with the hip and knee making up 98 percent of those procedures. For hip surgeries, the average age was 66 and for knees, the average age was 68.

Both competitive and recreational rowing are unique in comparison to most sports in that they exercise all of your major muscle groups. Everything from your legs, back, and arms are engaged while rowing. In addition, rowing is a low-impact sport. When executed properly, the rowing stroke is a fairly safe motion, providing little room for the serious injury often found in contact and high-impact sports.

The motion of each stroke is made up of four parts that flow into one another. These are the catch, the drive, the finish, and the recovery. The following is a description of the bio-mechanics of rowing.

The catch is the start of each stroke and it is the moment when you place your oar into water. The legs, hips and shoulders in use during the catch involve the following muscle groups: quadriceps, gastrocenius, soleus, gluteus maximus, and biceps brachii.

The drive
As you begin to push with your legs, you are entering the drive of the stroke. During the drive your l egs, back and arms are working with the trapezlus, posterio deltoid, quadriceps, pectorals major and biceps brachii muscle groups.

The pull
Once the legs are fully extended, you begin to pull the oar in with your arms and swing your shoulders backward, bringing yourself to the finish position. You have just utilized the rest of the entire body's muscle groups as follows: g luteus maximus, quadriceps, brachioradialis, and abdominal.

The recovery
The entire process is repeated, each movement flowing into the next, forming another stroke.

Achieve fitness goals faster A University of Stockholm study has confirmed the added benefits of recreational activities when performed in an outdoor setting. Many of us already suspected that we exercise harder with outdoor exercise without feeling as tired or even like we have worked hard. We also know that the higher the exercise intensity, the sooner fitness goals can be reached. Achieving fitness goals more quickly with the improvements that are gained such as weight loss, reduced stress levels, shaping and toning are the rewards that help us stick with our workout program and continue to see improvements.

In a recent conversation with Dr. Grant Gainor, Chiropractor to local Olympic rowers and professional athletes, about rowing in the real world versus on a rowing machine, further advantages were clarified. According to Dr. Gainor, the range of motion required when rowing on the water is dictated by the need to shift the hands at the "catch" and "release" which require a deliberate alteration in the plane of motion in the movement. This in conjunction with the variables of the water surface and surrounding obstacles takes you into a constant state of awareness and hence pro-perceptive activity that is hard to emulate on a rowing machine. He stated that on a physical, structural level this is true but on a mental or emotional level it is even more so. He believes that the impact on us in dealing with the stress of modern society is hard to calculate, but the effect of consistent and all encompassing activity combined with the environment, in his experience, has an unparalleled impact upon helping the individual to maintain health, which to him is more that just fitness.

Rowing is also a time-efficient work out and a low impact sport enjoyed by all ages.

Reduce the health effects of stress and increased cortisol
Stress causes chemical changes in the body such as increased cortisol levels that, left unchecked, can have negative effects on both mental and physical health. High levels of stress contribute to health issues as diverse as depression, insomnia, heart disease, skin disorders and headaches. Interestingly enough, stress has been the subject of more than 20,000 scientific studies.

One 10-year study by Kiecolt-Glaser looked at the effects of stress on health of medical students. The research revealed decreased levels of the body's natural killer cells, which fight infections and tumors, during even the familiar stress periods of exams. Whether you are studying for a test or just trying to cover extra bills, stress can have a negative effect on health.

Another study from "Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association'' showed that mental stress can actually reduce blood flow to the heart. Combined with bad cholesterol and smoking the risk factor of stress on coronary heart disease patients was notable.

Even though studies confirm stress can have devastating consequences for our overall heath, we sometimes pride ourselves on working longer and harder, staying on top of the competition and working late at the office. This may set us up for the stress cycle.

To break free from the vicious stress cycle and stave off emotional fatigue and depression, try regular rowing along a local waterway. Your overall health will improve as your tension melts away with each breath of fresh, negative ion rich air.

Be environment friendly
Lastly while rowing you abstain from using an outboard motor and can enjoy the added peace of mind knowing you are not contributing the abrasive sounds, awful smell and heavy pollution levels of outboard power boating. For further information on this I recommend the book "Polluting for Pleasure" by Andre Mele. In 1993 his initial calculations showed that 50 million gallons of oil per year, or the equivalent of 5 Exxon Valdes oil spills were being released by pleasure boaters into the US waterways per year. In the end he concluded that outboard pleasure boating produces as much hydrocarbon pollution as all the road vehicles in America.

Aside from full body conditioning which builds lean muscle mass while burning 600 calories per hour, rowing allows you to release stress, lose weight and reduce your blood pressure. It's a great opportunity to enjoy movement and your connection with the water as you take each stroke. It can also be the opportunity to push yourself beyond limits you ever thought possible.

For more articles and information on rowing visit Whitehall Rowing and Sail's extensive web site at www.whitehallrow.com .

Get Rowing : Pull Yourself into shape

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 16:23:00 -0800

Get rowing: Pull yourself into shape

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

By Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Rowing was once as popular a sport in Pittsburgh as football is today.

Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette
Kathy Raymond, left, of Allison Park works out with others during a Three Rivers Rowing Association winter league session at the Millvale Training Facility.
Click photo for larger image.

More info

The first of three summer rowing seasons begins April 17. The first of three Dragon boat seasons begins in May. For more information, visit the Three Rivers Rowing Association Web site at: www.threeriversrowing.org/rowing.html, or call 412-231-8772.

It may seem hard to believe, particularly since most of us associate rowing with the Ivy League. That is where Michael Lambert, who just stepped down as executive director of the Three Rivers Rowing Association, was introduced to the sport as a student at Dartmouth College in the 1960s.

But rowing was a working man's sport before it became popular in colleges. "Thousands of people would turn out to watch races on the Allegheny and the Monongahela," he said.

That was in the mid-19th century. The sport of rowing grew naturally from the fact that rowboats were a key factor in commerce and transportation in those days.

"There weren't so many bridges then," Mr. Lambert said. "A lot of people commuted by rowboat."

One of the most famous races in rowing history was a contest between Maggie Leu and Lottie McAlice, both of Pittsburgh, he said. Ms. McAlice, who won the race, learned to row by taking her father to and from Sawmill Run to Downtown Pittsburgh.

But as hours in the steel mills grew longer, pollution from the mills fouled the rivers, and baseball and football grew in popularity, interest in rowing waned.

The sport was just about dead in Pittsburgh when Mr. Lambert, now 61, arrived here in 1972 to attend graduate school at Pitt.

"It was so sad," he said. "The rivers were great, but they were fouled with effluent from the steel mills. Nobody would want to race in that gunk."

But by 1984, most of the steel mills were closed, and the rivers were much cleaner. So Mr. Lambert and a few others interested in promoting rowing borrowed ,000 from the YMCA to buy two used shells, as the racing boats are called, and the Three Rivers Rowing Association was born.


Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette John Buck of Squirrel Hill, front, and Dianne Clark of Allison Park, behind him, row with others in a "tank" at the Three Rivers Rowing Association's Millvale facility. Click photo for larger image.

The rowing association, which is headquartered at Washington's Landing and has a boathouse in Millvale, now has .8 million worth of real estate, and a budget this year of 0,000. The U.S. Rowing Association has described the association's facilities and programs as among the best in the country.

Rowing will never again be as popular as football or baseball, but interest in the sport is growing among both genders and among all age groups and socioeconomic classes, Mr. Lambert said.

There was evidence of this last Saturday when hundreds of people filled the gymnasium at North Catholic High School to cheer people who were "racing" on rowing machines hooked up to television monitors.

More than 500 people -- most of them students at 12 area high schools which have rowing programs -- took part in the "erg races." Erg is short for ergometer, which is what rowers call their rowing machines.

Americans would be healthier if more of them rowed, said Dr. Edward Snell, director of the sports medicine fellowship for Allegheny General Hospital, and the team physician for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"People who row are in incredible shape in both their upper and lower body, which you don't see in other sports," he said.

But rowers who don't flex their knees properly before pulling on the oars can put too much strain on their lower backs, so it's best for novices to get proper instruction before taking up the sport, Dr. Snell said.

A good place to get that instruction is in the rowing association's winter rowing league.

The league is open to anyone age 21 or older, and has three seasons. Each season is six weeks long, with two one-hour sessions a week. All are conducted at the Millvale boat house. The current season ends Feb. 16, with the third and final season set for Feb. 28 through April 6.

The sessions are held from 6:30 p.m to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students spend half an hour on the rowing machines, and half an hour on mock shells suspended in water tanks. The registration fee is .

Dave Hudson, 51, an electrician from Pleasant Hills, had never rowed before he signed up for Winter League.

"I needed to get more exercise," he said. "It's a good cardiovascular workout."

Others in the class had been introduced to rowing in one of the association's three summer leagues, and have signed up to practice the sport year round so they can be in shape when the summer season starts again.

Gerald Frankovich, 63, a civil engineer from Allison Park, started rowing in the summer league last year after recovering from heart bypass surgery.

" is something I'd thought about for a long time, and if I was ever going to do it, it was now," Mr. Frankovich said.

There are two types of rowing: sweeping and sculling. Sweepers man one oar; scullers have two. Most racing is done in shells that are nearly 60 feet long, weigh 235 lbs., and are manned by eight sweepers and a coxswain who steers the shell.

Three women who work as systems analysts for Childrens' Hospital got involved when Diana Heyward, 36, of Wilkins went on to the Web to search for kayaking lessons for her son.

She discovered the rowing association offered dragon boating, which Mr. Lambert said is the fastest growing water sport.

According to legend, the sport originated in China more than 2,000 years ago.

The colorfully painted dragon boats are 44 feet long, weigh 600 pounds, and typically have a crew of 20 paddlers, a coxswain to steer the boat, and a drummer. Dragon boat races are 500 meters (about a third of a mile) long.

Ms. Heyward and friends Debbie Bencowitz, 54, of Washington's Landing, and Janet Griffiths, 40, of Plum, took part in dragon boat races last summer, and signed up for Winter League this year.

"A lot of us are older," Ms. Bencowitz said. "It's a real challenge."

In addition to being a good workout, rowing and dragon boating are popular because they combine competition and collegiality, Mr. Lambert said.

Racing adds spice to a workout, and rowing may be the ultimate team sport, he said.

"In baseball, basketball and football, you have individual stars who often dominate," Mr. Lambert said. "But in rowing and dragon boating, victory or defeat depends on the output of the whole crew."

Another attraction of rowing is just being out on the water when the sun is coming up, Mr. Frankovich said.

"It's a really good experience," he said.

(Jack Kelly can be reached at jkelly@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1476.)