The Design Of Rowing Machines Is Designed For All Bodies
The Design Of Rowing Machines Is Designed For All Bodies
The design of rowing machines is obviously based on a boat, specifically a sculling boat. They are especially popular in England and college campuses about the world with access to a body of water. The only five time gold medal winning Olympic athlete in England is a rower in the two man and four man sculling crew, Sir Steve Redgrave. And in case you wonder why someone thought "What outdoor sport should be transferee indoors?" just look at a picture of Sir Steve. The man could be a Michelangelo model.
Early Days
In order to mimic the whole body workout sculling gives you, the design of rowing machines makes them look peculiar, but does gives you the workout. Technically, an indoor rowing machine is called an "ergometer" or "ergo". All indoor rowing machines include a device (also called an ergometer) that measures how far you are rowing (or, how much of a workout you are doing).
The first rowing machine was made about a hundred years ago. Designs of rowing machines have changed since those early days, making them lighter, more easy to store and sleeker. The first designs of rowing machines around 1900's were based on pneumatic pressure to drive the rowing motion. They were very heavy because they were made of iron. You had to row a solid iron wheel around to get your workout. Ouch. Unsurprisingly, this did not catch on.
The 1980's
We now fast forward to the 1980's, where the design of rowing machines was given a makeover. Instead of using pneumatic pressure, they now used air resistance. You just can't row the oars back and forth on a hinge. The workout comes from the resistance the water gives the oars. Also, it was now made with much lighter materials, but was still sturdy. Athletes said the improvements in the design of rowing machines now accurately mimic what it feels like to row a real boat.
Indoor Rowing Today
With the changes in designs to indoor rowing machines, it was possible for anyone to train on a rowing machine and not just Olympic athletes. Indoor rowing is now considered a sport in it's own right, where the race isn't who crosses the finish line first, but who reaches a certain distance on the ergometer first. This is not an Olympic sport, although the sport records have been set by Olympic rowers, including Sir Stephen Redgrave.