Rowing = muscle building
Discussion
Leroy902 said:
Does rowing workout build muscle mass or is it purely out and out the best cardiovascular/fitness/weight loss exercise machine?
100% it builds upper body muscle mass and improves cardiovascular fitness. One of the reasons I stopped using my C2 was because of my upper bunging on muscle, just wasn't for me and was happy with my upper body before i bought myself a C2.May start using it again , but very differently.
Whenever I come off the rowing machine (I tend to do 10min as a warm up) I always feel like my back is hunched/rounded forwards and need a second or two to straighten back up once I'm stood up. I might get a similar sensation if I've come off my bicycle from cycling and having alot of weight in my backpack. Not sure why this is, I feel I lean back/straighten my back well enough when rowing..
ambuletz said:
Whenever I come off the rowing machine (I tend to do 10min as a warm up) I always feel like my back is hunched/rounded forwards and need a second or two to straighten back up once I'm stood up. I might get a similar sensation if I've come off my bicycle from cycling and having alot of weight in my backpack. Not sure why this is, I feel I lean back/straighten my back well enough when rowing..
This is always worth watching:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ82RYIFLN8
Will depend on your genetics and body type as well- someone who builds muscle easily is very likely to build very noticeably more muscle but someone of lighter, "hard gainer" body type probably wont change a whole lot.
Remember when postmen used to ride bikes? Some would have big, developed calf muscles but, some who had been on the bikes the same time, would have much smaller leg muscles ( although probably just as strong).
Remember when postmen used to ride bikes? Some would have big, developed calf muscles but, some who had been on the bikes the same time, would have much smaller leg muscles ( although probably just as strong).
oceanview said:
Will depend on your genetics and body type as well- someone who builds muscle easily is very likely to build very noticeably more muscle but someone of lighter, "hard gainer" body type probably wont change a whole lot.
Remember when postmen used to ride bikes? Some would have big, developed calf muscles but, some who had been on the bikes the same time, would have much smaller leg muscles ( although probably just as strong).
Your 100% correct. Two guys down the gym, same hours, same workout and they will build differently and one will gain bigger and better results / definition.Remember when postmen used to ride bikes? Some would have big, developed calf muscles but, some who had been on the bikes the same time, would have much smaller leg muscles ( although probably just as strong).
Diet too plays a part. Im just a lucky, all I need is a bench and a set of dumbbells to build and keep fit.. I mix cardio with those bells and it does the job for what I want.
AndrewEH1 said:
ambuletz said:
Whenever I come off the rowing machine (I tend to do 10min as a warm up) I always feel like my back is hunched/rounded forwards and need a second or two to straighten back up once I'm stood up. I might get a similar sensation if I've come off my bicycle from cycling and having alot of weight in my backpack. Not sure why this is, I feel I lean back/straighten my back well enough when rowing..
This is always worth watching:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ82RYIFLN8
AndrewEH1 said:
Quite remarkable some of the 'form' you see when people are using these things in the gym. A lot of people seem to stop dead in the middle of the stroke sitting bolt upright then yank the thing back and upwards with the arms in a completely separate motion.
throt said:
Your 100% correct. Two guys down the gym, same hours, same workout and they will build differently and one will gain bigger and better results / definition.
Diet too plays a part. Im just a lucky, all I need is a bench and a set of dumbbells to build and keep fit.. I mix cardio with those bells and it does the job for what I want.
What weight dumbbells and number of reps per set?Diet too plays a part. Im just a lucky, all I need is a bench and a set of dumbbells to build and keep fit.. I mix cardio with those bells and it does the job for what I want.
AndrewEH1 said:
clonmult said:
One thing that is wrong in that video - the chain should travel a straight line. She's dropping the handle way too much.
Suspect she's an actual rower thus the oars need to be pushed down to lift them out of the water. Obviously make no difference on a machine!Welshbeef said:
throt said:
Your 100% correct. Two guys down the gym, same hours, same workout and they will build differently and one will gain bigger and better results / definition.
Diet too plays a part. Im just a lucky, all I need is a bench and a set of dumbbells to build and keep fit.. I mix cardio with those bells and it does the job for what I want.
What weight dumbbells and number of reps per set?Diet too plays a part. Im just a lucky, all I need is a bench and a set of dumbbells to build and keep fit.. I mix cardio with those bells and it does the job for what I want.
I only have a couple of 10kg KBs (heavier ones are stupidly expensive), but doing 300kb swings can become rather tiring.
One of the things that most rowers have to overcome when they start competitive cycling are the shoulders and upper body bulk that rowing has given them. Clearly you'll never look like Ronnie Coleman from rowing, but you'll certainly develop muscle. I'd say it was probably one of the best all round things you can do for both appearance muscle wise/cardio vascular fitness.
If rowing is affecting your upper body more than your legs, you are doing it wrong. Rowing is a whole body exercise, but the legs, having the biggest muscles and being the longest levers do most of the work.
Rowing will build muscle to an extent and will tone it, but it won't build muscle in the way that lifting weights will. That's why rowers spend time lifting weights as well as rowing on water and on the erg.
Rowing will build muscle to an extent and will tone it, but it won't build muscle in the way that lifting weights will. That's why rowers spend time lifting weights as well as rowing on water and on the erg.
Zod said:
Rowing will build muscle to an extent and will tone it, but it won't build muscle in the way that lifting weights will. That's why rowers spend time lifting weights as well as rowing on water and on the erg.
I suppose it's what happens when people see a professional athlete doing whatever sport they do and so they assume that they got their body by just playing that sport. The reality is that any professional athlete will be using the gym under the guidance of their coaching team and that will include all manner of exercises including compound lifting to develop power.Hoofy said:
I suppose it's what happens when people see a professional athlete doing whatever sport they do and so they assume that they got their body by just playing that sport. The reality is that any professional athlete will be using the gym under the guidance of their coaching team and that will include all manner of exercises including compound lifting to develop power.
Probably, but for amateurs to get as good as you can at most endurance sports (which rowing is really) you'd be best off spending your time doing it vs other stuff that will probably make little odds if you are not a full time athlete. Rowing much like cycling isn't a sport that requires 'strength' as much as it requires aerobic power (which can be measured in watts, C2's do this) and that isn't about how strong you are but having the CV system to allow you to continue that motion at a high rate for a long time, the maximum force put through a rower will be minimal on both legs and arms I should imagine.
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