Will Rowing Machines Build Muscle?

Yes, rowing builds muscle, but mainly muscular endurance and moderate strength rather than size. If your main goal is to get bigger, heavy resistance training will do more. If you want a strong, fit body and good stamina, rowing is a good fit. Here is how to make the most of it.

What rowing works

Each stroke uses your legs, hips, back, core and arms.

• Legs and glutes. The drive is mostly legs, which means quads, hamstrings and glutes carry most of the load.
• Back. The lats and the muscles between your shoulder blades pull the handle.
• Core. Your trunk transfers force from your legs to the handle.
• Arms and shoulders. Biceps, forearms and rear delts finish the stroke.

See what rowing does to your body.

The stroke in four parts

Knowing which muscles act when helps you load them properly.

1. Catch. Shins roughly vertical, arms straight, body leaning slightly forward from the hips. The legs are compressed, ready to push.
2. Drive. Push through the feet first. The legs extend, then the body swings back, then the arms draw the handle to the lower ribs.
3. Finish. Legs extended, body leaning back slightly, handle at your ribs, shoulders relaxed.
4. Recovery. Reverse the order: arms away, body forward, then slide up. Take the recovery about twice as long as the drive.

Most of the power comes from the legs, which is why rowing is such a good lower-body endurance exercise.

Endurance, strength and size

Rowing at steady pace develops endurance. Short, hard efforts with a strong leg drive build more strength. Muscle size tends to respond best to heavy, progressive lifting with enough food and rest. So:

• Endurance: rowing is excellent.
• Strength: rowing helps, especially in the legs and back, but is not a full substitute for lifting.
• Size: rowing alone is unlikely to produce major growth.

If you are worried about getting bulky, see will rowing make me bulky.

How to get more strength from the erg

• Use power pieces. Short sets of strong strokes at a lower rate, with a firm leg drive. For example, 8 x 10 hard strokes at rate 18 to 20, with 90 seconds of easy rowing between.
• Try low-rate work. Six minutes at rate 16 to 18 with strong pressure on every stroke loads the legs more than rowing at 24 with light strokes.
• Row with good form. Drive with your legs, then swing the body, then arms. See how to use a rowing machine.
• Do not rely on the damper alone. A higher damper setting does not automatically build more muscle. It changes the feel of the stroke. See drag factor explained.
• Progress gradually. Add time or effort, not both at once.

Rowing versus free weights

Free weights let you overload a single muscle group and add load in small steps, which is why they suit building size. Rowing spreads the work across many muscles over a long time, which suits conditioning and cardio. Neither is better in the abstract. They do different jobs, and combining them gives the broadest result. A rower who adds two lifting sessions a week usually gets stronger and more resilient than one who rows alone.

Pair rowing with strength work

For muscle, combine the erg with lifting. Squats, deadlifts, rows and presses all complement rowing. Our guide to strength training for rowing and weightlifting for rowers cover this. A common split is two lifting sessions and two or three rowing sessions a week. Put the hard lifting and hard rowing on different days where you can, and keep one full rest day.

Fuel and recovery

Fuel your training with enough protein and food overall, and sleep well. Muscle grows during recovery, not during the session. If you are rowing a lot and not eating enough, you may struggle to build or even maintain muscle. If you have a health condition or a specific diet need, speak to your GP or a registered dietitian.

If you want structure, our training plans mix sessions sensibly.