How to Use a Rowing Machine: Mastering the Art of Indoor Rowing for Total Body Fitness
Picture this: Olympic rowers gliding across misty morning waters, their bodies moving in perfect synchronization with each stroke. That same powerful, fluid motion can be yours in the comfort of your local gym or home. Indoor rowing has quietly become one of the most effective full-body workouts available, yet most people walk past the rowing machine like it's some medieval torture device gathering dust in the corner. Big mistake. This unassuming piece of equipment might just be the most underutilized goldmine in fitness today.
Understanding Your New Best Friend
Let me tell you something that took me years to fully appreciate: the rowing machine, or ergometer as the pros call it, is essentially a physics lesson wrapped in a workout. Every time you pull that handle, you're engaging about 86% of your body's muscles. Compare that to running (primarily lower body) or cycling (mostly quads and glutes), and you start to see why rowers have that distinctive V-shaped torso and tree-trunk legs.
The beauty lies in the machine's simplicity. You've got a sliding seat, footplates with straps, a handle attached to a chain or cord, and some form of resistance mechanism – usually air, water, magnetic, or hydraulic. That's it. No complicated buttons, no confusing settings. Just you, the machine, and the rhythm of the stroke.
Setting Up Your Machine (Because Details Matter)
Before you jump on and start yanking away like you're trying to start a stubborn lawnmower, let's talk setup. I've seen too many people injure themselves because they thought rowing was just about pulling hard. It's not.
First, adjust those foot straps. The strap should cross over the ball of your foot, right where your toes bend. Too high and you'll lose power; too low and you'll feel like you're about to slip out. Your heels might lift slightly during the drive – that's normal. Some people freak out about this, but it's actually proper form.
The damper setting – that lever on the side of fan-based rowers – is not a difficulty setting. I repeat: it is NOT a difficulty setting. Think of it more like bicycle gears. Most people should keep it between 3 and 5. Setting it to 10 doesn't make you stronger; it just makes you more likely to hurt your back. I learned this the hard way during my first month of rowing, when I thought cranking it to maximum would fast-track my fitness. Spoiler alert: it fast-tracked me to a physical therapist instead.
The Four-Part Symphony of Rowing
Rowing isn't one movement – it's four distinct phases that flow together like a well-rehearsed dance. Once you understand this, everything clicks into place.
The Catch: This is your starting position. Shins vertical, arms straight, shoulders relaxed but engaged, and your body leaning slightly forward from the hips. You should feel like a compressed spring, ready to explode. Your knees are bent, and you're as far forward on the slide as your flexibility comfortably allows. Don't force it – flexibility comes with time.
The Drive: Here's where the magic happens, and it happens in a very specific order: legs, body, arms. Push with your legs first (this is where 60% of your power comes from), then lean back with your core, and finally pull with your arms. It should feel like one smooth acceleration, not three separate movements. Think of pushing the machine away from you rather than pulling the handle toward you – this mental shift changed my entire rowing game.
The Finish: You've completed the drive. Your legs are straight, you're leaning back slightly (about 11 o'clock if your body were a clock hand), and the handle is at your lower ribs. Hold this for a microsecond. Feel powerful. You've earned it.
The Recovery: This is where most people mess up because they rush it. The recovery should take about twice as long as the drive. It's arms away first, then body forward, then bend the knees and slide forward. It's literally the reverse order of the drive. Use this time to breathe, reset, and prepare for the next stroke.
Common Mistakes That Make Me Cringe
After spending countless hours on rowing machines and watching others, I've developed a sort of sixth sense for spotting bad form. Here are the crimes against rowing I see most often:
The "Arm Puller": These folks yank with their arms first, completely bypassing their legs. It's like trying to deadlift with your biceps – inefficient and potentially harmful. Your arms are the smallest muscles in the rowing chain; save them for the end.
The "Back Breaker": Excessive layback at the finish, looking like they're trying to limbo under an invisible bar. A slight lean back is good; trying to touch your head to your knees is not.
The "Chicken Wing": Elbows flaring out to the sides like they're trying to fly. Keep those elbows close to your body, pulling straight back.
The "Butt Shooter": Their seat slides back faster than their handle moves, leaving them in an awkward position with bent arms at the beginning of the drive. Patience, grasshopper. Let the legs do their job first.
Programming Your Workouts (Where Strategy Meets Sweat)
Now that you've got the technique down, let's talk about actually using this knowledge. Rowing workouts generally fall into three categories, and each serves a different purpose in your fitness journey.
Steady State: This is your bread and butter, the foundation of rowing fitness. Row at a conversational pace for 20-60 minutes. Your stroke rate should be around 18-24 strokes per minute. Yes, it seems slow. Yes, it works. This builds your aerobic base and teaches your body efficiency. I do these sessions while listening to podcasts – the rhythm becomes meditative after a while.
Intervals: The spicy stuff. Maybe it's 8 x 500m with 90 seconds rest, or 5 x 3 minutes with 2 minutes rest. These hurt in the best way possible. Your stroke rate might climb to 26-32 spm here. The key is maintaining form even when your lungs are screaming. This is where mental toughness is forged.
Power Pieces: Short, explosive efforts. Think 10-20 strokes at maximum effort, focusing on generating as much power per stroke as possible. These are like doing heavy singles in the weight room – quality over quantity.
The Breathing Paradox
Here's something that messed with my head for months: rowing has a counterintuitive breathing pattern. You exhale on the drive (when you're compressing your lungs) and inhale on the recovery (when you're opening up). It feels backwards at first because we're conditioned to exhale during exertion in most exercises. But trust the process – once you sync your breathing with your stroke, you'll find a rhythm that feels almost supernatural.
Some people prefer a 2:1 pattern (exhale on drive, inhale-inhale on recovery) for longer pieces. Experiment and find what works for you. Just don't hold your breath – I see this way too often, and it's a one-way ticket to early fatigue.
Monitoring Your Progress (Numbers Don't Lie, But They Don't Tell the Whole Story)
Every rowing machine has a monitor, and understanding those numbers is crucial. Here's what actually matters:
Split Time (500m pace): This is your speed indicator. A 2:00 split means you'd cover 500 meters in 2 minutes at your current pace. Lower is faster. For context, a decent male recreational rower might hold a 2:00-2:10 split for a 30-minute piece. Elite rowers can hold sub-1:40 for 2000m. Don't compare yourself to them unless you enjoy feeling inadequate.
Stroke Rate: How many strokes per minute you're taking. This is not a score to maximize. I've seen newbies flailing away at 40 spm, moving nowhere fast. Quality beats quantity every time.
Distance/Time: Self-explanatory, but here's a pro tip: judge your workouts by time when you're building endurance, and by distance when you're working on speed.
Watts: The true measure of power output. This is what separates the wheat from the chaff. You can't fake watts – they represent the actual work you're doing.
Integration Into Your Training Life
Rowing doesn't exist in a vacuum. If you're already doing other training, here's how to integrate it intelligently:
For runners, rowing provides the cardiovascular stimulus without the impact. Use it on recovery days or as a second session. Your running will thank you when you discover the core and posterior chain strength rowing builds.
For lifters, rowing is active recovery gold. A 20-minute easy row the day after heavy squats promotes blood flow without adding systemic stress. Plus, the pulling motion balances all that pressing you're probably doing.
For general fitness folks, rowing can be your everything – cardio, strength, and mental training rolled into one. Three to four sessions per week, mixing steady state and intervals, will transform your fitness faster than you'd believe.
The Mental Game (Because Your Mind Will Quit Before Your Body)
Let's get real for a moment. Rowing is as much a mental challenge as a physical one. When you're 1500 meters into a 2000-meter test piece, and your legs feel like concrete and your lungs are on fire, it's your mind that will either push you through or let you quit.
I've found that breaking long pieces into chunks helps. Don't think about rowing 10,000 meters; think about rowing 10 x 1000m. Don't focus on 30 minutes; focus on 6 x 5 minutes. The mind can handle small challenges better than large ones.
Also, embrace the suck. That burning in your legs? That's adaptation happening in real-time. That voice telling you to stop? That's your comfort zone dying. Good riddance to it.
Equipment Considerations and Home Setup
If you're thinking about getting a rower for home, let me save you some research time. Water rowers look beautiful and sound amazing (that swoosh is addictive), but they require more maintenance and don't give you precise data. Air rowers (like the Concept2) are the gold standard – reliable, accurate, and what you'll find in most gyms. Magnetic rowers are quiet but can feel less natural. Hydraulic rowers... just don't. Trust me on this one.
Space-wise, you need about 9 feet by 4 feet when in use. Many models fold up, but let's be honest – if you fold it up every time, you'll use it less. Find a permanent spot if possible.
The Long Game
After years of rowing, here's what I know for sure: consistency beats intensity, technique beats power, and patience beats everything. The people who get the most from rowing aren't the ones who go hardest on day one – they're the ones still showing up on day 1000.
Start with technique. Film yourself if possible (prop your phone up on the side). It's humbling but necessary. Spend your first few weeks just grooving the movement pattern at low intensity. Build your aerobic base with steady state work. Add intensity gradually. Listen to your body, especially your lower back – it'll tell you if your form is off.
Most importantly, find your why. Maybe it's the meditative rhythm of long rows. Maybe it's the savage satisfaction of sprint intervals. Maybe it's just the fact that you can get an incredible workout in 20 minutes. Whatever it is, hold onto it. Because on the days when motivation is low and the machine looks particularly uninviting, your why is what will get you on that seat.
Rowing isn't just exercise – it's a skill, an art form, and if you let it, a teacher. It will show you things about yourself you didn't know were there. The question is: are you ready to learn?
Authoritative Sources:
Concept2. "Technique Videos." Concept2.com, Concept2, Inc., www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/training/technique-videos.
Davenport, Dustin, and Marlene Royle. Rowing Faster. 2nd ed., Human Kinetics, 2011.
Flood, Jim, and Charles Simpson. The Complete Guide to Indoor Rowing. A&C Black, 2012.
Kiesling, Stephen. The Shell Game: Reflections on Rowing and the Pursuit of Excellence. William Morrow & Company, 1982.
McArthur, John. High Performance Rowing. The Crowood Press, 1997.
USRowing. "Rowing Technique." USRowing.org, United States Rowing Association, www.usrowing.org/sports/2016/6/2/technique.aspx.
Volker, Nolte, ed. Rowing Science. Human Kinetics, 2011.