In this episode, Get-Fit Guy looks at 2 pros and 2 cons of using a rowing machine.
Exercising with a rowing machine can be a great way to improve aerobic endurance and burn calories. But it might not be the best exercise machine for you. In this episode, Get-Fit Guy looks at 2 pros and 2 cons of using a rowing machine.
Get-Fit Guy is hosted by Dr. Jonathan Su. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Welcome back to Get-Fit Guy. I’m your host, Dr. Jonathan Su. Every week, I’ll share science-backed tips to help you get fit, stay fit, and optimize performance.
Exercising on a rowing machine is a great way to improve aerobic endurance and burn calories. I’ve got a rowing machine in my home gym and I hop on it weekly for a fantastic cardio workout.
I use an assault bike for my other cardio day and you can check out the episode from September 2021 for tips on how to improve your form and get the most from your assault bike workout. Together, the rowing machine and the assault bike are two of my favorite pieces of cardio equipment and I rarely hop on anything else.
In case you didn’t know, a rowing machine, or indoor rower, is an exercise machine used to simulate watercraft rowing for the purpose of exercise or to train for rowing when getting on a watercraft is inconvenient.
A rower typically consists of a sliding seat and a handle attached to a flywheel through a strap. There are a ton of different options available on the market when it comes to rowing machines and prices can range from less than $100 to over $2,500.
There’s a plethora of information available about the pros of exercising on a rowing machine. However, there seems to be a lot less good information out there about the cons of exercising on a rowing machine.
Knowing the pros of using a rower is important, but in my opinion, understanding the cons is even more important because it’ll help you avoid injuries. Nothing will derail your fitness goals faster than a painful injury that can put you out of commission for a period of weeks to months.
Stay tuned to find out what the Get-Fit Guy has to say about the 2 biggest pros and the 2 biggest cons of exercising on a rowing machine.
It’s commonly cited that rowing is a whole-body exercise that utilizes about 85% of your musculature. Your front of thigh muscles provide the power for the initial drive, while your glutes and lower back muscles provide the power for the subsequent trunk swing.
Your upper back and arm muscles provide the power for the arm pull that makes up the final portion of the rowing motion. What’s not as commonly cited is how most of the muscles just mentioned are classified as extensor muscles.
Extensors are muscles that help you straighten or extend your trunk and limbs so your body can remain upright against the unrelenting force of gravity. So you can see why I believe the biggest benefit of exercising on a rowing machine is how it targets all your important extensor muscles.
Your front of thigh and glute muscles are responsible for straightening your knees and hips, respectively. Your lower back and upper back muscles are responsible for straightening your torso.
Poor posture and ache and pains are the result when extensor muscle strength is lacking and it’s more common than most people realize. For example, a lot of us overemphasize the muscles on the front of the body when we exercise such as the chest and abdominal muscles which can result in relatively weak extensor muscles.
Too much time hunched forward at a desk or with smartphones in our hands can make the muscles on the front of our torso short and tight while making the extensors on the back of our torso long and weak.
Exercising on a rowing machine can help prevent these issues by working the extensor muscles of your legs and torso. There’s no better exercise to target these muscles all at once than rowing.
Another big benefit of exercising on a rowing machine is how it can be high-intensity without being high impact. Did you know that your knee is subject to compressive forces up to 10 times your body weight with every step while jogging?
Considering it takes an average of 1,500 steps to run a mile, it’s no wonder that knee pain is one of the most common conditions in runners. Rowing is a great way to develop aerobic endurance and burn calories without the high impact of running.
Although rowing is an amazing aerobic exercise, there are also some drawbacks that you should be aware of. The biggest issue with exercising on a rowing machine is that it can exacerbate lower back pain.
A review that looked at rowing injuries found that the strongest predictors of lower back pain is previous history of lower back pain and the volume of exercise, particularly sessions exceeding 30 minutes on a rowing machine.
So I would definitely stay away from rowing if you’re currently suffering from lower back pain. If you’re not currently experiencing lower back pain but you have a history of it, be sure your rowing form is flawless.
Do a Google search and you’ll find a ton of resources on how to perfect your rowing form. Regardless of lower back pain history, it’s probably wise for most people to keep rowing workouts to 30 minutes or less.
Personally, I like to keep all of my aerobic workouts to 30 minutes or less because when fatigue or boredom sets in for too long, form tends to go down the drain and that’s when you’re at the highest risk for injuries.
You can always bump up the intensity of exercise if you want to burn more calories or get a better aerobic workout.
I mentioned earlier that a benefit of exercising on a rowing machine is how it can be high-intensity without being high impact. Interestingly, the fact that rowing is low impact can also be a drawback.
The reason is because our bones need impact to get stronger. Our skeletal system can sense impact and it adapts or remodels based on the direction and magnitude of these forces.
The human body is a use it or lose it organism and your bones will demineralize or get weaker if you don’t have enough weight-bearing activities. Rowing is not good for strengthening bones because of the relatively low impact.
You’ll want to make sure that walking, running, or hiking is still part of your routine. The trick is to find the right balance between too much and too little impact, which can be different for each person because of genetics and diet.
My recommendation is to spend two or three days a week performing 30 minutes of lower impact aerobic activities like rowing, swimming, or biking and about the same amount of time on alternate days with higher impact aerobic activities like walking, running, or hiking.
Exercising on a rowing machine is a great way to improve aerobic endurance and burn calories. Now that you know the 2 biggest pros and the 2 biggest cons of rowing, you’ll be able to better decide if and when rowing is right for you.
If you have a question that you want me to answer on the show, email me at getfitguy@quickanddirtytips.com or leave me a voicemail at 510-353-3104.