Can You Get Into Shape by Just Using a Rowing Machine?

Yes, you can get into shape by just using a rowing machine, at least for aerobic fitness and muscular endurance. It won’t give you everything, so if you want heavy strength, balance or impact loading as well, add two short strength sessions a week.

If you have an injury or health condition, see your GP or physio before starting.

What rowing does well, and what it misses

Area	On a rower	Add this
Heart and lungs	Strong	Nothing needed
Legs and back endurance	Strong	Nothing needed
Pulling muscles	Good	Nothing needed for general fitness
Pushing muscles	Weak	Press-ups, 2 x 10
Heavy strength	Limited	Squats and hinges, twice a week
Impact and balance	Very little	Brisk walking, lunges, single-leg work
Hip and shoulder mobility	Limited	10 minutes of mobility after sessions

The legs and back do most of the work, with the core stabilising and the arms finishing the stroke. Our guide to rowing muscles breaks it down muscle by muscle. Your feet stay on the footplates, so there is no landing force, which makes it easier to repeat several times a week.

How much rowing you need

NHS guidance for adults is at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, plus strength work on 2 days. A rowing machine can cover much of the first part. The sums are simple:

• 3 rows of 30 minutes is 90 minutes. You are 60 minutes short.
• 3 rows of 50 minutes is 150 minutes.
• 4 rows of 40 minutes is 160 minutes.

Learn the stroke first

Get this right before you push hard, because a tidy stroke protects your back and lets you apply more power.

1. Adjust the footplate so the strap crosses the widest part of the foot.
2. Set the damper. Concept2 suggests 3 to 5 for most people, and a higher number is not automatically harder.
3. At the catch, shins are roughly vertical and arms are straight.
4. Drive with the legs first, lean back slightly, then pull the handle to your lower ribs.
5. Reverse the order on the way back: arms, body, then knees. Take about twice as long on the recovery as on the drive.

Our how to use a rowing machine guide covers every step, including the faults to look for.

Three sessions to start with

Session	Work	Rest	Effort
Steady	30 to 40 minutes, rate 18 to 22	None	You can speak in full sentences
Short intervals	8 x 1 minute firm	1 minute easy	Strong but repeatable
Medium intervals	4 x 4 minutes	2 minutes easy	Controlled, even splits

Warm up for 5 minutes first. Keep the first few intervals controlled, since pulling hard from the start leaves nothing for the later ones. Leave at least a day between hard sessions, and make most of your weekly time steady.

A sample week

Day	Session	Rowing minutes
Monday	Steady row	40
Tuesday	Strength, 30 minutes	0
Wednesday	7 minutes easy, 8 x 1 minute firm with 1 minute easy, 7 minutes easy	30
Thursday	Rest	0
Friday	Strength or mobility, 30 minutes	0
Saturday	Longer easy row	45
Sunday	Rest or a walk	0

That totals 115 minutes on the rower, so 35 minutes of brisk walking takes you to 150. New to exercise? Halve the rowing times for the first 4 weeks.

For the strength days, squats, hinges, lunges, planks and rows are plenty. Start with light loads and add weight gradually. Strength training for rowing has full sessions.

A note on calories

Calorie counters on machines are estimates and differ between people, so use them to compare your own sessions rather than as a precise figure. If weight change is a goal, read rowing for weight loss for a realistic view. Nobody can promise you a result from a set number of sessions.

Measuring progress

You don’t need a lab. Pick one of these and repeat it every 4 to 6 weeks at the same damper setting:

• 20-minute steady row. Compare distance or average split at a similar effort.
• 5,000 m best effort. Compare the time.
• 2,000 m best effort. Compare the time. Our 2k erg test guide explains how to do it safely.

For example, 20 minutes at 2:30 per 500 m covers 4,000 m. Six weeks later, 20 minutes at 2:25 covers about 4,138 m. If your heart rate at the same pace also drops, you are fitter than you were.

To follow a set programme, try the 12-week beginner to fit plan.