Rowing machines are having a moment. Long
the ugly ducklings of the gym, tucked away in forgotten corners, the workout
devices are getting a makeover — just like indoor cycling machines did a decade
ago.
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The number of people rowing indoors increased by
nearly 20 percent between 2014 and 2021, according to the Sports and
Fitness Industry Association, and the global rowing machine market is expected to
exceed $1.8 billion in value by 2031. Some attribute this resurgence to
CrossFit, which frequently features rowing machines (also called ergometers, or
ergs for short) in their daily workouts.
To dedicated rowers, this increase in popularity
does not come as a surprise. Rowing is a total body workout that targets the
muscles in your legs, back, core, and arms. It is also great for your
cardiovascular system because it challenges the heart in multiple ways, said Dr
Aaron Baggish, a professor of medicine at the University of Lausanne in
Switzerland and the director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at
Massachusetts General Hospital. “What’s unique about it is that it combines the
two fundamental stresses that the heart responds to, which are pressure and
volume,” he explained.
Rowing is often
used for endurance training, which increases blood volume and, over time, can
cause parts of the heart to enlarge so that it can pump more blood. But the
movement also involves short bursts of intense effort — similar to strength
training — which increases blood pressure and strengthens the heart walls. Most
dedicated athletes show only one change in their heart or the other, depending
on their sport of choice. However, Baggish’s research has suggested that the
hearts of rowers benefit from both types of stresses.
“It’s something that’s achievable even by people
that are going to the gym and just erging a couple of times a week,” he said.
But there is
a learning curve when it comes to rowing. Proper form is critical — not only
for avoiding injury, but for developing a powerful, efficient stroke and
achieving a good workout.
“Rowing in some ways looks very easy, but to get the
most out of it, to become efficient, is pretty difficult,” said Aquil Abdullah,
a former Olympic rower and an instructor at Hydrow.
The form
The most important thing to
keep in mind about rowing is that while it looks like you are yanking the
handle (or oars) with your arms, most of the power comes from your legs until
the very end. “Rowing is a pushing sport, not necessarily a pulling sport,”
said Neil Bergenroth, a rowing coach in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has a YouTube
channel dedicated to teaching rowing.
A lot happens during a rowing stroke, so the movement
is typically broken down into four steps: the catch, the drive, the finish, and
the recovery.
The catch
In the catch position, the
seat is slid toward the front of the machine. Your knees should be above your
ankles, shins vertical. Your body is angled slightly forward, and your arms are
outstretched with hands in front of your feet.
The drive
The drive is where most of
the power and exertion come from in rowing. Keeping your core engaged, push the
machine away with your feet, making contact with both the ball and heel of your
foot. “When you have your heel down, you’re able to engage your posterior
chain,” or the muscles along the backside of your body, such as your calves,
hamstrings, and glutes, said Casey Galvanek, head coach of the US Rowing Association’s
Junior National Team system. This helps you to create more power by using more
muscles, he said.
Rowing in some ways looks very easy, but to get the most out of it, to become efficient, is pretty difficult.
Once you have pushed about halfway back, with your
knees bent to roughly 90 degrees, start to lean back, pivoting through your
hips. You should feel your lats — the major muscles in your back — start to
engage as you hold onto the handle. Lastly, drive your elbows back to pull the
handle into your chest.
The finish
At the end of the stroke, you should be sitting up tall with your core
tight, and legs straight out in front of you. Your body should be angled
backward about 30 degrees — think of the 11 o’clock position on a clock face.
The handle is pulled in close to your body a little lower than chest height so
that the chain is horizontal.
Many experts actually recommend starting the workout
in the finish position to ensure your posture is correct from the beginning.
The recovery
During the recovery, you are
moving back toward the front of the machine to prepare for your next stroke.
First extend your arms. Next, tilt your body forward, pivoting with your hips
so that your torso moves from 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock on the clock face, and
you are leaning forward about 30 degrees. The motion should come from your
hips, not your back, and your abs should be engaged.
“Swing or pivot your body with your pelvis instead
of rounding over your bellybutton,” Galvanek said. “Hunching will expose your
lower back to possible injury.”
Once you are angled forward, start to bend your legs
to move closer to the front of the machine. As you’re going through the
recovery, think “arms, core, legs” and move in that sequence. During the drive,
the sequence is reversed: legs, core, arms.
The workout
Once you have the
fundamentals of the rowing movement down, it is time to put your form to the
test. As with most aerobic workouts, a rowing session can either be long and
slow (for endurance training) or short and fast (for interval training). If you
are new to the sport, work through the movements slowly to make sure you are
using proper form. Rowing speed is measured by your stroke rate, which is
usually displayed on the machine’s screen. Galvanek and Bergenroth recommended
rowing for 20 or 30 minutes at a pace of 16 to 20 strokes per minute when you
are starting out.
As you feel more comfortable and confident on the
machine, you can get into interval workouts where you row in shorter, faster
bursts. For example, row for two to five minutes at a stroke rate of 20 to 28
strokes per minute, followed by a one-minute break. Repeat this three to five
times for a 10- to 20-minute workout.
Another common way to structure interval workouts is
by distance, which should also be displayed on your screen. A typical boat race
is 2,000m, and rowers often talk about their 500m split times. A workout Abdullah
recommended is rowing for 500m, aiming for a time of two or three minutes. Take
a 30- to 60-second rest and do it again, repeating four times total to get to
2,000m.
The water
If you want to try rowing on
actual water, see if there is a rowing club in your area that offers
introductory classes or is welcoming new members.
There are two
types of water rowing: sculling, where you use two oars, one in each hand; and
sweeping, which is always done with multiple people in the boat and where each
person rows with one oar in both hands. Sculling can be done with one, tw,o or
four people per boat, and sweeping is performed with two, four or eight people
per boat.
Rowing in a boat can be more challenging than on a
machine because you have to battle the elements and, in some cases, work with
teammates. However, your form should stay the same regardless of whether you’re
rowing on dry ground or in the water.
Galvanek said that a common critique of rowers is that they
row differently in the water than they do on an erg (or vice versa), but there
is no reason that they should. “You’re getting into the same position; you’re
executing those motions; the timing of those motions are the same,” he said.
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