## 2 Materials and Methods
### Procedure  
Among all the women who expressed interest, a series of physical fitness assessments were conducted. With equivalent anthropometric measurements (weight, height, BMI) and test results, a participant was assigned to one group (FSR or SSR). The participant with the most comparable results was assigned to the other group (SSR or FSR). Subjects participating in the study already engaged in moderate and regular physical activity. The participants were thus divided into two training groups with similar characteristics (Table 2):  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **TOTAL** & **Fixed Seat Rowing** & **Sliding Seat** & **Difference of** & \\  & **(SSR + FSR)** & **(FSR)** & **Rowing (SSR)** & **Means (FSR-SSR)** & **\(p\)** \\ \hline Age (years) (SD) & 56.78 (6.38) & 56.35 (4.89) & 57.2 (7.7) & \(-\)0.85 (2.04) & 0.679 \\ Height (cm) (SD) & 162.05 (5.59) & 161.9 (4.91) & 162.2 (6.33) & \(-\)0.3 (1.79) & 0.868 \\ Weight (kg) (SD) & 69.49 (9.8) & 72.05 (8.11) & 66.92 (10.85) & 3.22 (3.11) & 0.307 \\ BMI (kg/m\({}^{2}\)) (SD) & 26.48 (3.58) & 27.48 (2.73) & 25.47 (4.09) & 1.50 (1.18) & 0.215 \\ Rest HR (ppm) (SD) & 94.33 (11.81) & 96.11 (11.54) & 92.55 (11.51) & 3.55 (3.91) & 0.241 \\ Initial Test HR (ppm) (SD) & 92.83 (12.76) & 94.14 (14.21) & 91.55 (10.58) & 2.55 (4.05) & 0.974 \\ Final Test HR (ppm) (SD) & 139.5 (18.44) & 141.75 (18.67) & 137.25 (17.44) & 4.5 (6.32) & 0.888 \\ Diastolic BP (mmHg) (SD) & 160.03 (13.37) & 158.25 (12.8) & 161.8 (13.35) & \(-\)3.55 (4.69) & 0.405 \\ Systolic BP (mmHg) (SD) & 100.78 (10.19) & 100.55 (10.51) & 101 (9.59) & \(-\)0.45 (3.9) & 0.856 \\
6 MWT (m) (SD) & 784.78 (103.64) & 817.25 (51.1) & 752.3 (127.37) & 64.95 (44.43) & 0.077 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 2: Descriptive analysis of study subjects according to training group.  
Figure 2: A flow diagram of the sample selected for this study.  
The 24-week rowing training program was divided into three 4-week stages. These stages progressively increased in intensity and were adjusted through the participants' subjective perception of effort using the Borg scale [47].  
* Initial phase with mobility exercises, proprioceptive exercises, and postural control exercises. Main phase with rowing training. Final phase with stretching. Borg scale 5-6.
* Intermediate phase with mobility exercises, proprioceptive exercises, and postural control exercises. Main phase with rowing training. Final phase with stretching. Borg scale 6-7.
* Final phase with mobility exercises, proprioceptive exercises, and postural control exercises. Main phase with rowing training. Final phase with stretching. Borg scale 7-8.  
Throughout the program, there were 2 days of training per week. Each session lasted 75 min. These sessions were supervised by a trainer who ensured attendance, correct execution of the tasks, and intensity of the sessions, in addition to excluding from the study those subjects who did not achieve at least 90% participation. Each training session had the same structure:  
1. Initial part performed with warm-up, mobility, proprioceptive, and postural control exercises, all performed in a multipurpose room (5-10 min).
2. Cool down: Flexibility exercises to relax the muscles and bring the body back to its initial state after the effort (10-15 min).