Whitehall Rowing and Sail - History of the Whitehall

Dear Dr. Donohue: I am an active, 42-year old woman and used to be a long-distance runner. I had to give it up. It was too hard on my knees. I happen to live on a lake and I have taken up rowing. I love it, but I wonder if the amount of exercise I get from rowing is comparable to what I got from running. Is it? P.J

What I have to say about rowing a boat applies to rowing machines as well.

You are engaging in one of the most demanding of all exercises. Rowing increases muscle strength as well as conditions the heart. Many state that it is the best all-around conditioning exercise there is.

One of the beauties of rowing is that it allows a person to control the intensity of exercise by increasing or decreasing the number of strokes rowed per minute. If a person is just starting out, 12 strokes a minute is a good limit. You don’t have to do 12. If all you can row is three, great. As you work at it, aim for a pace of 20 to 25 strokes a minute. The more rapid the strokes, the less time a person is able to keep at it, but doing many strokes per minute produces a good muscle workout and a good heart workout.

A 137-pound (62kg) woman burns from seven to 10 calories a minute while rowing. Minute by minute, that’s the equivalent of the amount of calories she would expend running a marathon in three hours and 45 minutes. If a person can run that fast and that long, invitations to marathon events will flood his or her mail.

You are not working only the upper body. Your thigh muscles, buttock muscles, abdominal muscles and back muscles as well as your shoulders and arms get in on the act.

If you tried, you would be hard-pressed to find another exercise that provides such benefits. Furthermore, you are protecting your knees.