Need a row count after SELECT statement: what's the optimal SQL approach?

Question

I\'m trying to select a column from a single table (no joins) and I need the count of the number of rows, ideally before I begin retrieving the rows. I have come to two app

Answer 1

IF (@@ROWCOUNT > 0)
BEGIN
SELECT my_table.my_col
  FROM my_table
 WHERE my_table.foo = 'bar'
END