For many people, warm weather means getting outside—and for those with water access, it might mean getting out on a boat. While some depend on motors and sails to power themselves, others might opt for a more rudimentary method: rowing. Why? Because rowing offers a great workout, combining cardio and strength training for a calorie-torching sweat session with very little risk of injury. Plus, if you’re doing it in an actual boat, you can’t beat the atmosphere. But even if you don’t have access to a rowboat (or a rowing crew to assist you), you can still get a great rowing workout on the ergometer—that’s the formal name for the rowing machine you might have seen at the gym. What’s great about the ergometer is you can choose whether you want to do short, high-intensity bursts or a long, low-intensity endurance workout. Because the rowing motion requires use of your arms and legs, you’ll get a full body workout that targets your biceps, triceps, pecs, upper back, abs, glutes, quads, and calves. The American Fitness Professional Association notes that rowing is about 75 percent leg work and 25 percent upper body work.
In short, one of the reasons rowing is a great cardio option is because it requires more upper-body strength than the treadmill, but it engages your core more aggressively than the elliptical. It’s also a low-impact workout, so there’s less risk of injury than you would have if you were running or doing plyometrics, which put stress on your body. Those who want to increase the difficulty of their workout need only increase the resistance so that the handle becomes harder to pull.
But just because rowing poses a lesser risk of injury compared with high-impact workouts, that doesn’t mean you can be sloppy—poor form can still result in injury. Furthermore, poor form means you aren’t going to get as much benefit from your workout. For this reason, beginner rowers should seek out advice from a trainer or an experienced rower who can observe their form.
Here’s how it should go
- Begin with your head up, shoulders back, and spine straight as you hold the handle with both hands, palms facing down. Your grip should be firm without squeezing.
- Push back with your legs and lean your back slightly as you go. Pull the handle up toward your chest, bending your elbows so that your arms bend toward your sides. Don’t raise your arms above your chest.
- Remember to keep your core engaged, as this will give you the strength to complete the exercise without straining your back.
- As you return to the starting position, bend your legs and lean slightly forward. Avoid letting your shoulder/back round. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet the entire time.
- Continue rowing for as long as desired. Remember, for optimum health benefits, you need only 75 weekly minutes of vigorous aerobic activity like running. Those who are trying to lose weight will be happy to know rowing can burn more than 500 calories per hour—very helpful when trying to burn the 3,500 calories needed to lose 1 pound of fat.
Want to learn about ways you can incorporate rowing into your workout routine? The American Council on Exercise (acefitness.org) and Rowing Workouts (rowingworkouts.org) are great places to learn more. You can also refer to Hydrow (hydrow.com) the leading brand of rowing machines, similar to Peloton among exercise bikes.
