- Fitness tips: rowing for beginners
Even the most basic manoeuvre is fraught with potential mishap
If you plotted a two-grid matrix (come on, you’ve got an MBA, you know what I’m talking about) with “how intimidating is it?” on one axis and “how fun is it?” on the other, and you plotted every leisure activity in the world, you would end up with indoor rowing in one corner and outdoor rowing in the other. Any idiot can go on an erg machine. You can do it in the gym on your own and nobody is even allowed to tell you you’re doing it wrong. The river is a different matter: you need someone to do everything for you; it’s like being a baby. How to carry the boat, fix the oars in, what wellies to wear, when to take them off, how to get into the boat, how to strap yourself in, what to do next – the works.
I had wonderful, patient instruction from coach Joanne Harris at the Thames Rowing Club on Putney Embankment in London, but these guys are pretty serious; very competitive, with an indoor tank, a number of squads, a heap of wins, members who think nothing of going to 10 training sessions a week, and two professional coaches. So if you really are at a standing start in London, go to Fulham Reach, a brilliant outfit which seeks to extend the sport to non-private schools, and cross-subsidises by teaching adult beginners. Outside London, there’s an online club finder at britishrowing.org.
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