11 Rowing Workouts That Will Incinerate Fat
Bored with your cardio routine? Ramp up your heart rate and smash fat with these rowing workouts instead.
CARDIO MIGHT NOT be your favorite thing to do in the gym, but the importance of this style of training for your heart health is undeniable. If you don’t enjoy these types of pulse-pounding workouts, however, you’re much more likely to skip out. Sound familiar? What you need to find is an approach that works for you—and we think that rowing machine workouts just might be the cure to your cardio woes.
Rowing machine workouts, to start, are much easier on the joints than other workouts that aim to achieve similar results. The impact of the treadmill, track, or jump rope can produce stress on your knees and hips as your feet repeatedly strike the ground, which can put you at risk of injury. Low impact cardio that doesn't require the same type of repetitive contact, such as rowing, will give your joints a load off. Don’t be mistaken, though—just because it’s low impact doesn’t mean it’s going to be low-effort. Your legs, core, arms, and back all work together to produce a heart-pumping workout that will humble even the most seasoned of cardio enthusiasts.
More and more people are hopping on rowers, too— the number of people who do indoor rowing workouts rose nearly 20 percent from 2014 to 2021, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, and the apparatus is essential for everything from CrossFit to OrangeTheory to rowing-only workouts like RowHouse and CITYROW. You can make rowing a living room training option, too—since many rowers are able to be folded up, these tall, lightweight pieces of equipment can be excellent picks for easily movable and stowable home gym gear. There’s a rower to fit every type of budget if you’re looking to add to your garage or basement training space.
Benefits of Rowing Machine Workouts
Regardless of where you find a machine, a quick rowing segment can make a great addition to your workout routine. The low-impact aspect of the activity can make it more tolerable compared to its high-impact cardio counterparts, like running. Minimizing shock to the joints can help people with nagging issues workout pain-free longer. Research has shown that rowing can help those with arthritis gain muscular strength and endurance while minimizing pain. Shaking up your workout plan by including something like rowing can give your body a break from your norm, helping to prevent overuse injuries.
“It’s a total-body workout that uses most of the muscles in your body during every stroke with little to no impact,” says Lisa Niren, a group fitness instructor and CITYROW trainer. “It burns fat while providing extreme cardiovascular fitness and ridiculous muscular endurance.”
Compared to other full-body cardio sports—swimming and cross-country skiing, for example—you’ll build more strength and power while rowing, says Eric Von Frohlich, CrossFit Level 1 certified trainer and founder of EVF Performance and Row House NYC. “Rowers tend to be more muscular than other endurance athletes: their backs, shoulders and arms are thicker and stronger. A good, powerful row stroke is similar to a kettlebell swing or a deadlift because you have to engage your core so the power from your legs transfers to the handle.”
Rowing is also by nature a strength movement, essentially a blend of a deadlift and a barbell row. That's an ideal combination that everyone should do, hitting all the posterior-chain muscles that can easily get weakened by the types of sedentary lifestyles common today. Need some help with your rowing technique? Check this guide to learn the form.
Rowing is also easy to program into any workout, because you can get plenty of oomph from a rowing workout in just 10 to 15 minutes, and you can easily work in other implements, mixing rowing with, say, kettlebell swings or some other movements to create well-rounded, full-body routines. Need a few examples? Check out the workouts below.
Mark Barroso, CSCS, is a Master Trainer, Spartan SGX Coach, freelance writer and aspiring Athletic Trainer based in New Jersey.
Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., is the fitness director of Men's Health and a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience. He's logged training time with NFL athletes and track athletes and his current training regimen includes weight training, HIIT conditioning, and yoga. Before joining Men's Health in 2017, he served as a sports columnist and tech columnist for the New York Daily News.
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