Power 10 grows to serve crew and fitness community

Gwen Valencis, third from the left, leads an adult fitness class in the studio at the Power 10 indoor rowing center in Avon.

It began simply as a search for space for the athletes on the Avon High crew team to practice in the winter. It has blossomed into a business that is helping crew athletes across the state and is helping the general public get into and stay in shape.

Power 10, an indoor rowing center in Avon, is celebrating its first anniversary this month. In just one year, they have grown into Connecticut’s first dedicated indoor rowing center. Not only do they offer specialized equipment for rowers to remain in shape and refine their stroke but Power 10 offers fitness classes for everyone.

Using its collection of ergs – an indoor rowing machine, Power 10 offers a low impact, full body workout in a 45-minute sessions in its indoor rowing studio.

“Every individual who walks in here walks in for a different reason,” said Gwen Valencis, a coach and fitness instructor at Power 10. “Most people want to feel good, feel better, feel more flexible and have more joint mobility. With these workouts, they can feel the results.”

Rowing experience isn’t necessary and each participant will work to his or her own level. Classes are limited to eight participants to allow the instructor to provide individual attention to each rower. If you’re unfamiliar with rowing, you’ll get a quick lesson.

Power 10 is holding a pair of open house events as part of their one-year anniversary celebration. Adults can visit for an open workout on Thursday, January 29, from 5:30-7 p.m., at Power 10 at 395 West Avon Road. You can also register for a class at Power 10’s website at row-indoors.com.

As part of the anniversary celebration, free trial adult fitness classes will be held on Saturday, January 24 and 31, at 10 a.m. Sign up at the Power 10 website to reserve your spot.

Power 10 started modestly. Their initial goal was to provide Avon High crew athletes a place to workout. The school has some ergs but finding a place to practice was always a challenge. The usual space to practice was in the hallway.

A group of four investors came together to form the business. They purchased ergs for athletes to use and found a spot at 395 West Avon Road, just down the street from the high school and next door to the middle school.

They quickly found out that the center is a benefit to rowers from around the region. Not only do Avon athletes use the facilities but athletes from Farmington, Burlington (Lewis Mills) and Simsbury have worked out at Power 10.

Rowers from Riverfront Recapture in Hartford and the Farmington Valley Rowing Association have also worked the facilities at Power 10. The facility has the only four-seat “swingulator”, a crew shell simulator, in Connecticut. It is one of the few such training machines in New England. Participants on the swingulator can participate in virtual races.

Power 10 has a group of instructors with international and national experience.

Eric Rosow, one of the co-founders of Power 10, has over 30 years of rowing experience. He won a gold medal at the Pan American Games and finished fourth at the world championships. Co-founder and program director Renee Jones is currently an assistant coach at Trinity and has coached in Simsbury. Jonathan Near has coached at UConn, the University of Albany and is currently a coach at Riverfront Recapture in Hartford. Other coaches and instructors have local and collegiate coaching experience.

“This is a development facility,” said Cristina Abramson, one of the facility co-owners. “We consider ourselves a feeder program trying to feed technical rowers to the high schools.”

There are programs for middle school and high school rowers including training sessions and video analysis. There is a program for called the Coxswain Huddle for high school age coxswains learning the responsibilities of leading these slick crew shells into competition.

Abramson said Power 10 is located in Avon, they considers themselves to be a regional rowing center and fitness facility. Several clubs around New England have similar equipment but it is primarily for the use for the respective rowing clubs.

“We’re bringing rowing fitness to everyone with a total body workout in 45 minutes,” Abramson said. “We’re also a rowing development and feeder program for local high school teams and university teams.”

There is an open house for middle school and high school students on Wednesday, January 21, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

For more information about Power 10, visit the website at row-indoors.com, attend an open house program or call 844-769-4636.

This is a first in an occasional series on area businesses with a tie to the sporting world that serve our community.