Rowing vs Spinning for Weight Loss

For weight loss, rowing and spinning are close to a draw: both use a lot of energy, and the better choice is the one you will repeat every week. Choose spinning if a booked class with an instructor gets you out of the door, and rowing if you want full control of your time, your effort and your upper body.

Neither will guarantee weight loss by itself. Food, sleep and overall activity decide that over weeks and months, and the NHS weight loss guidance is the place to start if you want a plan.

The energy sums

The 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities gives each activity a MET value, a rough measure of energy use compared with sitting still. Vigorous general rowing on an erg is listed at 7.3 and a spin bike class at 9.0. A common estimate is MET x body weight in kg x hours.

70 kg person	Rowing (7.3)	Spin class (9.0)
20 minutes	about 170 kcal	about 210 kcal
30 minutes	about 255 kcal	about 315 kcal
45 minutes	about 385 kcal	about 470 kcal

Treat these as ballpark figures, not targets. They depend on how hard you work, and rowing’s value changes a lot with effort: the same list runs from 5.0 under 100 watts to 14.0 at 200 watts or more. The class figure also assumes real effort, and a light flywheel lets you drift along well below it.

The useful point is duration. Spin classes commonly last 45 minutes, while home rowers often stop at 20. A 45-minute row beats a 20-minute class comfortably. For more on what early scale changes mean, see why you may gain weight when you start rowing.

How they compare

	Rowing	Spinning
Format	Solo, any time, your own pace	Usually a timetabled class
Main muscles	Legs, glutes, back, core, arms	Quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, core
Skill needed	Weeks to learn the stroke	Bike set-up, then follow the class
Common issues	Lower back from poor technique, blisters	Knees or back from poor set-up, sore saddle area
Cost	Around £990 for a RowErg (checked 30 Oct 2026), or a gym	Class fees or gym membership

Neither involves landing impact. Rowing asks more of the lower back and hands, and spinning asks more of the knees through repeated pedalling. If you have a joint problem, ask a GP or physio which suits you, and stop if pain increases.

Getting the most from each

Rowing. Learn the sequence first: legs, body, arms, then arms, body, legs. Our rowing workouts for weight loss give sessions by length. Keep most of them at a pace where you can speak in short sentences.

Spinning. Ask the instructor to set your saddle and bars before your first class. At the bottom of the pedal stroke your knee should keep a slight bend. Set your own resistance. A class is easy to fake with a light flywheel and hard to pace if you try to match the fastest person in the room.

A week using both

Two classes and two rows give you 150 minutes, the NHS weekly target for moderate activity.

Day	Session	Time
Monday	Steady row, rate 18 to 22	30 minutes
Wednesday	Spin class	45 minutes
Friday	Row: 5 x 3 minutes firm, 2 minutes easy, plus warm-up	30 minutes
Sunday	Spin class, or an easy ride or walk	45 minutes

New to exercise? Start with three of these at half the length, and take at least two rest days.

Common mistakes

• Going flat out every time. A hard class on Monday and a hard row on Tuesday leaves little for the rest of the week. Keep at least one easy day between hard sessions.
• Eating back the estimate. A display that says 400 kcal is not an allowance. Our guide to rowing for weight loss explains how to use those numbers.
• Judging by one weigh-in. Compare weekly averages over four weeks.

Which should you choose?

• Pick spinning if you skip solo workouts, like music and an instructor, and have classes nearby at times you can make.
• Pick rowing if your week is unpredictable, you want your back and arms to work too, or you would rather not pay per session.
• Do both if you can’t decide, and judge progress over at least four weeks.

The cost test is simple: divide £990 by what your studio charges per class, and that is how many classes a RowErg costs. Short of room? It splits in two for storage. For a structured start, use the first month on the erg. For more bike detail, see rowing machines vs exercise bikes, or compare another gym staple in rowing vs Stairmaster.