I was first introduced to it more than a decade ago when my husband and I moved from St. Louis to a small town in Michigan\u2019s scenic, snowy and isolated Upper Peninsula.<\/p>\n
Reeling from all the changes and needing something to ground me, I joined a gym close to my house.<\/p>\n
Little did I know that the fitness manager there (who would later become my business partner in UCanRow2) had rowed on the US national team and was crazy for the rowing machine.<\/p>\n
She knew all about the machine\u2019s potential to help people of all ages, shapes, fitness levels and abilities find or get back to health.<\/p>\n
So did all of the gym\u2019s members. Right out of the gate they sucked me into a month-long rowing challenge.<\/p>\n
I was hooked.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/20190309_HeadshotsSarah_065.750.jpg\")
Sarah Fuhrmann. Photo courtesy of the author.<\/p><\/div>\n
Rowing Was My Weight Loss Magic Bullet<\/h3>\n
The rowing machine turned out to be my \u201cmagic bullet\u201d to get on the road to better health, and to uncovering my full potential:<\/p>\n
- \n
- I loved that I could get on the machine and make it as hard or easy as I wanted it to be simply by adjusting my own effort.<\/li>\n
- I loved the Zen of the flywheel, that the rowing motion could be meditative.<\/li>\n
- Conversely, I loved the challenge of really cranking it up and getting my heart pumping on that very same piece of equipment.<\/li>\n
- Most of all, I loved that it was an incredibly EFFICIENT workout (rowing works 80 percent of your muscles on every stroke) and that it offered enough variety that I could do it consistently.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Over time, and by showing up regularly and putting in the work in the gym AND the kitchen, I was able to complete a 50-pound weight loss in 2011.<\/p>\n
How I\u2019m Rowing Now<\/h3>\n
I\u2019ve come up against a lot in the years since I joined that gym: Menopause hit hard, as did my business partner\u2019s cancer diagnosis and subsequent passing, and now a pandemic.<\/p>\n
You know, life.<\/p>\n
My weight has gone up and down a bit with the times, but through it, all the rowing machine has been there for me.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m still rowing regularly (and teaching a class on Zoom three times a week). As I\u2019ve gotten older I\u2019ve also added in more strength training to the rowing mix, along with plenty of stress-controlling walking.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m still a work in progress, too, but I\u2019ve proven to myself that I am stronger and capable of a whole lot more than I thought I was. Not just in the gym, in my professional life as well.<\/p>\n
So much so that I had a book of rowing workouts published in 2020!<\/p>\n
It was the tangible proof of something I\u2019ve learned time and again in my years in this business: by releasing my inner athlete on the rowing machine I can connect with the strong, healthy, and happy woman who is my true self.<\/p>\n
Solving the Weight Loss Puzzle<\/h3>\n
Rowing is a great calorie burner, up to 800 calories an hour, so I was able to lose weight almost without thinking about it by rowing consistently while favoring healthy, balanced food choices and not depriving myself of the occasional treat.<\/p>\n
As an inveterate emotional eater and a five-decade veteran of virtually every diet known to man, it was amazing to me that the formula could be so simple:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Break a good sweat every time you work out and do it often.<\/li>\n
- Make mostly good food and drink choices, don\u2019t obsess about food or use it to fill voids that aren\u2019t real hunger<\/li>\n
- Let the rest take care of itself<\/li>\n
- Be patient and give yourself a ton of grace<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Lessons Learned on the Road to 20 Million Meters<\/h3>\n
\u201cYou have to be a little bit selfish.\u201d<\/h4>\n
My good friend and business partner said that often of what it took for her to be successful as an elite rower. For most of the rest of us, getting healthy and staying that way takes the same consistent dedication. Put yourself first by making challenging workouts and nourishing meals your top priority.<\/p>\n
Find physical activities you love.<\/h4>\n
And enough to do them until you sweat, and do them often. At least 3-4 times per week. The human body is the only machine that breaks down if you don\u2019t use it. Remember that.<\/p>\n
Find a workout setting that works for you.<\/h4>\n
The competitive, yet team-based environment of the rowing challenge was just what I needed to jump-start my weight loss and fitness. Experiment until you find the formula that makes you feel challenged, energized, supported, and most of all like you want to stick with it.<\/p>\n
Take the focus off food.<\/h4>\n
I am not one of those people who see food as just fuel for the body. I love to cook, I love to eat. But I have realized that I can be satisfied with a whole lot less on my plate than I thought I could. Eat good food, when you\u2019re truly hungry for it, and let your stomach, not an overloaded plate, tell you when to stop.<\/p>\n
Give yourself a break.<\/h4>\n
Losing weight and getting fit is hard work and both take time, especially as we age. Getting off course every now and then isn\u2019t the end of the world, nor is it a reason \u2013 or an excuse \u2013 to give up on yourself. One foot in front of the other, day by day. Row on!<\/p>\n
Sarah Fuhrmann, CEO of UCanRow2<\/a>, is one of the leading voices in the indoor rowing community. Her company brings the power of indoor rowing to exercisers and fitness professionals worldwide.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cYou look amazing!\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2021","category-winter-2021-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10754"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11093,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754\/revisions\/11093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}