A rowing machine workout of just 60 minutes can burn between 400 to 1000 calories an hour making it a great way to lose or maintain body weight. It can feel exhausting at first, but the long-term benefits of regular exercise will increase your endurance and give you more energy.
As your stamina grows you will also boost your metabolism. The benefits of exercising with a rowing machine affect the mind, as well as the body. Once you establish a comfortable rowing rhythm, you can free your mind from the everyday thoughts, worries and stress. Exercising on a rowing machine can help you develop mindfulness by reducing stress, boosting creativity, and improving memory and concentration.
Rowing machine workouts can also help improve your posture since the correct rowing movement requires you to keep your back upright as you pull.
Another advantage of using a rowing machine is that it is appropriate for all fitness levels and all types of workouts, from shorter high intensity to longer endurance training sessions.
By altering the level of resistance, you can switch from intense intervals to steady cardio sessions.
Training with a rowing machine equals to a full-body workout
It is a common belief that rowing machines are only useful for training the arms.
Using a rowing machine provides a full-body workout and when exercising, 80% of the muscles in the body are involved. 60% of the workout focuses on your legs, just 20% on your arms, and the remaining 20% on other areas of your body such as abdominals and glutes.
Our rowing machine allows you to adjust the resistance of the stroke so you can easily work up to your target heart rate and then slow back down to your resting rate. You are in control of both the movement and pace, making it a great choice for active recovery. Training with a rowing machine also allows you to get a comfortable workout at home, whatever the weather outside.
Muscles trained by the rowing machine
It is not just the arms that are targeted during a rowing workout.
The rowing movement means that you must engage your abdominal and back muscles as your upper body moves backward and forwards.
The muscles which are actively used are the pectorals, upper back, arms, abdominals, and obliques.
When training on a rowing machine you will also engage several leg muscles, for example, quadriceps, glutes, and calves, especially as you push off from the foot stretcher. Even the muscles that maintain your joints, called fixator muscles, must work when using a rowing machine.
The benefits on the legs
Achieving lean and muscular legs can be difficult and time-consuming. It is not easy to train all your leg muscles simultaneously and leg workouts can be long and tiring.
The optimal workouts are those that allow you to exercise all your leg muscles at the same time.
Training with a rowing machine is a great way to carry out a full leg workout, as all the leg muscles, even the inner thighs, work together. When pushing back you mainly use the quadriceps, but these cannot work efficiently without the aid of the other leg muscles.
The benefits on the arms
There are many exercises and workouts you can follow to gain strong, sculpted arms. One of the benefits of using a rowing machine is that you can work out your arms, whilst also completing a full-body cardio training session.
The movement required when using a rowing machine makes your arms work from all angles. With each stroke, you also activate your deltoids, the muscles which connect the upper part of the arm to the shoulder blades and collarbone.
The benefits on the upper body
The stroke movement performed by your body on a rowing machine helps you to build your core and engage your back muscles.
Around 25-35% of the upper body is used during rowing workouts. Just 6 weeks of regular rowing can help increase back muscle strength by around 40%.
A rowing machine can help to improve posture and provides stability for the rest of the body.
Furthermore, exercising with a rowing machine can also be extremely effective in reducing back pain and lowers the risk of stress injuries to the upper body and back.