Hoboken fitness studio concentrates on rowing as fun way to burn fat and tone up – The Jersey Journal
Ready. Set. Row.
Grab your paddles and row your way to a better body this spring at GoRow Studios in Hoboken where the signature GoRow Workout combines collegiate circuit rowing and full body exercises.
This hot new fitness studio in the Mile Square, located at 1422 Grand St., brings students back to the old school rower for one of the most fun ways to burn fat.
Alternating between rounds of rowing and upper and lower body and core exercises, using free weights, the 50-minute class uses Waterrowers to help simulate the fluidity and smoothness of rowing a boat gently down a stream, burning an estimated 600 to 800 calories in the process.
It’s not all fun and games. Expect the class to be a challenge.
“If it is not challenging, it’s not worth doing,” says instructor and owner of GoRow Studios Garrett Roberts.
“I push every person who comes to the class for the first time to see what they’re capable of doing and see what level they’re starting at,” explains Roberts. “It’s sort of like a intense fitness test. I’m going to see how they perform from low-intensity to under the highest intensity and see how their body reacts to this newfound stress. Then the next time they come back I have a good knowledge of how far I can push them and things they struggle with and need to work on.”
Classes are small — 10 students rowing at a time — making the experience feel more like a group personal training session. It also affords Roberts the opportunity to pay attention to each student, correcting and adjusting their forms both on and off the rower. He can also put special focus on students with special needs or orthopedic concerns.
“I do have quite a few people who take the class that have lower-back issues, but by adjusting their form on the rower, it won’t make their symptoms worse, but make their symptoms less by incorporating specific stretches as well,” Roberts says.
With a little friendly competition during a 500-meter sprint, the last and final rowing round, the workout gets even hotter. Your focus quickly moves from fighting fat and fatigue to breaking a record and scoring the fastest time to post on the leader board with the top three men’s and women’s sprint times.
The times change every week or so for second and third place, but the first-place leader time hasn’t changed in a month says Roberts.
First-place times to beat: 1 minute, 31 seconds for the women and 1 minute, 15 seconds for the men.
It gets better. Go Row Studios is about to become interactive. Roberts in the process of installing monitors on the rowers so students will be able to connect to the Internet and race against other rowers from around the world.
A graduate of Springfield College in Massachusetts, Roberts is a New Jersey native who did not row in college but served as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the crew team — the same responsibility he shouldered for the football, wrestling, swimming, track and field and ski teams at the school.
With an Exercise Physiology degree with a specialty in physical therapy and rehabilitation, Roberts has spent the last 17 years in the fitness industry, training in gyms and in homes all around northern New Jersey and Hoboken through his company, Garrett Roberts Fitness Solutions.
Also under the company that bears his name, Roberts works with individuals who seek to become personal trainers, equipping them with skills needed for the job before contracting them out to homes and health clubs.
For years, the indoor rower has been Roberts’ cardio machine of choice for his clients. The only full body cardio machine that burns the most calories possible in the least amount of time, Roberts feels it is the most underrated piece of equipment in the gym.
In addition to classes, Roberts also offers one-on-one and small group (two to three people) personal training at GoRow Studios.
“In this setting I can find a person’s muscular imbalances, postural assessment and give each person manual resistance for certain exercises, which is the best way for optimal gains,” Roberts says
Documenting each clients beginning fitness level, weight, circumference measurements, and body fat percentage, he sets short-term and long-term goals and designs diets for each client making sure they are consuming the perfect amount of fat, protein, carbohydrates, and calories.
At the end of the day, however, the key is to enjoy yourself while losing weight and toning up.
Time flies when your having fun, making this intense workout feel like a mere 20 minutes, and if that doesn’t bring you back for more, the need to beat your own sprint time will.
Early morning, evening and weekend classes are available.
Visit www.gorowstudios.com for a complete class schedule and to sign up in advance for classes.
First-time rowers will receive 50 percent off their first class. (Be sure to mention The Jersey Journal.) Class packages are also available online.
Article source: http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2012/03/hoboken_fitness_studio_concent.html
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Categories: Fat Loss Diary Tags: Exercise Physiology, Go Row Studios, Grand St, Mile Square