healthy active living

Fitness benefits of rowing

Rowing is a very social sport which provides an excellent cardiovascular workout without putting too much strain on the joints. It is a sport that can be done competitively or just for fun and can bring many health benefits – as well as being a good means of rehabilitation after certain injuries.

Olympic rowing consists of two main types of rowing, either sculling or sweep oar, with both heavyweight and lightweight divisions. A rower uses one oar in sweep rowing, and has an oar in each hand in sculling.

Boats have one, two, four or eight rowers. In a team of eight rowers there is also a cox, who is responsible for steering the boat and directing the crew.

Olympic rowing is an endurance test over 2,000m, with finishes that can reach speeds of up to 10m a second. Crews cover the middle 1,000m at about 40 strokes per minute, but over the first and last 500m, the crew can be going at a rate of around 47 strokes.

Britain has traditionally done very well in rowing events, boasting perhaps the best Olympian of all time Sir Steve Redgrave, picking up five consecutive Olympic gold medals starting at Los Angeles in 1984 and ending at Sydney in 2000.

The Olympic Games has had a rowing competition since 1896, but did not add the women's rowing competition until 1976. Women now compete in six of the 14 medal events.

The Olympic rowing events: