Row yourself back into shape

Build full-body muscle and blast away fat on the rowing machine. MH tells you how and why

Total-body workout

Looking for the best way to kick off your 2010 fitness regime? The unlikely answer may be to sit down in a corner of the gym. "Rowing is a total-body workout," says Matt Langridge, Great Britain rowing team Men's Four's world champion. "You are working all of the large muscle groups (legs, back, arms) and you can really push your body to the limit as there's very little impact on your joints".

Work up to 12km

For blitzing winter weight, endurance training beats a short intense row. “You can burn approximately 900 calories per hour during a steady state training session,” says GB rowing team physiologist Mark Horner. Twelve kilometres is a good distance to build up to – though you should start off slow. Langridge recommends kicking off at two kilometres and building up incrementally from there. Butbeware of injury: “If you don’t row properly it can put a strain on your back, so for the first couple of weeks I’d advise doing short sessions working on getting the proper technique.”

Great motivator

Another reason why the rowing machine is the perfect place to begin your journey toward a fitter, leaner body in 2010 is the regular indications of progress. “The great thing about the rowing machine is that it gives you 500m splits so you have a constant measure of how fast you are going – essentially how hard you are working – and can measure your progress and see how you are improving from week to week,” says Langridge.

As your endurance training improves you’ll start to see peripheral aerobic adaptations such as increased capillarisation (meaning an increase in the rate at which blood and oxygen can be transported to and used by the muscles) and increased blood volume (which also improves oxygen transport to the muscles). “Together, an increase in capillarisation and blood volume means that muscles can work harder for longer,” explains sports scientist Christian Finn.

Nutrition

As ever, what you consume – and when – is every bit as important as how intensely you train. “Aim to have 1-1.2g of carbohydrate per kg of your bodyweight immediately after training and repeated at regular intervals until a meal is eaten,” advises Wendy Martinson, lead nutritionist of the GB rowing team.

And if you can’t stomach solids, there’s always the white stuff. “Milk or yoghurt based drinks are convenient post-training and will provide protein as well as some carbohydrate. Research has shown that the mixture of whey and casein protein in milk can help rebuild muscles and promote efficient adaptations to resistance training. The effects of milk have also been shown to aid recovery from endurance exercise,” says Martinson.