How to Row: The Basics

I'm sure you've seen a rowing machine at the gym.

You know, it's that awkward , low-to-the-ground, horizontal medieval torture device stuck in the corner next to a stairmaster from the 1980s.

But this often-overlooked machine can offer as good of a cardiovascular workout as its brother the treadmill, and as good of a strength workout as a weight-training circuit.

To the left are six photos (from concept2.com) that take you through the proper rowing stroke as it should be performed on the ergometer ("erg"), or rowing machine.

Start at the catch, as in the first photo. Your shins should be perpendicular to the floor. Your upper body is bent at the hips at a
40-degree angle with the shoulders in front the hips.

Then, the drive. Here is where the work is done during the stroke. Drive down your legs, until your knees are flat. Don't move your upper body or lower back. This is important, as most rowers sustain injuries during this part of the stroke.

Next, body swing. Once your knees are flat, carry your momentum
through the stroke by swinging your body back through perpendicular until your upper body creates an obtuse angle with your legs.

Then, pull your arms in. It isn't necessary to yank the handle into your body. Just follow through with your arms until the handle brushes your chest, right below where a bra strap would sit.

Finally, finish the stroke when the handle is at your chest by
starting the sequence over again.

As shown in the last photo, slide the seat back up to the catch (the recovery portion of the stroke) and take another stroke.

A successful rowing workout is made up of taking thousands of continuous strokes. Unlike most cardiovascular exercises, rowing engages your arms, legs, back, chest and abs. Some athletes even tout the repetition of rowing as a mental workout.

So try the rowing machine next time you're at the gym. Set the monitor to show your average split (how long it takes you to pull 500 meters, on average, throughout the piece).

Then, pull away. Begin by pulling continuously for 20 minutes. Build your endurance until you can pull 10 kilometers without stopping. Concentrate on keep your stroke rating (how many strokes you take in a minute, shown in the top right corner of the display screen) consistently around 20.

Questions? Let me know! Check back for more dynamic erg workouts. Or, visit concept2.com
for sample workouts and further instruction.

Sex in sports

A few weeks ago, ESPN magazine released its first-ever “Body Issue.”

The regional cover for Florida featured a triathlete who had her leg amputated just below the hip. She is nude and posed to draw attention to her prosthetic leg.

The photo is shocking, but it also represents the theme of the magazine – the athlete’s body is beautiful. Even when scarred or broken, certain people are able to work their body so hard that he or she becomes among the best in the world at a given sport or athletic feat.

Of the five regional covers, three of them feature women. Morality notwithstanding, professional sports, and the coverage of it in the media, is all about money.

Sure there are purists who claim that love of sport should drive everything, but that is simply not realistic. In a sports world where television is king, you have to have something to make people watch.

I am in full support of women and girls of all ages pursuing any athletic endeavor that suits them. And on the amateur level I believe that women’s sports should have just as much support as men’s sports. But in professional sports (read "business"), things are different.

When it comes to attracting the casual fan, who, like it or not, is the backbone of professional sports, women cannot compete with their male counterparts. In virtually every sport, men are faster, stronger and more fluid in their action. Watch a men’s basketball game and then watch women play.

The difference is undeniable.

The casual fan would rarely choose to watch women play if there is no factor besides athletic ability. To give their gender and edge in attracting consumers, women need to bring something else to the table.

In the end, the decision to use sex appeal to attract followers is up to the individual. Women who are uncomfortable with the idea should never feel compelled to advertise in a way that feels inappropriate.

But professional women’s sports need something extra to create and maintain a following.

Without the added interest, it is likely that the few professional leagues that exist for women, such as the WNBA and the LPGA, will fall even farther behind their male equivalents.

Bang for your buck

The healthy life.

Organic produce, gym memberships, recreation equipment, supplements, vitamins, chiropractors, physical therapists, trainers.

It gets expensive. With an eye on my budget lately (it seems to be the thing to do), I've made an effort at cutting back.

And by "made an effort," I mean I tracked my spending for the last month, and made a pie chart to analyze where I spend my money. This is my way of procrastinating, but it did make me realize that my good health comes at a price.

Beyond tuition, rent and utilities, the largest portion of my budget goes to food -- and not for eating out, but for shopping at local stores, buying fresh produce and stocking up on muscle milk for after my workouts.

And after food came a nebulous category that I called "recreation." Here, I spent money to compete in regattas, enter triathlons, upkeep my bike and pay a chiropractor.

So while I'm not likely to quit crew any time soon, I thought I'd make an effort to trim my dietary spending.

Here are a few recipes I came up with at the grocery store this weekend. Cooking for four or more, as opposed to cooking for one, actually saves you money. Store the uneaten portions for meals during the week, or invite your friends over. They'll chip in, and probably wash the dishes, too!

Herb-Crusted Chicken Cutlets

• 1 pound chicken cutlets (about 4 cutlets) ($5.49/pound)
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs (33 cents)
• 4 sprigs each fresh rosemary and thyme (40 cents)
• 4 large eggs (46 cents)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (54 cents)
• Salt and pepper

Finely chop rosemary and thyme, and set aside. Crack eggs into a bowl and beat. Pour bread crumbs into a shallow dish and add herbs. Dip each cutlet into the eggs, then dredge in the flour and herb mixture, covering both sides. Heat olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place cutlets in the skillet, cook three to four minutes on each side until chicken is done and crust is crispy.

Serves 4.

Total cost: $7.22

Cost per person: $1.81

Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salsa

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (54 cents)
• 1 large white onion ($1.29)
• 4 garlic cloves (3 cents)
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes ($1.50)
• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained ($1.66)
• 4 ears fresh corn ($2.98)
• 2 avocados ($3.98)
• Salt and pepper

Fill microwaveable glass dish — with lid — with 1/2 cup water and corn. Place in microwave, and cook on high five minutes. Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Chop onion, and add to skillet. Cook until tender. Mince garlic and add to skillet with onion. Add canned tomatoes, cook 10 minutes. Cut kernels of corn off cob, and add to skillet. Add black beans. Take skillet off heat, and add chopped avocado. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 6 to 8. Good over protein, rice or as a side dish.

Total cost: $11.98

Cost per person: $1.50 to $1.99

Breakfast Smoothie

• 1 pound fresh strawberries ($2.50)
• 4 bananas ($1.15)
• 32 ounces orange juice ($1.50)
• Lots of ice

Hull and slice strawberries. Slice bananas. Add a quarter of the strawberries and bananas to blender with 8 ounces orange juice. Fill with ice. Blend until smooth. Repeat to make three more smoothies.

Serves 4.

Total cost: $5.15

Cost per person: $1.29

Training for a Half?

If not, consider that humans were born to run.

Or so says an article published Monday in the New York Times.

Humans evolved to run long distances in the heat, evidenced by a suite of characteristics -- our forward pointing big toe, our relative lack of body hair, springlike ligaments and tendons in our feet, a narrow midsection, a keen sense of balance and an extremely powerful gluteus maximus.

Contrary to wisdom that says running long distances is bad for our health and causes injuries, this article presents another view: Running is not only good for humans, but it is what we were made to do.

I asked Katie Valle, 21, about her training for the Women's Running Magazine Women's Half Marathon in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Nov. 22.

Q: Why did you begin training for a half marathon?
A: "I had been wanting to do it since freshman year, and it's taken me four years to finally buckle down and start doing it. Originally, I saw some seniors in my sorority who were doing it, and I thought it was bad ass -- but not something that I thought I could do. I wanted to challenge myself, and it turns out I'm capable of much more than I thought I was."

Q: What has this training taught you about yourself as an athlete?
A: "I'm typically one to work on something for two weeks and give up on it. By increasing my training a little bit week by week, I realized that I can be successful at something in the long term."

Q: So did you want to give up after two weeks?
A: "Yes. I knew that if I skipped a long run one week, I wouldn't be able to catch back up. Having the race deadline was a good motivator. Knowing that I have to do a long run at the end of every week motivates me to keep working out."

Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start training now that you've been doing this for a while?
A: "Find a training plan online, but know that if you can't follow it exactly, it's okay. You can alter it to fit your schedule. And find someone to do it with. Running partners help keep me accountable, and give me the motivation to get up and do the long runs."

Q: What are your goals for your first half marathon?
A: "They say you're not supposed to have a time goal -- but me being my competitive self, I want to get less than 2 hours and 30 minutes. But I get nervous saying that because I'm worried I can't do it. When I'm there, I know I'm going to be happy that I finish. I will be running across the finish line; I will not walk."

Q: What are your goals for after this race?
A: "I do want to run another one, but not until March. I want to not completely lose my running endurance. I'll probably still run at least 6 miles once a week. I also want to focus on eating right and muscle toning. You would think I would be losing weight, but I'm not doing anything else right -- besides running."

Q: What advice can you give about eating before, during and after a long run?
A: "It's been kind of trial and error: What should I eat beforehand? What should I eat after? Should I eat in the middle of a long run? I want to be ready for race day so I can know exactly what to eat. For breakfast on the day of my race, I'm going to have a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I've found that all the sports gels make me sick, so I'm going to use gummies during the race. They give me a quick burst of energy and they're easy to eat on the go."

Katie's 15-week training plan
Sunday: Long run (increase from 4 miles to 12 miles over 15 weeks)
Monday: Recovery day -- stretching and minimal strength training
Tuesday: Short run (increase from 3 miles to 5 miles over 15 weeks)
Wednesday: Cross-training (spinning, racket ball, elliptical)
Thursday: Short run (same as Tuesday)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Cross-training (increase from 30 minutes to 60 minutes over 15 weeks)

A Punishing Workout

At our last regatta in Jacksonville, our women's varsity 8+ beat out every other team in Florida, including our rival Nova Southeastern University, a true varsity crew.

Florida Crew has never come out this far on top of the state's rowing competition, and we owe it to our new coach and the discipline she has instilled in us this semester.

On the Thursday after our win, however, we didn't have enough rowers show up to practice to float two eights on the water.

Clearly, we needed to be punished (so our coach said).

Here's the workout we did. Needless to say, I don't think practice attendance will slip for the rest of the semester.

1. Timed 5-mile run. If we didn't beat our previous time, we were to do it again, and again until we did. Luckily, everyone made it on the first round.
2. 25-minute legs circuit. 5 exercises: 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Complete the circuit 5 times. Lunges, squat jumps, mountain-climbers, squats, burpees.
3. 25-minute upper body and core circuit. 5 exercises: 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Complete the circuit 5 times. Tricep dips, planks, pushups, sit-ups, reverse crunches.
4. Laps. 8 laps around the track (1/4 mile). Run the straight-aways and jog the curves.

Proper form for burpees.

Proper form for mountain climbers.

(Good) Temptations

Sometimes athletes go off the deep end.

They scrupulously keep track of their training, their weight, their eating, their sleep – it seems like nothing is unplanned for and everything is calculated.

But Men’s Health, in a recent article online, urges athletes to slow down -- and do something a little naughty.

Temptations they say are worth indulging include skipping your workout, ordering hot wings at dinner and smoking a fine cigar.

According to Eddie Carrington, a fitness director quoted in the article, athletes benefit from a break in their routine, especially if they’ve been working out three to four times a week for six to eight weeks.

Switching it up shocks your body, forcing it to develop in ways a routine just can’t compete with.
My favorite indulgences:

• Treating myself to a nice dinner after a hard week of work and exercise.
• Having a glass of wine with dinner at home.
• Revamping my favorite baked goods using healthy ingredients and substitutions.
• Skipping my workout and doing something spontaneous, like a bike ride or playing soccer, so my muscles are still engaged.
• Pressing snooze on my alarm clock on the weekends and staying in bed to read my favorite magazine.

What do you do to indulge?

Back to the lunchroom

Last week, the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, released new guidelines for school lunches in the U.S.

The standards, which many physicians and researchers are blaming for epidemic of childhood obesity in America, hadn't been revised since 1995.

They lack emphasis on fresh, whole foods, and are based on the functionality of outdated kitchen equipment and the knowledge of undertrained "lunch ladies."

In an article from ABC news, British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who has remade school lunches on T.V. in the U.K., said training lunch staff in how to cook freshly prepared meals, in addition to having better ways of storing fresh food and adding new kitchen facilities, is the best way for schools to improve breakfast and lunch menus.

Even though I am no longer subjected to eating rubber pizza and stale chocolate chip cookies, these new guidelines got me thinking about my lunch.

During long days on campus, my fellow students and I reach for offerings from fast food chains or dining halls to provide us the energy we need to learn.

Even though these options have improved over the years, they're still loaded with fat, sodium and preservatives that can influence a pretty unhealthy diet if eaten regularly.

So this semester, I've tried packing my lunch for the first time since middle school. I even got a new lunchbox as an incentive for me to spend 10 extra minutes in the morning preparing a healthy lunch and a couple snacks for throughout the day.

Adults can benefit from the same kind of well-rounded, nutritious lunch as kids can. Check out this article from MSNBC about how to pack a good lunch.

And here's what I'm packing for lunch this week. Taking the time to plan lunches over the weekend can reduce stress in the morning and make it more likely that you'll actually bring your lunch to school or work.

• Monday: 1/2 whole wheat flatbread cut in wedges, 2 tbsp. roasted pine nut hummus, 1/2 sliced cucumber, 1/4 sliced red pepper, 4 thin slices roasted chicken lunchmeat, 4 slices Colby Jack cheese. I pack all this in a Tupperware container and make mini sandwiches out of it. Bring 1/4 cup of almonds and an apple for snacks.
• Tuesday: 2 hard-boiled eggs, carrot and celery sticks, 2 tbsp. peanut butter. On Tuesdays, we have our hardest workout for crew. So I pack this lunch because it's high in protein and will give me sustained energy throughout the day. Bring a Power Bar for a snack.
• Thursday: Sanwich on whole wheat bread with basil pesto, 4 slices chicken lunchmeat, 1 slice fresh mozzarella cheese. I heat this sandwich in my George Foreman Grill before I pack it, so it's like a Panini. Bring grapes and a Clif bar for snacks.
  

Tebow's fighting pose

Watching the third quarter of the UF game against the University of Kentucky sent thousands of Gators fans in Gainesville into a fit of panic at the end of September.

Heisman-hopeful Tim Tebow was injured when his head hit offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert’s knee. Usually unfazed by collisions and tackles, the senior quarterback didn’t get up from the startling hit.

And fans watching the game on T.V., who are familiar with what physicians call the “fencing response,” or the “pugilistic pose,” probably knew why the collegiate wonder boy was taken off the field surrounded by a team of athletic trainers.

As UK professor Dr. Jonathan Lifshitz’s research shows, 60 percent of athletes who suffered blows to the head in sports like football and boxing that resulted in concussions exhibited the characteristic response:

Falling to the ground with both arms raised and bent 90 degrees at the elbow.

And while not all athletes who get concussions demonstrate this response, the fencing position is a sure indicator to parents and coaches that an athlete should be checked out by a physician who can perform a head CT or an MRI of the head.

Here are some other emergency signs that a concussion may have occurred, from the health guide at www.howstuffworks.com.

("Concussion Image." 16 May 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. 26 October 2009.)

• Persistent unconsciousness (coma)
• Altered level of consciousness (drowsy, hard to arouse, or similar changes)
• Persistent confusion
• Convulsions
• Repeated vomiting
• Unequal pupils
• Unusual eye movements
• Muscle weakness on one or both sides
• Walking problems

Most athletes can expect a full recovery from a concussion, but lasting health effects can occur, including prolonged dizziness, irritability and headaches. Also, intracerebral hermorrhaging -- bleeding in the brain, a complication from a concussion – may cause permanent brain damage.

I was shocked when the medical team responsible for deciding whether or not Tebow would be healthy enough to play in the next week’s big game gave the UF coaching staff the go-ahead to put him in against LSU.

Most children and young adults who have suffered a concussion should not play sports for at least three weeks after their injury, according to the concussion article.

I am sure he received the best care possible; I just hope the decision to allow him to play will not result in future complications for the quarterback.

Scheduling workouts

College students and professionals with full-time jobs have to schedule their workouts around class, meetings and work.

Add in sleeping, eating, showering and transportation, and 24 hours seems like half the amount of time you need in a day to get everything done.

It may be tempting to cut workouts in an effort to to keep yourself from going crazy or becoming sleep deprived. But in my experience, everything else becomes a little bit harder, and more stressful, when I don't work out.

As a full-time student, staff writer for the local newspaper, intern for a lifestyle magazine and varsity rower, I schedule every minute of my day to get the most out of each activity.

Outside Magazine features the nation's fittest real athletes in a special edition every year. These people achieve incredible athletic success while maintaining 9-to-5 jobs, taking care of a family and volunteering.

David Goggins, an ultramarathoner and Navy SEAL, was featured in the magazine's 2009 list of the fittest real athletes.

Goggins wakes up at 3 a.m. every morning, works out until 8 a.m., goes to work until 6 p.m. when he rides his bike home. This grueling training schedule has prepared him for a 135-mile ultramarathon in Death Valley. Next, he plans to compete in a 3,000-mile bike race over 12 days across the U.S.

Listen to Goggins talk about his training in a video interview here in Outside Magazine.

Training as an elite athlete without the time, money or staff of a professional takes discipline and dedication. While I don't keep as hectic a schedule as Goggins, I commit myself to exercising six days a week.

Fitting this in around schoolwork, class, interviews and writing stories is a daily challenge. But one I know will make me a better athlete and a more organized and effective student and employee.

And if Goggins can train for ultra-events while working as a Navy SEAL, I should surely be able to get in a couple hours of cardio and some weight training.

Go here to learn more about Outside's fittest real athletes, or to nominate someone you know.

Functional Training for Rowing

Since Matt Herring spoke to my Health and Fitness writing class about functional training, I've been trying to think of a way to apply the concept to crew.

Rowing, unlike basketball, requires the body to move in a single plane of motion. The stroke, made up of four parts -- the catch, the drive, the finish and the recovery -- is performed most effectively when the legs exert horizontal force and the body and arms follow.

Any movement in the boat that is not horizontal disrupts the rhythm and checks the boat against the water, impeding forward progress.

Herring's system of functional training (GTEC: Groove, Tweak, Enhance, Challenge) hinges on developing a move in multiple planes of motion, adding external resistance and combining it with other functional exercises.

How can this progression be applied to crew, a horizontal sport comprised of repeating the same motion over and over again for the duration of a race?

Working out at the gym today on the cable machine, I got some inspiration.

Rowing requires incredible core strength. Every stroke requires the upper body be supported by tight abdominal muscles. And at the finish, when the legs are extended and the oar is pulled into the body, the upper body and lower body must make an obtuse angle without letting the lower back collapse.

The functional move I thought would be most beneficial for rowers is the basic crunch. That's the groove. Work on developing abdominal strength until crunching becomes too easy.

To tweak the crunch for rowing, move to the cable machine. Grab the cable above your head with both hands, then bend at the hips and bring your hands to either side of your legs. Since I row starboard, I would move my hands from right to left, since I twist to my left in the boat.

To enhance, up the resistance on the cable.

And to challenge, combine the crunch with a squat jump. Crunch, release to vertical, let go of the cable, squat down and explode with the thighs. Grab the cable and repeat. This combination mimics the rowing stroke almost exactly, except the motion is vertical instead of horizontal.

Can you think of any other functional exercises for rowing?

Survival with a Smile

3:45 a.m. Friday: I left Gainesville with 10 other UF students to travel 11 hours in a van to the North Carolina-Tennessee border.

We planned to hike a southern section of the Appalachian Trail over three days. We'd camp Friday and Saturday night under the stars, eat meals on the trail and see some of the most beautiful scenic views in the South.

The mountain tops in that area are called "balds." As hikers emerge from a dense forest of oaks and evergreens, the trees give way to grassy peaks and unobstructed views.

But as we made our way farther from civilization and into the woods, we began to realize this trip wouldn't be one we'd remember for its beauty.

I've never gone on so much as a day hike. But ever-the-adventurer, I pounced on the opportunity to go backpacking for the weekend.

On Friday night, the temperature plummeted from mild in the mid-70s to cold, windy and raining in the 40s. The trail, covered in yellow and orange maple leaves, became a treacherous mud slide.

And the balds, more than 7,000 feet above sea level, left us exposed to the harshest hiking conditions of the season.

The grassy peaks, usually home to giant African cattle and goats, transformed into what looked like an arctic tundra. We hiked in a cloud -- mist like smoke curled around the mountain tops. The only thing visible beyond the trail was the orange or blue of the hiker's pack in front of us.

Five miles into our hike on Saturday (less than half the distance we eventually traveled), we were soaked, freezing and miserable.

With two peaks left to climb, I wanted to cry. We were hours away from anything warm or dry, at risk of getting pneumonia and hiking on a rocky, muddy trail where falls and ankle sprains were the only ways to make any progress.

Because the whipping wind and pelting rain left little room for discussion with my fellow hikers, I had a lot of time that day, 11 miles to be exact, to stew in the less-than-desirable situation.

Only three thoughts circulated in my mind.

The first, the chorus of Christina Aguilera's "Stronger." Embarrassing, yes. Motivational, yes. Annoying after the fourth hour, also yes.

Second, a chorus of negative thoughts, including: How the hell did I get myself in this situation? Will I die out here without ever seeing my family again? What are my options if I break my let or get hypothermia?

And finally, around the ninth straight mile we hiked with no food or significant water breaks, I had a mental breakthrough.

"Rowing, like success, is a journey, not a destination. I tell my oarsmen to have fun, learn and, most of all, grow as individuals. The wins and losses will take care of themselves."

My coach told us this the day before I left on the hike. It comes from a speech from Rick Clother, a coach for the U.S. national team.

When I embarked on my first hiking trip, I didn't think it would help my rowing career. But by repeating the mantra of character building during the most physically and mentally grueling workout of my life, I came out of it positive and with renewed dedication to my sport.

Today, we did our weekly test pieces on the ergs (rowing machines). Usually during these three 10-minute pieces, I pray for the end. I do my best to make it through, and nothing more.

But today, I put myself on top of Big Hump in the Appalachian Mountains, doubling over from the force of the wind and frozen from the rain.

If I could get through that, I could surely succeed in the shelter of a boathouse on a warm Florida evening.

I got personal bests on all three pieces. I can only attribute this to the change in my mentality caused by the battle I fought within myself to complete the 14-mile hike.

The Not-so-secret Secrets to the success of Gator basketball

Matt Herring doesn't like when his players move dirty.

"Guys just don't move smooth when we start out with them. It's my job to clean that up," said Herring, the strength and conditioning coordinator for the UF Men's Basketball team.

Herring spoke to my Health and Fitness class on Sept. 17 about the philosophy behind techniques he uses in the gym to improve game on the court.

And although he doesn't like referring to his exercise plan as functional training ("That's a buzz word I hate," he said within the first five minutes of his talk), that's precisely what it is.

Inspired by physical therapist Gary Gray's principles of applied functional science, Herring and his staff used four truths of function to develop moves that, when mastered, should directly influence success in movement on the basketball court.

1. Basketball is played in an upright position
2. The body works in all three planes of motion at all times (sagittal, frontal and transverse)
3. Humans are gravity-driven
4. Muscles don't have brains -- we have to train the way we want our muscles to engage
   

That's something bicep curls just can't accomplish.

With limited practice time during the season (the NCAA mandates training no more than 20 hours a week), Herring utilizes exercises that are functionally dense.

He developed six basketball-specific moves, like short shuffles, bounding and vertical jumps, to address the skills basketball players need to maximize their effectiveness during a game.

As players begin to master the moves, he uses a progression sequence called GTEC -- Groove, Tweak, Enhance, Challenge -- to complicate them, which keeps athletes guessing and forces them to continue to develop.

Grooving the move addresses mobility issues, which could include a tight hip flexor that prevents a player from performing a lunge.

To tweak a move, Herring adjusts it to involve multiple planes of motion. To tweak a lunge, turn your foot inward but continue with the same motion.

Enhancing the move involves adding external resistance, such as wearing a weighted vest while lunging.

The final step in the progression, challenge, means combining two or more moves. These combination exercises, a shuffle to a run, for example, simulate movements players make dozens of times during a game.

Come back for a post about functional exercises for rowing. In the meantime, what sport do you play? What are some functional moves you can groove, tweak, enhance and challenge to clean up your performance?

Could you have skin cancer?

My skin sidelined me this summer.

Two months into Florida Crew's off-season training plan, a trip to the dermatologist pulled me out of the gym and off of the water.

After six years of checkups and more than 20 suspicious moles removed and sent to the lab only to come back negative for skin cancer, my luck ran out.

“Do you have a few minutes to chat?” asked the nurse over the phone.

She told me three of the four spots I had removed at my checkup two weeks earlier were precancerous. Each would need to be surgically removed.

The American Cancer Society identifies two main types of skin cancer: keratinocyte cancers (basal and squamous cell skin cancers) and melanomas. I was diagnosed with dysplastic nevi, a third classification of irregular moles that can turn into melanoma.

When I began seeing a dermatologist in high school, before I ever thought about gynecologists and while I still visited my pediatrician for sports physicals and yearly checkups, I thought the precaution was silly, an unnecessary infringement on my invaluable teenage time.

“You look like you spend a fair amount of time in the sun, huh?” asked my new doctor, a fair-skinned woman with blonde hair and blue eyes just like me, someone who I never imagined I’d eventually be seeing four times a year.

With a glance at my freckled skin, a sign of sun damage I came to love about myself, Dr. Hughes told me she wanted to do a full-body exam.

These exams continued every year, then every six months, then every three once I was classified as a "high risk" patient by my doctor.

In July, Dr. Hughes removed all three precancerous moles. She made four-inch long incisions deep into my epidermis, the outer layer of skin. I had two rows of stitches on each area -- two were located on my right thigh and one was on my upper back.

Each was a little smaller than a pencil eraser and light brown. None looked any different than my other moles. And if I hadn't been receiving regular screenings, each could have developed into melanoma, the most common type of cancer in the U.S.

The surgeries, while minor, kept me out of the gym for a month, and left me with large scars that will take years to disappear.

According to my dermatologist, athletes in Florida are particularly susceptible to skin cancer at a young age. While most people don't begin to see a dermatologist for skin cancer screenings until well into adulthood, she said men and women who spent a majority of their childhood in the sun playing sports should go once a year beginning in high school.

I started the fall rowing season out of shape and with injuries that limited my participation at practice. But the more precautions I take now against skin cancer -- a rapidly spreading, aggressive, incurable and painful disease -- the less likely my life will be cut short.

Even if you don't fall into a high risk group for skin cancer (fair skin, blue eyes), it only takes two to three bad childhood sunburns to greatly increase your chance of developing the disease. Here's a YouTube video from Howcast that explains how to check yourself for skin cancer.

If you find a suspicious mole (one that is asymmetrical, has irregular borders, has inconsistent coloring or is abnormally large), make an appointment to see a dermatologist just in case.

Visit the American Academy of Dermatology's Web site to search for a doctor near you.

The Nature of Good Eating

Wisdom and practice tells us we can be fixed.

As mostly unhealthy, sometimes ungrateful, always good-intentioned humans, we can be fixed.

But what if our past lifestyle choices render a new commitment to health futile? What if after ten years, 30 years, half a century of smoking, drinking and eating fast food, something inside us makes change impossible, our bad habits irreversible.

These questions swam in the back of my mind as I sipped a sugar-laden energy drink while researching my latest health trends story about nutrition genomics, or "nutrigenomics."

A somewhat controversial, emerging field, nutrigenomics explains variables of well being, including risk of chronic diseases and cancer, within the context of a person's genetic make up.

For example, nutrigenomics studies have indicated that, purely due to the combination of genes that comprise an individual's unique chain of DNA, dietary chemicals can act on the human genome.

What scientists previously thought was unalterable, the expression of genes may in fact change over a person's lifetime as his or her dietary choices begin to take a toll on nature.

Laura Acosta, a registered dietician in Gainesville who offers her clients a cheek swab test that is sent to a lab for DNA analysis, said nutrigenomics can help dieticians tailor meal plans to specific individuals. She said this advancement represents a shift from general meal planning based on the ballpark guidelines of the food pyramid.

Also, beyond personalizing medicine and health, future research in nutrigenomics has the potential to help prevent chronic diseases as well as address global malnutrition by analyzing the way diets interact with the gene pools of malnourished populations, according to the UC Davis nutrigenomics studies Web site.

My (Worthwhile) Fitness Fad Purchase

Ten years ago, when I was in elementary school and hadn't yet experienced a "good sweat" at the gym or the side-splitting pain of wind sprints, my dad bought a heart rate monitor.

An engineer and lover of gadgets, my dad has bought in to fitness craze after utterly ridiculous fitness craze.

Our three-car garage stands as a tribute to the Bowflex, the Ab Chair and a pile of dumbbells from the 1980s collecting dust in the corner next to the lawnmower.

So when he began to assemble the extra-large chest strap component -- his physique still didn't quite resemble the models he watched demonstrate the products on late night T.V. -- my sisters and I commenced a round of good-natured mockery.

"Dad, really? This thing looks like it could only hurt your workouts! Do you want the neighbors to see you trotting down the street with that strap accentuating the largest part of you?"

Dad graciously bowed under the taunts of his three daughters that night, as he read the manual for a contraption that claimed to help moderate heart rate, calories and time while exercising.

But the next morning he left early for the gym -- strapped in and with the transmitter watch on his wrist.

As I was shopping for my boyfriend's birthday last week, I found myself swallowing my preteen doubts and calling my dad.

Since Dad bought his first heart rate monitor, this small, simple fitness accessory's popularity has taken off to the benefit of all levels of athlete.

Marathoners use them to train in their optimal zones, 65-75 percent of maximum heart rate for long runs, 87-92 percent for tempo runs and 95-100 percent for interval repeats, according to an article in Runner's World.

Beginners can use them to assist in weight loss.

And cyclists, swimmers, triathletes and rowers all benefit from knowing exactly how hard, or easy, their heart is working during exercise.

Dad has replaced his heart rate monitor about every two years, and he always sticks with monitors made by Polar Electro.

After talking to him and doing my own research online, I bought two monitors last week: one Polar F6 in black for my boyfriend, and a smaller model in pink for me.

This model works for multi-sport athletes, so it's good for us because we bike, run, row and swim each week.

Each cost a little more than $100, but as our workouts for crew continue to push and strengthen our cardiovascular systems, I can think of no better investment.

Stay tuned for when I post about how I found my max heart rate, and workouts to try when you first get a monitor.

And here's that Runner's World article from earlier in the post. It really convinced me to finally purchase a heart rate monitor!

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--1039-0,00.html

The Myth of a Good Girl

Close your eyes and picture a bench, Smith machine, boxes and kettlebells. I bet most people see a man, maybe even college football player or professional athlete, heaving with the testosterone this equipment requires.

Now think: Yoga mats, intricate Pilates machines and Zumba classes. Association: Definitely women.

Granted, not all exercises can be so grouped into these categories.

Take spinning. In every class I've been to, men and women flock in equal numbers to have the life hammered out of them by a pseudo-sadistic spin instructor in a darkened group fitness room with no air conditioning.

And even though most guys who go to the gym on campus stop by the cardio room to warm up before crippling their upper bodies with hundreds of repetitions of shrugs, curls and presses; and most of my fellow female athletes skirt the mats lining the edge of the weight room to do abs and pliometric exercises, the gender divide in working out remains well defined.

I like to think of myself as a fitness jack-of-all-trades.

When I'm a reporter during the day, it is my job to become an expert on myriad subjects in order to explain them to my readers. Most of my journalism professors say sometime during the course of a semester, "It is the journalist's job to know a lot about everything, not to be an expert in any one subject."

I've carried this thinking into my workout routine. If there's a new class at the gym, I've tried it. A new piece of equipment -- well, I've been known to buy it off ebay.

I try to cross the gender divide because I believe each side offers pros and cons. A complete fitness -- strength, cardiovascular health, flexibility and diet-- cannot be achieved by watching the opposite sex through the glass wall at the gym.

Today I read an interesting article published in Newsweek by Jessica Bennet, "The Myth of a Good Girl." http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#1jsScA/www.newsweek.com/id/214608?from=rss/

In it, Bennett explains the psychological glass ceiling professional women impose on themselves when they act stereotypically female -- with cautiousness, apologetically and afraid to ask for, and receive, what they deserve.

This got me thinking about women when they work out, and more so about the differences between the fitness routines of men and women.

Bennett says females pressure themselves to be "modest, selfless, rule-following 'good girls'" so they can't be called "bitches." Although acting prim might stop co-workers and friends from whispering behind her back, the woman who refuses to enter her workplace confidently on the same level as her male cohorts will not only make less money, but receive less recognition and accomplish less.

I say this applies with just as much force to working out. Not only do women who refuse to participate in "male" exercises miss out on health benefits (such as the reduction in bone loss that comes with strength training), but they cannot achieve their full potential as athletes.

So try it all. See what works for you.

After I sprained my ankle and had to stop rowing and running, I took every class offered at the gym.

I consulted with my guy friends about their workouts. One even advised me to drink chocolate milk when I lifted weights because the unique combination of sugar and protein would help my muscles perform and recover -- I did not follow this advice.

I did research online and in books. I even called my high school coaches for fitness recommendations.

Working out should not be approached with fear or predetermined notions about what only works for you (whether you're a man, woman, professional athlete or novice). I can guarantee there's something out there you're hesitant to try that you will absolutely fall in love with -- be it pole dancing classes or boot camp.

And don't become preoccupied with being a "good girl" or a "good boy," as Bennett describes them. Breaking the workout gender mold can only improve your fitness.

And it might even make you more confident in other areas of your life.