The Benefits of Using Rowing Machines
Rowing machines are a great way to get a calorie-burning full-body workout. They provide an excellent cardiovascular workout, whilst also working the muscles in your arms, back, and legs. Rowing machines are also low-impact, which means that they’re gentle on your joints.
If you’re looking for a great way to get in shape, consider using a rowing machine. There are a number of excellent options when it comes to choosing the perfect commercial rowing machine for your gym – so you should explore all of your options and pick one that meets your particular requirements. To do this efficiently, check out some in-depth rowing machine reviews and compare a few that interest you before making a decision.
Rowing machines offer a variety of benefits that other types of exercise equipment cannot match. Here are some of the top benefits of using a rowing machine:
Full-Body Workouts
Rowing machines provide a full-body workout, which means that they work all the major muscle groups in your body. The key to achieving great results from rowing is to use proper technique. Using proper technique will enable you to engage more of your muscles and burn more calories per minute than if you were using improper technique. The benefits of using proper form can be seen in both weight loss, and strength gains in the following muscle groups:
- Glutes
- Calves
- Quadriceps
- Arms
- Back
- Obliques
- Abdominals
High-Intensity and Low-Impact
Rowing machines are far safer for your joints if your workouts are quite intense. Many people who use machines like treadmills frequently can develop problems with their ankles, knees and hips as the impact is quite high. However, due to the low-impact nature of a rowing machine workout, you can train as hard as you like without causing any harm to your joints. In fact, rowing is a great form of exercise for people who are rehabilitating from an injury.
It’s Great for People of all Fitness Levels
Most modern rowing machines have the capability of performing at different intensities. You can change the resistance levels which means that the difficulty can be adjusted. This is perfect if you’re new to the gym, as you can set the resistance lower until your fitness levels begin to increase, and it’s also great for experienced athletes as you can set the resistance higher to properly challenge your fitness levels.
Heart and Lung Benefits
Rowing is an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise. When you row, your heart rate increases and you start to breathe more deeply. This means that rowing provides all the benefits associated with a good cardio workout, such as improved heart health, increased lung capacity, and better circulation.
The heart and lung improvements from a rowing machine is a transferrable benefit that will also have positive implications in your fitness plan as a whole.
It Improves Power and Endurance
The combination of strength training and cardio in rowing will help you build power as well as endurance. Power is the ability to generate maximum force over a brief time, such as jumping, sprinting, or hitting a punching bag or striking a football. If you row properly, you’ll use your leg muscles to propel your body back and your arm muscles to actually row, both of which need power.
Endurance is the ability of your body to perform a movement over a longer period of time, such as rowing. Cardiovascular and muscular endurance are both exercised during rowing.
You Can Workout More Efficiently
Even if you’re pressed for time, the rowing machine can help you achieve your fitness goals. Because it’s a total-body workout, you’ll work all of your major muscles and get a cardio and strength exercise out of it.
Also, short bursts of intensive exercise, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), have been shown to improve cardiac function and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. In other words, you’ll burn even more calories after your workout is finished.
Low-volume HIIT, according to a recent study, can produce similar or even greater fitness gains, glucose control, blood pressure reduction, and cardiac function improvement than high-volume HIIT or moderate-intensity continuous training.
As you can see rowing machines are a great way to stay in shape and work on all of your muscles. With the low-impact nature, you can workout as hard as you want without injuring yourself. The benefits that come from using rowing machines also transfer into other aspects of fitness such as power and endurance.