Pull Rowing, welcome to Branford, CT. A very fit and active community composed of cross fitters, runners, spinners, lifters and now-rowers. I remember when I drove by  what used to be, the towns old movie theater, and has since been converted into a complex of studios and storefronts.  I saw a sign above the big display window- Pull Rowing. So, just like any other curious mind does, I googled it. The website was still under construction, but you were able to get the gist of the studio, their schedule and pricing. Now I have rowed before at my local gym, but I didn’t row for long. After a while it becomes uncomfortable because of the small, hard seat you sit on to glide back and forth while you row, my butt goes numb from that seat!  Needless to say, I didn’t do it much, and it gets boring after a while. However, eventually I learned if you play with the buttons on the screen there is a game where you row to catch fish (a-ha bet you didn’t know about that feature). The one thing that did catch my eye on the website was their rowers. If any of you are familiar with House of Cards, you have seen Francis and Claire Underwood row from time to time. Well, Pull Rowing has that type of rower, WaterRowers. I wanted to row in style like President Underwood, if the President uses it then it must be worth another shot, right?

I arrived up to Pull Rowing Studio and I was immediately greeted by smiling faces, a crystal, aqua- blue painted studio with beautifully finished wood floors throughout the whole space. A studio that gives off the perception of the ocean and a boat, just as if you were rowing out on the open water(genius). Everybody was super friendly and genuinely enthusiastic about your presence. They have a display with that same aqua blue, glass water bottles by a wall aligned with apparel. Then you walk into the actual row room, there is a section with free weights and the rest of the space is lined with WaterRowers,2 rows. Mirrors ran across the length of the room and natural sunlight beamed in through the large storefront windows, which made the water in the rowers glisten like the sun hitting the ocean water. By each rower there is a yoga mat and a towel is left for your use on the rower, an indication that you were going to break a sweat and would need it, which I did.

I picked my rower facing the mirror, to keep an eye on my form during the whole class. A few rowers down from me I met Tom, one of the owners. An experienced rower, long distance runner, cross fitter; an athlete. He shared with me the concept of the rowers, created by a rower(John Duke) to simulate rowing during the cold months when the rowing team wasn’t able to hit the open water. However, I doubt John Duke had a studio like Pull Rowing that gave off the oceanic vibe.

Time to row with Blake , but first a stretch. Once you strap in, she teaches you the basics of rowing. We programmed our rowers to 100 meters for our warm up. Once you are warmed up, you transition to the mat and utilize those free weights I picked in the beginning of class. She demonstrated a variety of exercises some with the weights, some utilizing your own body weight. Lunges with biceps curls, squats using just your body weight, mountain climbers, overhead presses, dead bugs(lol), etc. Throughout the remainder of the class, your meter goal increases up to 500 meters! You row 100/150 meters more than you did in the warm up, then mat work, row 100 meters more than the previous round, then mat work. I was sweating during the warm up and already was using the towel that they so kindly provided. When I arrived, I initially thought I would just be rowing for an hour. Thinking about it once I was in the studio, I began to doubt if I would survive but, it’s not an hour of JUST rowing. It was a full body workout alternating between rowing and exercising off the rower, it was intense. Even though you aren’t there to compete with anybody in the class, I was secretly competing, (well actually trying to keep up) with Tom. He blew me out of the water though, lol. Lastly, once you reach the finish line, you are rewarded with an ice cold towel, followed by a closing stretch.

It was definitely a great outlet to incorporate a new type of exercise into my routine, and just like anything else, the more you perform, the faster and better you will be at rowing 500 meters. Thank you to all the staff who welcomed me, it was a great time!

I wonder if i could beat Frank Underwood to the 500 meter finish line?