Power 10 rows through first year in business

AVON – Rowing offers good health and fitness benefits to everyone, not just the crew team. That’s the message the management team at Power 10 – the first and only dedicated indoor rowing center and rowing fitness center in the state – is sending out as they mark their first year in business.

When a group of investors and instructors opened the center last January, their main goal was to offer a place for Avon High School crew team members to train during the winter. But they didn’t stop there.

Power 10 – equipped with Concept 2 ergometers (rowing machines) and the only 4-seat Swingulator (crew shell rowing simulator) in Connecticut – also offers classes to the community at large, welcoming both experienced rowers and those who want to learn.
The center was founded by Bernie Horowitz, Chris Dlugolecki and Eric Rosow, all of Avon, and Renee Jones of Granby. Rosow, Dlugolecki and Jones are experienced crew coaches at either the high school or college level and together came up with the idea of having a place for winter training.
They were soon joined in their mission by Avon resident Cristina Abramson, an experienced rower and coach. The day after Power 10 opened, she stopped by the center to ask if she could work out there. She was told “yes,” and as a young mother herself, also started a Mommy & Me class.

“Within a month I could see the potential,” she said. “Indoor rowing centers are a big fitness rage across the country, mostly in big cities. Rowing is like a spinning class; the instructor works with you. It’s easy to learn and anyone can do it.”
Abramson decided to invest in the center and her role at Power 10 is owner/operator as well as instructor.
Jonathan Near of New Haven, a certified Concept 2 trainer, has also been part of the team from the beginning. He is the lead coach for middle school and high school training.
“The kids are motivated and with the unique approach rowing offers, they find something in themselves,” Near said. “Crew draws different kinds of people than other sports. You have to endure long months of training and that’s not for everyone.”
In addition to Avon High rowers, Power 10 provides technical and performance training for students on a team at Farmington, Simsbury and Lewis Mills high schools. The center also offers youth rowing development for middle and high school students from around the area who are thinking about joining their high school crew team.
Rosow’s wife, Pam, a registered dietitian, also joined the team early on as sports nutritionist and coach.
When the center started offering rowing classes to adults, other instructors were hired. The majority of those sessions are led by Gwen Valencis of Southington.
“In rowing every major muscle group is involved,” she said. “People think that rowing is mostly an arm exercise but it’s actually 70 percent legs.”

Valencis said that Power 10’s classes offer a low-impact, high-calorie burn, full-body workout that is good cardiovascular exercise and easy on joints.

“Rowing is also great for core health, empowerment, and mood elevation,” she said. “Runners who come here say they are less winded now when running.”

Adults can either sign up for single 45-minute classes or memberships. Customized programs have been designed to accommodate all ages, fitness levels and body types, and classes are limited in size to eight participants so the instructor can provide individual attention to each rower.

Power 10’s equipment has specialized visualization and analytical software for optimized training sessions, including video analysis.

“What’s unique is that minute measurements are taken,” Valencis said.

Adults from the community who work out at the center are eager to give their vote of confidence on its benefits.
“I went to an open house and an open row class and fell in love with it,” Peg Watson of Avon said. “It’s fun and I’m hooked. The staff is stupendous with so much enthusiasm. They listen and watch and try to satisfy all types of routines. If you told me a year ago I’d be rowing, I’d never have believed it.”
Lori Brantner of Farmington said she had never rowed before but was introduced to Power 10 by a friend.
“It’s not like competing because you improve on your own power,” she said. “Everyone gets something out of it and others in the class are fun and encouraging.”
Some clients mention the health benefits they have derived through rowing.
“I have a bad shoulder and my doctor said it’s healed since I started at Power 10. I developed the muscles around my shoulder after just three months there,” Raymond Arroyo of Avon said. “My wife Susan and I had never done rowing before and we now do it three or four times a week to augment our other workouts.”
Bob Boychuk of Avon said that after three months of rowing he lost 14 pounds, plus he is now able to sleep at night.
“Power 10 is unique,” he said. “I travel a lot and I can’t find this equipment anywhere.”
Becky Reno of Avon and Florida, an equestrian, said she does a variety of other fitness routines but loves coming to Power 10 during her seven months in Avon.
“It’s an amazing and varied total body workout and I love the instructors,” she said.
Members of clubs such as the Farmington Valley Rowing Association and Riverfront Recapture’s Community Rowing Program come to Power 10 to train during the winter. While there, they can also participate in “virtual” races with local teammates and club members or via the Internet with rowers from around the world.
“I was a member of FVRA and this is a great way to get back into it without being in the water,” Nancy Gamelin of Avon said. “The classes are fun and offer a lot of exercise in a short period of time. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.”
As for what Power 10 does for the students that train there, one parent calls it “invaluable.”

“They do college coaching and that helps the kids be more competitive,” said Cynthia Whipple of Avon, adding that her son Alec will row at Tufts University in the fall. “Power 10 was instrumental in that.”

For crew teams to be competitive, they need to row year-round, Whipple said, and having a place for indoor rowing bridges the gap in the wintertime. The fact that Power 10 is teaching middle school kids is also good, she said, because it will help develop more high school rowers.

The center also offers a monthly Coxswain Huddle program that brings together novice and varsity coxswains for 1.5-hour sessions. The moderated training forum provides an opportunity for learning and for coxswains – the crew members who steer the boats and motivate the rowers – to share challenges and successes with their peers. Students from Avon, Canton and Middletown have participated.

Recently Power 10 partnered with Special Olympics Connecticut and became the organization’s first “Fitness Destination,” a program they are running for their athletes to earn medals.

“We’re serving as the model for other fitness centers to participate in the program,” Abramson said.

On a local and national level, Power 10 is supporting the initiative to have rowing back in the Special Olympics games.

The center is also partnering with Favarh – The Arc of the Farmington Valley, Inc. – in running a lifestyle change initiative with their clients through rowing. It’s an eight-week rowing program with a goal of competing in the global indoor rowing competition in Boston March 1 called C.R.A.S.H.-B Sprints. Five Favarh clients and two staff members are participating. Their coach is Gwen Valencis, Power 10’s special needs liaison.

Power 10 Indoor Rowing Center is located at 395 West Avon Road in the building behind Luke’s Donut Shop. For more information, call 844-769-4636, visit http://row-indoors.com or e-mail info@row-indoors.com.