Stop two on the boathouse tour for folks' favorite winter workouts brings us just a few hundred meters upstream of Union to MIT's Pierce Boathouse, where MIT senior Katie Gorick likes to tackle long steady state pieces while mixing up her workouts with a little running… and kickboxing!

row2k: What is your favorite winter workout?

Katie Gorick: My favorite workout is probably hour of power on the erg. We spend a lot of the springtime tapering for different races, so the winter is the perfect time to load up on the steady state volume!

row2k: What about this workout makes it a favorite?

 KG: I love that it's as much a mental workout as a physical one. It's a great way to work on overcoming and silencing negative self-talk, while getting a great cardio workout. It also allows for plenty of time to focus on technical changes. 

row2k: How long have you been doing this workout and who introduced it to you - is it an old favorite or new to your repertoire?

 KG: I've been doing this workout for about three years now. My captain/mentor from my freshman year, Lauren Ayers, loved long steady state erg workouts. I wanted to gain a lot of speed that winter, so I would train with her in whatever she was doing. It started as just hanging on for dear life, but it's become my go-to favorite!

row2k: Does your favorite workout change when you are home on break? What do you like/dislike about working out while at home?

 KG: When I'm at home, I like to mix it up by taking classes at my local gym. Things like kickboxing, spinning, and Tabata intervals are all fun ways to break up the erging and running. I really like having this option, but I definitely miss the boathouse when I'm at home - trying to do erg pieces by myself in the middle of the gym just isn't the same!

row2k: If you could stay fit during the winter by only doing one type of non-erg cross training, what would it be and why?

 KG: Definitely running. A change of scenery is much needed during the long cold winters, and running allows for an escape from the monotony of the boathouse or gym. Running can also be easily varied by adding hills, sprints, or intervals to simulate different erg workouts.