Row Row Row Your Boat....

My friend Jessica and I are notorious for trying to find fun new exercise classes to try out…especially when there is a discount involved.  Our first adventure was at Bar Method and we loved it.  It really is too bad it was so expensive; it’s a great workout that goes by fast.  Of course we have been doing yoga together for a while (you know, she is my favorite yoga instructor) and then yesterday, Jessica and I tried out something new, Indo Row, and it was so much fun (and the first class was free)!!

How it works is you sit on a row machine that was specially made for this class (from my understanding the only difference is it uses a giant container of water as your resistance instead of the regular form of resistance, whatever that may be), and then you have to row as a team with your fellow classmates.  Not that your speed effects them, but when the [hot] instructor turns down the music you can hear if anyone isn’t in sync with the team.  Not to mention the sound of the water is rather relaxing.

The hour it takes to complete this class goes by really fast.  This class was broken down into smaller segments so it was more manageable and let me tell you, when you’re going as hard as you can on that thing to beat your own score it gets tough.  Like hard to breath, OMG am I going to make it for 30 seconds at this pace because I’m pretty sure my heart is going to explode, tough.  There are breaks between segments to stretch and do some sit-ups and then it’s back to rowing and trying to be faster than you were in the last segment.  At the end of class you do a relay race against your fellow classmates (3 teams of 4).  We had to give our team a country to race for so naturally I picked Uruguay…because the US felt like I was cheating (too easy) and well, why not Uruguay?   We came in second, but with a team full of new people and then the instructor as our fourth, I’m pretty sure he pulled all the weight.

What is also pretty cool is that for those who are self conscious of people watching/judging you (which I’m sure no one is) you can’t tell how fast anyone is actually going.  Everyone is doing the same number of strokes, it’s all about how much you push with your legs and pull with your arms.  I may have blisters on both hands and my back and legs hurt, but for some, obviously masochistic, reason I cannot wait to go back.