Breathing Easier

For a long while I couldn't be bothered with the run down and general broken rowing machines available at the gym. For the past few months I have been noticing I have been puffing for air more then I should be at a certain heart rate. I just put this down to not doing cardio regularly enough. The gym has kindly purchased and installed some new rowing machines. Which are quite fancy with a large LCD that can tell you lots of information about your rowing. Its also a lot smoother than the old ones and is actually a pleasure to use. Despite the lack of actual water, it seems to simulate rowing conditions better...

I have been incorporating the rowing machines into my cardio workout, and weirdly I think its helped my breathing. Its very easy to get your heart rate / breathing up on the rowing machine. I only do 5 mins of rowing at any one time, but I think the fact that I have to think a little about when I breathe and the rhythmic nature of the rowing machine has helped my breathing when I am doing other cardio activities. It could also be that you workout out the upper body as apposed to just your legs in most cardio.

What ever the reason, using the rowing machine has helped me improve my cardio fitness overall. By allowing my to breathe a little easier when trying give my heart a workout.