The guys in the office are lucky enough to have a Concept 2 Rowing Machine available to use and have set the challenge of rowing 1,000,000 metres in 90 days. Find out how we are doing this and what changes to our lifestyle we are making and how our body shape has changed.

At this time of year we all feel as if we may have a few pounds to lose (weight that is, not money). The excess of Christmas and the probable reduced level of exercise due to sports closing down over the holiday period are likely to have assisted in your weight gain. We start the new year with an energy and vow to shed the excess weight and get healthier. We hear it every year and we also probably say it ourselves every year. We hunt out the latest diet crazes, Atkins, Weighwatchers, DietChef, No Carbs....there is now the Hairy Bikers Diet Club, we will try anything to squeeze every lb off our body. Sadly these invariably end up costing huge sums and the old habits return relatively quickly. It is obvious to say but, if you burn more calories than you consume then the weight should start to come down. A balanced diet is essential to weight loss but so then is exercise. The higher the intensity of your workout, the more calories you will burn. A 30 minute walk would burn less calories than a 30 minute jog. This is because the heart rate increases and uses more calories, subsequently reducing the fat content within the body. Another sure fire way of reducing the calorific intake is to reduce or cut out alcohol. Medical advise now suggests a minimum of 2 dry days per week. Men should have no more than 4 units per day and women should have no more than 3 per day. A small glass of wine is around 2 units and a pint of beer is around 2 units too. So to the One Million Metre Challenge. The guys in the office are lucky enough to have a Concept 2 Rowing Machine available to use. If you are a member of a gym, most have one of these machines for you to use. If you buy a logcard you can use on any Concept2 machine and record your row. These rows can be uploaded to the Concept2 online logbook which is a free web-based application that allows you to record your workouts and keep track of your total metres. You can even connect to training partners to see their current progress. This is a great way to maintain the motivation. We have challenged the office to try to row 1,000,000 metres in a given period. We initially suggested a year but, this was quickly rejected by the younger guys. We then had a debate as to 3 or 4 months with a suggestion that 90 days is the maximum that one can stay focused. So that is what we are doing - 1,000,000 metres in 90 days. January to the end of March. A one hour row can burn around 800 calories and in this time you can row in excess of 13,000 metres. My personal target is to lose 25lbs of weight by, eating less carbs (potatoes, bread and white rice), eating more veg (broccoli, broad beans and pulses), cut out alcohol for January and then stick to a minimum 3 dry days per week and finally, achieve the goal of 1,000,000 metres by the end of March. That target is a shade over 11,100 metres per day or 333,333 per month. The routines should be varied to maintain interest. One day you could row at a higher stroke rate or increase and decrease the stroke rate throughout the session. Varying the length of session and intensity should help to stay focused, whilst recording the metres rowed. This has already created a bit of banter in the office. I started 2 days earlier but i used my age as an excuse, i am 5 years older than the other guys. I have rowed just over 70,000 metres so far and have got the target down to 10,810 per day, which means i can row for 45 minutes and still achieve my targets. I intend to row for an hour though, as there may be occasions when i am not able to get to the rowing machine and may miss the odd day. I have already shed 6lbs and feel healthier, although my body shape hasn't changed as yet. We have an extensive range of training equipment and fitness equipment that can add energy to your workouts

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Alcohol Category_Fitness Category_One Million Metre Rowing Challenge Fitness Getting fit for the new season Health Lifestyle

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