The lonely rowing machine

As usual, the onset of a new year has the YMCA crowded with newly-minted gym junkies looking to make good on their health-conscious resolutions.

It's been difficult at times to find an open machine. I usually try to get my workouts done during the late morning/early afternoon lull. But even then, I'll occasionally find the treadmills, ellipticals and exercise bikes to be busy. Weightlifting stations can also get a little crowded, as curious first-timers try to feel the burn with unfamiliar machines and equipment.

However, one gym item that often seems to get overlooked is the Concept2 indoor rowing machine (also known as an 'erg' in rowing circles) nestled quietly in the corner of Y's Life Center. A curious hand or two will try the indoor rower out from time to time, but for the most part, it is readily available. For me, the 'erg' is not only a piece of exercise equipment, but a nod to the nostalgia of college.

I was on the club rowing team while I attended St. Cloud State, and in all honestly, I used to HATE using 'the machine' during winter training. It had all the aches and pains of actual rowing, but none of the perks like being out on the water and not having to stare at a wall the whole time. Indoor workouts usually consisted of blaring loud music, monotonous time pieces and the overwhelming stench of the dilapidated, b.0.-infested handball court where the rowing machines resided (it's unclear whether or not that workout area was sanitary). No wonder practice attendance dipped so much during winter months.

However, due to my addiction to cardio and the aforementioned crowded machines at the Y, I have recently found myself getting reacquainted with the old 'erg.' I also got inspired after reading about a current rower at St. Cloud State who is 'erging' 2 million meters in five months -- an almost-incomprehensible distance in that amount of time -- to raise money for the team and a cancer foundation (full story here). I figure if he's going to suffer through that much time on a rowing machine, the least I can do is endure it on occasion.

My rowing workouts have been pretty modest compared to 'good ol' days;' usually 10-15 minutes at low intensity about 3-4 times a week, with the occasional 20-30-minute piece tossed in. It took awhile to get used to it again (I've been using the rowing machine at the Y for about 2-3 weeks now), but now that I'm comfortable with it, it's become a regular -- and beneficial -- part of my workout routine.

In a lot of ways, rowing is the perfect cardio exercise. It works out your entire body, burns more calories than biking and it's easier on your joints than running. Plus it's a great way to work on rhythm, coordination and posture.

Bringing personal experience into the testimonial, rowing also happens to be the sport that started me on the path to being the workout fanatic that I currently am. I was in sports in high school, but it wasn't until rowing that exercise ceased to feel like work and instead became fun.

Here's a video on rowing technique from Cambridge Rowing Club.

Nostalgia can be a painful thing

Everyone who's been around long enough has an activity they miss being able to do on a regular basis.

For me, that activity is rowing.

For the majority of my four years of college, I identified myself as a rower almost as much as I did a student. It may have only been a club sport, but to me, crew was life. The practices were challenging, the regattas were competitive and the friendships forged will last a lifetime. My favorite memories of college weren't made in a classroom or a bar; they were made in a boat.

It's been hard to let go of in the post-graduate life, but thanks to the indoor rowing machine at the YMCA -- also known as an "erg" to the crew-initiated -- at least part of the sport doesn't have to be phased out completely. Not that erging is the part of rowing I'd like to maintain. Most of the people who participate in crew look at an erg with the same level of contempt as a dog owner has with picking up the waste of their pet on a morning walk: it's not something you enjoy doing, but it's part of the experience.

However, since the erg is pretty much the closest thing there is to actual rowing in Mankato, it has to suffice for me to get my crew fix. I normally try to put in about 10-20 minutes on the machine at medium intensity a couple times a week. Nothing too crazy; just enough to remind my body what rowing feels like.

But yesterday, my ambition combined with my sense of nostalgia to take it a step further. I decided to try one of the staple workouts from the old crew days: the 5,000-meter time trial. It's more of a long-distance workout than a sprint, but it still requires a pretty strenuous pace to get a decent time. Being the nerd that I am, I remembered my personal best time in college and wanted to see how close I could come to matching it. At the very least, I figured it'd be a good way to finish up a workout at the Y.

The time trial started out just fine. My form started coming back to me early on and I busted through the first 2,000 meters or so without too much trouble.

However, right around the 2,500-meter mark, I hit the proverbial wall that every workout junkie can relate to. Your muscles burn, your breathing becomes exasperated and your mindset all of the sudden shifts from "This is feeling great" to "What the hell am I doing here? I'm not in shape for this." Rather than trying trying to drop my split during this crucial point of the time trial, I spent most of the next 2,000 meters wondering if I was going to throw up if I tried to pick up the pace.

Thankfully, I made it through the time trial without suffering the embarrassment of losing my lunch in the YMCA Life Center. The time I finished with may have been paltry compared to what I was doing in college, but considering I felt like absolute death by the end of the workout, the time really wasn't all that important.

The important thing was what I learned from the experience: that nostalgia can sometimes be painful to both the mind and the body. Maybe next time, I'll try to get my crew fix by simply wearing an old rowing t-shirt instead. It might not be as rewarding as a good workout on the erg, but at least I don't want to throw up after putting on a t-shirt.