As an ambassador of rowing, Owner of two Roworx Centers In Long Beach, son of an Olympic Rowing Coach Father and Olympic Bronze Medalist, I have been in very close association with Concept 2 it has been an adventure coaching and training many people how to row with proper technique.
After being involved with the fitness industry for more than 10 years I realize there is a huge need for more intensive rowing technique among Crossfit members and other competitive athletes. Hundreds of Crossfit gyms across the nation use the Concept 2 Rowing Machine in order to improve strength, conditioning, and speed for better results in the Crossfit Games. The ‘White Board’ in every Crossfit gym is used to measure speedwork for shorter distances on the Concept 2 with the use of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 meter times. I want to open up my training, conditioning, and training secrets to the world of CrossFit’s and beyond in order for you to get faster times and results on the rowing machine. Nearly every year for the past 15 years I have raced the 2,000 meter standard distance indoor virtual rowing race on the Concept 2 rowing machine with times ranging from 5:57 to 6:08 on my slowest day. I will teach you how to maximize your rowing workouts in order to get the fastest times possible on the Concept 2 rowing machine!
Have you ever caught yourself saying or thinking that you hate exercise? Or that it hurts too much and makes you sore? Not to mention that exercise makes you feel uncomfortable while you sweat. Here are a few steps on how to fall in love with exercise.
On November 25th 2012 I will be participating in my 3rd Full Distance Ironman in Cozumel, Mexico. After a brief rest from completing two international Ironman competitions in 2008 Nice, France and 2009 Florianopolis, Brazil I wanted something to train for again in order to keep driving myself into competition.
Growing up with a father who was a two-time U.S. Olympian in Rowing (68′ Mexico City Olympic Bronze Medalist and 76′ Montreal Olympic Men’s Rowing Coach) was a very interesting experience. I thought it was normal routine workout and it made sense that my father would go out for a 3-hour workout and train 7 days a week. I didn’t really appreciate or even come close to understanding how truly hard and mentally tough it is to win an Olympic medal… let alone just to make the Olympic Team until I rowed and was recruited to row for UC Berkeley. All of a sudden I found myself the weakest and slowest rower on the team as we went on to win 3 National Championships and 4 PAC- 10 Championships in 4 years along with International rowers that were recruited from all over the world. It was my introduction to the next step of my rowing career as I rowed alongside recruited rowers from Sweden, Norway, Germany, England, Serbia, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and Croatia . I remember days where I would barely be awake during practice in the early mornings as I did not have enough time to recover in between practices. Our coaches made us do fitness tests every week to see how fast we could row 10,000 meters on the Concept 2 Rowing Machine. One year we accumulated 15 tests every week of 10,000 meters and about 10 fitness tests of 6,000 meters! My overall best Concept 2 times were 33 min 20 seconds for 10,000 meters (1:40 split avg) and a national team qualifying time of 19 min 2o seconds for the 6,000 meter test (1:36 split avg).
Two years ago when I created Roworx in Long Beach it was my dream to offer a complete low impact high-calorie burn workout for everyone to enjoy no matter what experience an individual had in athletics. Recently I have had many new calls and emails regarding how ‘easy’ or ‘hard’ certain Roworx Classes were and what kinds of classes I thought would be best for people just starting out their new workout routine. Throughout my 20 years of experience as an athlete and rower I have found that nearly half of the general public I come in contact with and talk about my sport think that rowing is relatively ‘easy’ and discuss the perception that rowing is a total upper body workout. However, in reality, the power behind the rowing stroke is driven through your legs (about %80) and then the rest throughout the entire body. Rowing is actually one of the hardest, if not the hardest cardiovascular demanding sport that you can do on the planet. For instance, the standard Olympic distance for a rowing race is 2,000 meters (just over a mile). The standard U.S. Men’s Heavyweight Olympic Team time for rowing a 2,000 meter piece on the Concept 2 rowing machine is around 5 min :55 seconds (1:28 500 split avg or around 500 watts)! Out of all the Roworx Classes we have to offer such as Rowing, Bootcamp, Zumba, Evo Indoor Cycling, TRX Suspension Training, Pilates Arc Ab Exercises and the Ski Erg Training along with any other activity that you choose to do is as hard as you want to make it. es,Since you are the one that is participating in the activity it is also up to yourself to push as hard as you want. I always tell everyone in class at Roworx that if you can hold your body-weight in watts on the Concept 2 monitor then that is a great goal. Once you have hit your body-weight in watts you can then try and double your body-weight and so on.
Throughout this past year I made a commitment to myself to start eating better and give my body the right nutrition it needs in order to run Roworx as a business and teach nearly 3 classes a day.. everyday!
Over the past 10 years while teaching over 5,000 hours of indoor cycling classes throughout various fitness facilities across the U.S. I have found that in order to get the best workout on a bike you must have the right technique whether you are cycling indoors and or outdoors. Cross-training on the indoor bike has had added many positive effects to my training for two international Ironman’s in Nice, France and Florianopolis, Brazil over the past couple of years. I owe it to cycling for getting my body into the best shape of my life and improving muscle endurance throughout my legs and core. My father, John Nunn also used cycling as a perfect way to crosstrain for the Olympics in 1968 while winning a bronze medal in rowing. John also discusses the importance that indoor cycling bikes that offer the perfect cross training exercises with all the training benefits of road cycling and without the risks of crash injuries. The indoor cycling ‘boom’ hit in the late 1980’s and early 90’s with the emergeance of the ‘spin class.’ Since then almost every single fitness machine manufacturer has developed am indoor bicycle. Indoor and outdoor cycling have become so popular because nearly everyone knows how to ride a bike and the leg drive on a bicycle is a relatively simple process. You may either pedal with greater force, more pedal velocity along with resistance in gears or brake, or both to achieve greater speed and power. In order to accomplish this you must first transfer your body’s energy to the pedals. How much of this energy you transfer is determined by your efficiency and technique during the pedal stroke. There are many ways to increase power and efficiency. It is possible to be a fit and powerful athlete, but not necessarily a fast one if you are inefficient.
The EVO Indoor Cycling Bike is very unique from the rest of the indoor bikes on the market in that it engages the whole body while cycling in and out of the seat while riding just as a real outdoor bike experience would be on the open road. Some cyclists would say that the less sway the better, however, the act of throwing every ounce of leverage, weight, and power into the pedals and movement side to side is the visible result of trying that hard to move forward when riding outdoors. If you could stay absolutely still, and input the same amount of force to the pedal, then more of that energy would go to moving forward, but it’s physiologically it is very difficult. It’s a matter of balance and leverage. 
Further, there is a mechanical advantage to be had in terms of body mechanics by swaying the bike and it lets the cyclist apply a bit more force than if the bike remained straight. The swaying motion from side to side will allow the cyclist to use more of his arm strength than would otherwise be the case. Being able to use your full body weight in a sprint has its advantages, and that’s one reason they shift the bike back and forth under them to ‘throw’ their body weight down on alternate legs side to side creates momentum and speed. They quite simply must sway the bike back and forth because of the mechanical reality of the situation. It’s not even really a conscious act and if a rider didn’t do this, the bike would fall out from under them. Sometimes you will actually see someone move a traditional indoor cycling bike off the ground from side to side and hop around the floor in class. These riders are applying extreme power to each pedal. Since the pedals are not centered laterally, applying a large force to the right pedal for instance will apply a rotational force that pushes the top of the bike to the right and the bottom of the bike to the left. Without this counterbalancing motion, they would quite literally kick the wheel to the side out from under them. By ‘swaying’ the bike in the opposite direction, they increase the amount of force on the legs and core that can be applied to the pedals without crashing. It is an intuitive motion that happens completely automatically to any rider from novice to advanced. For a quick mental picture, imagine somebody swaying in the same direction as the pedal being pushed. For instance, somebody leaning the bike to the right while they apply a large force to the right pedal. The rotational force would rotate the bicycle clockwise, lifting the wheel off the ground. Not something you want to happen, especially at sprinting speeds and especially in a classroom setting. For a great example how this technique comes into play in real road cycling watch any Tour De France finish line approach. It’s incredibly intense and you can see how hard everyone sprints and works the whole body in order to get through the finish first. Legs, lungs, muscle endurance, and core play a massive role in the use of the Evo Bike!
Indoor cycling classes are an ideal place to work on the proper cycling technique and provide a traffic-free environment that can go a long way toward replacing the on-the-road experience. It’s a great place for cycling novices to improve at least ten aspects of cycling that will quickly make them a better rider. Indoor cycling is also a great place for the veteran cyclists to refresh their technique as long as they remember not to ride an indoor bike the same way they do their outdoor bikes. Whether you are training for an Ironman competition or just trying to stay in great shape be sure to incorporate indoor cycling into your weekly workout routine in order to improve muscle endurance and cardiovascular health. Tons of calories can be burned in just one cycling class and the best part is you can do it anytime anywhere.