Is Rowing Machine Workout a Good Cardio Workout? How to Do It?

All the treadmills in the gym are used? Try rowing machine workout. You never find a waiting list for the rowing machine. They are always free. Rowing machine workout burns 800 calories an hour. It is probably the best of total body cardio workout. It requires 25% effort from your upper body and 75% effort from your lower body. It works your arms, back, abs and legs. Have you ever wondered why rowing athletes look so fit? How exactly can rowing machine workout shape your body?

Here are a few benefits you will get from doing a rowing machine workout:

1.      Burning calories

Rowing machine workout is a great way to burn calories. You burn 800 calories an hour by this workout. That’s absolutely more than 5000 calories a week. This will surely help you control your body fat.

Body fat < 10% +  abs exercise = wash board abs!! 

2.      Strength training

Unlike other cardio workouts which focus more on the muscles of your front body,  rowing machine workout makes use your back and  all of your limbs.  You work your arms by pulling the handle with your legs pushing the footrest. At the same time, you keep your back firm and core tight. You make use more muscles with this cardio workout.

3.      Cardio training

Rowing machine workout is a great cardio workout. It surely is. When you run, your heart only pump blood to your legs because you use only your legs. Different from running, when rowing, you use several large muscles; your heart pumps blood to all those muscles and adapts to be fitter.

Apart from all the benefits for your muscle, rowing machine workout is still a cardio training. It can burn so many calories that you had better not do this too much if you’re bulking up. If you want to incorporate the rowing machine workout into your workout while bulking, you had better use it on a shoulder/back/leg day after your workout to fully fatigue your muscles.

4.      Get toned

This workout primarily makes use of your legs and back. It also works your arms and shoulders. For your legs, it will be like doing repetitious light leg presses. The same thing happens to other muscles thus makes you leaner. Yet it is a cardio workout. You should rely on weight training to build muscles.

5.      Easy on the joint

For those of you who have joint problems then the rowing machine workout will definitely suit you. It is a zero impact cardio workout. This workout is suitable for people of all ages.

To achieve the maximum result of a rowing machine workout you need to do it right. There are four kinds of movement in rowing machine workout:

1.      The catch

2.      The drive

3.      The finish

4.      The recovery

The catch:

1.      Place your feet on the footrests and strap them.

2.      Grab the handles with an overhand grip. Slide forward a little so that you sit with your shins vertical and arms straight (please be relaxed). Lean forward a little, make sure you sit comfortably. You are slightly crouched with your knees are bent and your abdominal muscles are engaged. This is the catch position.

The drive:

1.      Move backward by extending your legs. Keep you arms straight.

2.      Your legs must be one step ahead of your arms. You should move smoothly, not jerky. Avoid bending your back backward.. Turn down the resistance level if you need to.

3.      Don’t drop your chin to your chest. Keep your chin up so that you can breathe easily.

The finish:

1.      After completing the drive, pull the handle into your upper stomach. Use your arms and abdominals to pull the handle.

2.      At the end of this move your legs are fully extended but not locked and your elbows should be bent at 45 degrees beside your body.

The recovery:

1.      Straighten your elbows towards the flywheel as you slide forward. Your knees should be bent gradually as you return to the catch position.

2.      This is the end of one repetition.

-          It is fine if you have a little bit of soreness in your lower back. If it’s pain,  you must be jerking your back. Doing this exercise should be much harder on your legs than on your back. Don’t strain your back, your arms and legs should do most of the work. The key is to push with your legs first and allow your body to follow after that.

-          Exhale when pulling the handle, inhale when returning it to initial position.

-          Do not row on the highest resistance. Go down to lower resistance and get a real good stroke instead of using only your arms with higher resistance. If you are a rower, put the resistance that closer to that of the water.

-          Try this rowing machine workout plan. Pull a 2 minutes – 500 meters split and burn 1000 calories in an hour.