How Fast Can Rowing Get You Into Shape?

The number of workout options at our disposal these days can make it hard to settle for just one. Some exercises are great for increasing your heart rate, while others help strengthen and tone muscles.

Fortunately, there’s one workout that does it all: Rowing.

Rowing is a full-body workout that does all that but so many workout enthusiasts have yet to try it largely because it’s not as easy as it seems. However, the benefits are abounding: rowing can boost strength, stamina, and overall fitness, including improving heart health.

Studies show that it can also improve mood, immune system function, and even provide a meditative, calming effect due to its low-impact, repetitive motions and sounds. Although it can cause a few blisters on the hands, real rowers enjoy a little discomfort. Nonetheless, your core, arms, and legs will be thanking you for the exercise and yearning for more.

Is indoor rowing just as effective as outdoor rowing?

As rowing gains popularity, rowing-inspired gyms are popping up in most major cities around the world. The rowing machine is just as effective as actual rowing on water bodies as it provides all the benefits that come with actual rowing. However, the rowing machine shouldn’t fool you into thinking that rowing is an easy exercise just because users get to sit down. The workout is actually quite intense.

Rowing increases demand on the heart, contributing to your heart’s need to pump more blood. This gradually leads to a more efficient, stronger heart. Moreover, the exercise targets the major muscles required for rowing in an actual boat – your arms, quadriceps, shoulders, and upper back to the abdominal muscles, glutes, and quadriceps – while imitating the motions required.

It is a dynamic and uniquely challenging exercise that helps create a foundation of endurance and strength by replicating the real thing. Therefore, for people who prefer working out indoors or are unable to exercise outdoors for any reason, rowing can be used as a staple in any workout or training program. While using a rowing machine, athletes can keep track of important variables such as estimated distance covered, power output, and stroke rate (strokes taken per minute).

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Building up strength by rowing.

If you’re just taking up rowing, getting the body in shape requires a fair amount of time, especially when the muscles were not in “good” shape to start with. This means that new rowers must slowly build up their endurance and strength as the body takes shape.

As your muscles gain strength and adapt to the exercise, you can gradually increase the intensity of your training. The time taken to achieve the desired shape varies greatly between individuals.

If you are looking for greater muscle definition and tone and have a good foundation from working out regularly prior to using the rowing machine, you might notice faster results. Additionally, having the flexibility and muscle mass to jump right into it, certainly helps you push harder in rowing machine workouts right from the start.

If you are new to rowing, especially if you don’t have prior conditioning, it is recommended that you start slowly. Proper form is also critical because rowing places stain on your back, particularly your lower back. Be sure to start with light and short workouts while focusing on back flexing and posture. This helps build the necessary abdomen, back and leg strength required to properly use the rowing machine.

Once your muscles gain stamina and strength on the machine, gradually increase your workout intensity and shape your body faster. The initial strength-building period helps with muscle definition and tone as fat is burned and muscles gain strength during your rowing workouts.

 How many calories can I burn rowing?

According to a study published in Clinical Biochemistry in February 2018, rowing, whether it’s in a boat or on a machine has a positive impact on blood lipids. Although the researchers focused on long-distance rowing, the findings are great news for overall health.

The total number of calories burned while working out on the rowing machine varies primarily based on the duration and intensity of the workout. The ever-increasing popularity of rowing machines is largely attributed to the conditioning and overall strength associated with the resistance exercise it offers.

Resistance exercise helps increase energy expenditure and builds lean mass, which gradually lead to fat loss and toned muscles. It is also easy to keep track of your progress because most rowing machines will track your speed, calories burned, and distance covered during the workout.

Muscle definition from rowing is generalized and does not focus on specific muscle groups. Rowing is ideal for overall strength and cardio.

Are there different types of rowing exercises?

There are two different types of rowing exercises, and their effects on body weight and muscle tone. However, they both lead to unique improvements.

• High intensity rowing

This rowing workout typically requires a 20–25 minute drive through the difficult sets of speed and resistance. High-intensity training increases the heart rate while pushing the muscles to burn calories.

• Endurance approach

Just like its name suggests, the endurance approach requires continuous motion over longer periods of time.  This workout is designed to challenge muscles in a manner that gradually burns them out over a longer period of time. The endurance approach involves sessions that last at least an hour and tend to burn more calories.

Both types of exercises are effective and help tone the body. Moreover, alternating between high-intensity rowing (short bursts of exercise) and endurance training is a great way of developing well-rounded muscles.

According to the American council of exercise, short bursts improve the body’s ability to utilize energy and boost metabolism as a result of high oxygen consumption. On the other hand, longer workouts boost cardiovascular fitness and burn more calories.

Create a rowing workout plan that incorporates both styles to maximize your benefits of strength building as well as endurance sessions. It is essential to keep in mind that the rowing machine is best used as part of a fitness plan and focusing on it exclusively is not a common approach to getting in shape or building muscle tone.