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Rowing Machine Workout Guide: Rowing Machine Workouts for Cardio and Endurance
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Gym-goers often overlook rowing machine workouts.
This is a mistake.
The rowing machine is one of the best pieces of equipment you can use for cardio: it trains your whole body, improves your heart health and endurance, and is gentle on your joints.
It also burns a ton of calories (when used properly) and is adaptable to any fitness level and goal.
Next time you’re in the gym, use the rowing machine workout plans in this article to unlock the full potential of row machine workouts.
Rowing Machine Workouts: Benefits
The main benefits of rowing are it boosts heart health and endurance, is gentle on your joints, provides a total-body workout, and is highly adaptable.
1. They enhance your heart health.
Indoor rowing requires the heart and lungs to work together to supply oxygen to large muscle groups for an extended period.
Over time, this improves your heart’s efficiency and capacity, enhancing cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases.
(Check out this article if you want to learn more about how to use aerobic training to get fitter and healthier—without hurting your gains).
2. They improve your endurance.
Regular rowing sessions increase your endurance by training your heart to pump blood more efficiently, increasing your lung capacity, and improving your muscles’ ability to use oxygen.
3. They’re low-impact.
Unlike running or plyometric (jumping) training, rowing is gentle on the joints because it eliminates the jarring impact of the feet hitting the ground.
This makes rowing workouts a great option for those who want to improve their fitness and strength without aggravating joint issues.
4. They provide a full-body workout.
Rowing trains several major muscle groups across your entire body, including your quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, traps, rhomboids, lats, rear delts, biceps, forearms, and abs.
5. They’re versatile.
Rowing machines provide a versatile workout that you can adapt to meet your fitness level and goals.
For example, they’re ideal for both HIIT and steady-state cardio, and you can adjust the resistance on the machine to emphasize cardiovascular endurance (light resistance) or strength endurance (heavy resistance).
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Rowing Machine Workouts: Form
Each row “stroke” comprises four primary components: the catch, drive, finish, and recovery. Here’s how to perform each with proper rowing technique.
Here’s an illustration showing how each of these phases should look:
Let’s break it down.
1. Catch
The “catch” is the starting position where you’re closest to the machine with your legs bent and shins vertical, back flat and leaning slightly forward, arms extended, and holding the handle with an overhand (palms facing down) grip.
2. Drive
The “drive” is the portion of the stroke where you use your legs, back, and arms (in that order) to pull the handle (or oars, if you were rowing on the water).
Initiate the drive phase by powerfully pushing with your legs, then leaning back and pulling the handle toward your chest. The movements should merge smoothly.
The key to the drive is to do most of the work with your legs and back, and only use your arms at the last moment. Most people make the mistake of pulling with their arms too early in the stroke, which wastes energy.
Instead, keep your back and arms straight until your legs are fully extended. Then, in one continuous motion, lean backward while keeping your arms straight, hinging at the waist. Once you can’t lean backward anymore, finish the stroke by pulling the handle to your belly with your arms.
Don’t let your upper body lurch forward during the leg drive—it should remain in the same position it was in the catch until you begin to lean backward.
3. Finish
You finish each stroke with your legs extended, your torso leaning slightly back, and the handle pulled to your body between the bottom of your rib cage and your belly button.
During this phase, keep your shoulders down and your elbow 4-to-6 inches from your sides.
4. Recovery
“Recovery” is the transition between the finish and the next catch. It’s a mirror-image of the drive phase of the stroke:
First, extend your arms, then lean forward (hinging at the waist), and then bend your knees, allowing your butt to slide forward and return to the catch position.
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The Best Rowing Machine Workouts for Beginners
Begin the following rowing machine workouts for beginners with 3-to-5-minutes of light rowing to warm up.
Beginner Rowing Machine Workout #1: 6 x 30 seconds
- Row for 30 seconds at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Repeat 10 times.
Beginner Rowing Machine Workout #2: 5 x 1 minute
- Row for 1 minute at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Repeat 10 times.
Beginner Rowing Machine Workout #3: 5 x 2 minutes
- Row for 2 minutes at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Repeat 10 times.
Beginner Rowing Machine Workout #4: 5 x 3
- Row for 3 minutes at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Repeat 6 times.
Beginner Rowing Machine Workout #5: 4 x 4
- Row for 4 minutes at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Repeat 5 times.
Begin the following intermediate rowing machine workouts with 3-to-5-minutes of light rowing to warm up.
Intermediate Rowing Machine Workout #1: Interval Sprints
- Row for 1 minute at ~90% of your maximum effort.
- Row for 2 minutes at a low intensity.
- Repeat 8 times.
Intermediate Rowing Machine Workout #2: Power Strokes
- Row for 10 powerful strokes (aim for high watts, not necessarily fast strokes).
- Row lightly for 20 strokes.
- Repeat 15 times.
Intermediate Rowing Machine Workout #3: High-Intensity Ladder
- Row for 1 minute at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 2 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 2 minutes at a low intensity.
- Row for 3 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 3 minutes at a low intensity.
- Row for 2 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 2 minutes at a low intensity.
- Row for 1 minute at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
Intermediate Rowing Machine Workout #4: Distance Ladder
- Row 100 meters.
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Row 200 meters
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Row 300 meters.
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Row 200 meters.
- Rest for 1 minute.
- Row 100 meters.
Intermediate Rowing Machine Workout #5: Row and Push-up Ladder
- Row for 1 minute at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Do 10 push-ups.
- Row for 2 minutes at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Do 10 push-ups.
- Row for 3 minutes at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Do 10 push-ups.
- Row for 2 minutes at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
- Do 10 push-ups.
- Row for 1 minute at ~60-to-70% of your maximum effort.
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The Best Advanced Rowing Machine Workouts
Begin the following advanced rowing machine workouts with 3-to-5-minutes of light rowing to warm up.
Advanced Rowing Machine Workout #1: Advanced Rowing Machine HIIT Workout
- Row for 1 minute at ~90% of your maximum effort.
- Row for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Repeat 10 times.
Advanced Rowing Machine Workout #2: Power Endurance
- Row for 5 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort.
- Row for 2 minutes at a low intensity.
- Repeat 5 times.
Advanced Rowing Machine Workout #3: High-Intensity Ladder
- Row for 1 minute at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 2 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 3 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 4 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 5 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 4 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 3 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 2 minutes at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
- Row for 1 minute at ~80% of your maximum effort, then for 1 minute at a low intensity.
Advanced Rowing Machine Workout #4: Advanced Row and Push
- Row 1,000 meters
- Do 10 push-ups.
- Row 750 meters
- Do 20 push-ups.
- Row 500 meters
- Do 30 push-ups.
- Row 250 meters
- Do 40 push-ups.
Advanced Rowing Machine Workout #5: Full-Body Descending Pyramid
- 1,000-meter row + 20 push-ups + 20 bodyweight squats
- 900-meter row + 18 push-ups + 18 bodyweight squats
- 800-meter row + 16 push-ups + 16 bodyweight squats
- 700-meter row + 14 push-ups + 14 bodyweight squats
- 600-meter row + 12 push-ups + 12 bodyweight squats
- 500-meter row + 10 push-ups + 10 bodyweight squats
- 400-meter row + 8 push-ups + 8 bodyweight squats
- 300-meter row + 6 push-ups + 6 bodyweight squats
- 200-meter row + 4 push-ups + 4 bodyweight squats
- 100-meter row + 2 push-ups + 2 bodyweight squats
+ Scientific References
- Araujo, Renata Cardoso, et al. “The Time Course of Cardiorespiratory Adaptations to Rowing Indoor Training in Post-Menopausal Women.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 20, no. 4, 1 Jan. 2023, p. 3238, www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3238, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043238.
- Nystoriak, Matthew A., and Aruni Bhatnagar. “Cardiovascular Effects and Benefits of Exercise.” Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol. 5, no. 135, 28 Sept. 2018, https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2018.00135.
- Ní Chéilleachair, Niamh J., et al. “HIIT Enhances Endurance Performance and Aerobic Characteristics More than High-Volume Training in Trained Rowers.” Journal of Sports Sciences, vol. 35, no. 11, 20 July 2016, pp. 1052–1058, https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1209539. Accessed 4 Apr. 2019.
- Lin, Pei-Ling, et al. “Effects of Computer-Aided Rowing Exercise Systems on Improving Muscle Strength and Function in Older Adults with Mild Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.” BMC Geriatrics, vol. 22, no. 1, 21 Oct. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03498-2.
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