To learn more about the adaptive programs at GMRC:
Cardio row classes are Tuesday at 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Justin Oehler’s cardio row class on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. is adaptive-focused, but open to everyone.
The Tuesday 12 p.m. class is also adaptive-focused.
Beth Crenshaw’s adaptive weightlifting class is Saturday at 10 a.m.
To register for classes or learn how to volunteer with the center, visit greatmiamirowing.com.
Justin Oehler has a harder time exercising after sustaining a traumatic brain injury last March, but he hasn’t let it slow him down.
After a car accident rendered his left side permanently stiff and slow, Oehler, 33, of Ross, attended the Great Miami Rowing Center’s adaptive cardio rowing open house last June. He’s been rowing ever since.
GMRC, a non-profit, was founded in 2007 by the Hamilton Vision Commission to bring the popular sport to Butler County. Its new facility at 330 North B. St., the former Champion Paper power plant, is being converted from the bare warehouse to a fully functioning rowing facility, complete with rowing machines, boat storage, and a climbing wall on the shore of the Great Miami River.
While Justin began as a student, since January, he is the instructor of the Thursday night cardio row class, helping other disabled people develop their muscles and self-confidence with equipment adapted to their individual needs.
“I’ve always been one to exercise, but I couldn’t go jogging anymore,” he said. After the workshop, he fell in love with the physical benefits that rowing provides.
Whether out in a boat or indoors on a machine, rowing works the body in a setting that many disabled people can enjoy, enabling them to boost oxygen flow and build muscle where they would otherwise have difficulty.
Adaptive program coordinator Beth Crenshaw explained the main benefits.
“(Rowing) builds raw and heart muscle up, and gives the benefits of weightlifting and cardio simultaneously,” she said.
Crenshaw, who has spina bifida, began rowing in 2009 at Louisville Adaptive Rowing, and upon moving to Hamilton in 2011, contacted GMRC executive director Frances Mennone about creating an adaptive program. She recently began instructing an adapting weightlifting class, held on Saturdays.
The program received boosts of support from Mark Baiada, founder of BAYADA Home Health Care and sponsor of the Philadelphia Bayada Regatta, the oldest and largest all-adaptive rowing competition, as well as the Spina Bifida Coalition of Cincinnati and the Spaulding Foundation, among others.
Most recently, the center received $200,000 over five years from the Annie W. and Elizabeth M. Anderson Foundation, the largest single grant received by the center, to underwrite the adaptive rowing program, dubbed “Annie’s Oars and Betty’s Blades.”
“Without the Anderson grant, it wouldn’t have allowed us to grow as quickly,”said Crenshaw.
The Hamilton Community Foundation has been a supporter since the center’s opening.
“We’ve been talking about…attracting people to the river for years,” said the foundation’s president, John Guidugli. “(The center) shows people a positive side of our community.”
Since Oehler began instructing, he teaches between six and 18 rowers a week. While the class focuses on adaptive athletes within specific disability classifications, it is open to anyone, including able-bodied caregivers.
“It’s becoming a family cardio row class,” said Crenshaw.
The cardio rowing class and on-water rowing, which will recommence in May, enable connections between local adaptive athletes and provide opportunities for collegiate scholarships.
“There are more scholarships for collegiate women’s rowing than anything else,” said Mennone.
Crenshaw and Oehler know that it can be intimidating to try any adaptive sport, but believe that a couple of classes at GMRC will dispel doubts, while providing a thorough workout.
“Anybody who comes through these doors will find a way to row,” said Crenshaw.
“Just come and give it a shot,” said Oehler. “See how good you are.”
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