ask Jac
Left: Mike Smolowe/Gallery Stock58 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 SHAPE.COMShape Fitness Director
Jaclyn EmerickShape’s fitness director, Jaclyn Emerick, is also a certified personal trainer, Spinning instructor,
kettlebell instructor, and sports and exercise nutrition coach. Tweet @shape_magazine and
@jaclynemerick with #fitq for a chance to get your question answered in an upcoming issue.Jac wants you to...
ROW SMARTER TO GET A BETTER WORKOUT
The rower is my favorite cardio machine because you can crush calories on it and
sculpt muscles in your back, arms, abs, and legs. But strapping in without a strategy
won’t do your body any favors. So I went to Annie Mulgrew, the program director at
Cityrow, an indoor rowing and strength training interval studio in New York City, to
decode its dashboard. Learn what the numbers mean, then pick a time or distance
goal, hit the appropriate button to lock it in, and row.3 Timer button
Press this and then
the up or down arrow
to set a timer by
30-second intervals.
Press the center
button and see how
many meters you
can row in that given
amount of time. Try
to complete more
meters in each inter-
val while keeping the
same spm rate.4 Distance
button
Press this and
then the up or down
arrow to set a distance
goal by 50-meter
increments. Then
press the center1 Strokes per
minute (spm)
Your speedometer,
which shows the
number of strokes
(consider these your
reps) you perform in
one minute. Higher
is not better. Always
aim to keep your spm
below 30—pull hard
and recover on the
way in—and you’ll log
more meters (think
distance covered on
water) and work more
muscles in less time.2 Split time
The amount of time
it takes you to row
500 meters. It is
aff ected by speed
(spm) and power (the
push of your legs out
to extension). Try this:
Row 500 meters at
26 to 28 spm, and aim
to keep a consistent
split time for two min-
utes. Then drop your
rate to 22 to 24 spm,
and see if you can push
hard enough to
maintain the
same split
time.button and see how
long it takes you to
cover that distance at
26 spm. Recover, then
do the same distance
in less time.5 Time
This shows either
how long you have
been rowing or—if
you selected the timer
button—how long you
have left to row.6 Meters
Similarly, this is
either how far you
have been rowing
or how much farther
you have to row (if
you selected the dis-
tance button).7 Total meters
Your distance sum
over a given session.8 Total time
How long you’ve
been on the rower.9 Total calories
Think of this as
the force you are
exerting on the
machine (not the
amount of calories
you’re burning). For
example, try to row
at a rate of 26 spm
until you hit 10 calo-
ries. Rest, then row
at 26 spm again, but
lower your split time
so you can get to
10 calories in less time.1
2345
6789