I'm a 50-year-old who rowed all through high school and college and slowly let the passion for rowing and fitness dissipate as life got in the way. Through iRow Fitness, I've finally found a way to reconnect to the sport I love and get healthy once again. I came across iRow through an internet search and was intimidated to join, but after quick e-mail exchanges with Iva (iRow founder and queen!) and a few classes, realized I'd found the right spot. Iva's a big part of my renewed sense of engagement. She's laid back but tough, provides great style pointers and insights but gives us all room and time to explore the right path to rowing better. Workouts are fun and change up every time…some days, I leave the Studio exhausted, others I leave anticipating the next great session a few days later. Finally, the group of folks that come to row in Iva's Studio is terrific…architects, dancers, teachers, math geeks, and corporate types are all motivated by nothing more than a desire to get some great exercise and stay fit. It's a casual, fun but energizing environment.
Iva also got lots of us hooked on competing at the Long Beach Crash B satellite race or other rowing events. She pushes competitions for no other reason than to let us explore our limits and is there for us every step of the way as we prepare. Her workouts and coaching leading up to the recent Beach Sprints competition in Long Beach were great…we all came well-prepared to do our best. Close to the race date, she sent e-mails and worked with us to define the right race strategy and, most of all, to calm us down. During the race, Iva coached me through the grueling 2000-meter ordeal. Unlike the others surrounding us, who were screaming and creating a commotion that was really distracting (except for my iRow teammates…their support was great), Iva sat cool and collected and provided just the right commentary to keep me focused. I listened to what she was saying and how she was saying it...it calmed me down and got me in the zone enough so that I rowed my best time (under 7 minutes!!!), won my age group, and set targets on further improvement down the road. I'm also going to start sculling with Iva this spring; ergs are fun, but nothing beats the feeling of powering through calm water (assuming I can keep the scull from flipping).