Rowing Machines vs Cable Row Machines

Rowing machines are for cardio and whole-body endurance, and cable row machines are for building back and arm strength. Choose the rowing machine if you only have room for one, and add the cable row in the gym if you want a stronger back.

The names sound alike, but only one of them moves your legs.

Side by side

	Rowing machine	Seated cable row
Main aim	Cardio and endurance	Back strength
Muscles	Legs, back, core, arms	Lats, rhomboids, rear shoulders, biceps
Leg involvement	High	Low, legs stay braced
Typical use	20 to 40 minutes continuous	3 sets of 8 to 15 reps
Resistance	Rises with effort on air and water, set by dial on magnetic	Weight stack you choose
Skill	A sequence to learn	Simple, but needs control
Tracking	Split, rate and power	Weight and reps
Where	Home or gym	Mostly gyms

The workload in numbers

The sums show how different the two are.

Measure	20-minute row at rate 20	3 sets of 12 cable rows
Pulls	400 strokes	36 reps
Time working	20 minutes	About 2 minutes, at 3 seconds a rep
Effort per pull	Moderate	Hard by the last reps

So the rower gives you far more repetitions at a lower load, and the cable row gives you few reps at a high load. They train different things.

Energy use differs too. Harvard Health’s table for a 155 lb (about 70 kg) person lists 252 calories for 30 minutes of moderate stationary rowing, and 108 for 30 minutes of general weight lifting. Treat those as rough estimates, as your own figure depends on your size and effort.

What the rowing machine does better

• Heart and lungs. You keep working for minutes at a time, which a set of 12 can’t match.
• Leg drive. Most of the power in the stroke comes from the legs.
• Testing. A 2,000 m or 5,000 m result is easy to compare over months.
• Home use. A folding or upright-storing rower fits a spare room, and our best rowing machine guide covers the options. If budget is tight, see our JTX Ignite Air guide for how to judge a budget air rower.

What the cable row does better

Because the rowing stroke is mostly a leg drive with the back and arms finishing it, the upper back often has room to get stronger. A cable row lets you load the lats and mid-back with a weight you choose, in small steps, and slow the movement down. That may help you hold your posture through a long row.

It doesn’t train the leg drive or your aerobic system, so treat it as a supplement rather than a substitute. Handles add variety: a close neutral grip, a wide bar, or a single handle for one arm at a time.

How to do a seated cable row

1. Brace your feet with your knees slightly bent.
2. Sit tall, with a neutral spine.
3. Pull the handle to your lower ribs, drawing your elbows back and your shoulder blades together.
4. Take 2 to 3 seconds to return the weight, without letting the stack crash.
5. Choose a weight that makes reps 10 to 12 hard but clean.

When you can do 3 sets of 12 with good form, move up one step on the stack.

If you train at home

Cable row stations are found in gyms, and home versions are less common. You can still train the same pull without one. A dumbbell row, a loaded rucksack or a resistance band anchored at foot height all load the lats and mid-back. Aim for the same 3 sets of 10 to 12, with a 2 to 3 second return. Our guide to rowing with resistance bands shows the set-up. So a home rower plus one of those covers most of what the two machines offer together.

How to use them together

Here’s a simple week:

Day	Session
Monday	Steady row, 30 minutes
Wednesday	Strength: 10-minute row, cable rows 3 x 10 to 12, squat or leg press, hip thrust or deadlift, a press
Saturday	Intervals, 8 x 1 minute firm with 1 minute easy

That leaves 4 days for rest or a walk. On the combined day, keep the 10-minute row easy, and avoid hard rowing after cable work. Strength training for rowing has more detail on the rest of the session.

Common mistakes

• Jerking the weight on the cable row. If your torso rocks by more than a few degrees, drop the weight.
• Shrugging when you pull. Keep your shoulders low.
• Using a stack so heavy that form disappears. Drop 1 step and finish the set.
• Pulling with the arms early on the erg. How to use a rowing machine sets out the legs-first sequence.

Keep a neutral spine on both. If you have a back or shoulder problem, speak to a GP or physio before starting, and stop if pain increases. More comparisons are on the rowing machines hub.