Fitness

Sculling: The Healthy-Heart Workout

Rowing is one of the best workouts for burning off that belly -- and reducing your risk of heart disease

[ Updated: Jul 14, 2008 - 5:09:08 PM ]

Rowing works almost every major muscle in the body, making it a great cardio workout but also one that needs to be done with the proper form. Before you hop on a machine, make sure you have the technique down.

Think of the stroke as a dance, counting 1-2-3 and 3-2-1.

1 • Push with your legs.
2 • "Swing up" your body by leaning back
3 • Draw your arms to the bottom of your rib cage, spinning the flywheel.

Then reverse it:

3 • Extend your arms
2 • Swing your body forward from the hips
1 • Bring your legs up after the handle passes your knees. In other words, on the back stroke, your knees should be almost completely straight before you squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the handle to your sternum. Your back should stay in its naturally arched position during the entire movement.

If you're new to rowing, your first few workouts should involve six easy sets of 3 minutes of rowing followed by 2 minutes of rest.

Once you've got the technique down and can row three sets of 8 minutes (with 2 minutes rest after each), you're ready for the more advanced workout below.