Alec Titan
Rowing is a full-body workout that targets 80%-86% of the muscles in your body. It is a great way to strengthen your heart and lungs, and is beneficial to your overall health and well-being. Rowing machines work different muscles at each part of the stroke, making them one of the most efficient machines at the gym. The rowing stroke is broken down into four phases: the catch, the drive, the finish, and the recovery. In this article, we will take a look at the muscles targeted during each phase of the rowing stroke.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Percentage of muscles targeted | 80% to 86% |
| Muscle groups targeted | Upper-body, lower-body, and core muscles |
| Muscle groups targeted by phase | Catch: legs, back, and core; Drive: hamstrings, glutes, calves, quads, back, and core; Finish: abdominals, glutes, quads, biceps, back, triceps, hamstrings, and calves; Recovery: triceps |
| Muscle groups targeted by stroke | Pull: quads, forearms, biceps, and lats; Drive: posterior chain |
| Muscle groups targeted by body part | Legs, back, core, arms, calves, chest, shoulders, upper back, and latissimus dorsi or lats |
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What You'll Learn
Upper body
Rowing is a full-body workout that targets 86% of your muscles, including your upper body, lower body, and core muscles. While rowing is technically a "pushing" sport, with the majority of the work done by the large muscle groups in the legs, the upper body is also put through its paces.
The rowing stroke can be broken down into four phases: the catch, the drive, the finish, and the recovery. During the catch, your legs are compressed and your shins are vertical. Your triceps are engaged as your arms extend, and the flexor muscles of your fingers and thumbs grip the handle. Your back muscles are relaxed, and your abdominals are flexing your torso forward.
In the drive phase, you initiate the drive with the powerful muscles of your legs, and all of your shoulder muscles contract. As you work through the drive sequence, your biceps engage to pull the handle toward your abdomen, and your back muscles work harder as you swing your torso open. Your lats, the delta or upside-down V-shaped muscles that span across the majority of your back, help in pulling the handle toward your body during the rowing stroke and help support good postural positioning. Your rhomboids, the upper-back muscles responsible for retracting your shoulder blades, help keep your upper body organized with good technique and proper form. Your deltoid muscles in your shoulders are involved in the initial pulling/connecting motion of the rowing stroke and help keep you stabilized throughout.
As the drive finishes with the arm pull-through, nearly all the muscles of your upper body engage. At the finish, the abdominals stabilize the body, and the glutes and quads are contracting. The biceps and many of the back muscles are also contracting to help keep the torso in the finish position and to internally rotate the upper arms. The triceps engage to push the arms forward and away from the body.
During the recovery phase, you reverse the motion by relaxing your arms away from your torso, hinging forward, and then bending your legs back to the catch position.
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Lower body
Rowing is a full-body workout that targets 86% of your muscles, including your lower body, upper body, and core. The lower body, in particular, is engaged in the drive phase of the rowing stroke, which involves pushing against the footpads with your legs.
The Catch
The catch is the initial position of the rowing stroke, where your legs are compressed and your shins are vertical. Your back muscles are relaxed, and your abdominals are flexing your torso forward.
The Drive
In the drive phase, you initiate the movement with the muscles of your legs, pushing against the footpads with your quadriceps. This powerful leg action is the main source of power for the rowing stroke, with approximately 60% of the power coming from the legs. As you push with your legs, your glutes and hamstrings contract to extend the hip, and your core is fully engaged to stabilize your body.
The Finish
As the stroke finishes, your abdominals, glutes, and quads are contracting to maintain stability, while your calves contract as you slide up to the catch position.
The Recovery
In the recovery phase, you reverse the motion by relaxing your arms and bending your legs back to the catch position. This phase is performed at half the speed of the drive to allow your muscles to recover.
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Core muscles
Rowing is a full-body workout, but it is especially effective at targeting your core muscles. In fact, it targets 86% of your muscles in a single stroke, including your core, legs, and upper body.
At the beginning of the stroke, or the "catch" phase, your core muscles help support your arm movements and extension. Your abdominal muscles are flexing your torso forward, and your back muscles are relaxed. As you push with your legs through your feet in the \"drive\" phase, your core is fully engaged as you hinge at the hip to bring your body upright. This is when all five of the major muscles that make up your core are engaged, including the rectus abdominis, internal abdominal oblique, external abdominal oblique, and transverse abdominis. Your core is also engaged as you hinge further back at the hip in the third phase of the rowing stroke.
To ensure proper form, focus on engaging your abdominal muscles or core while keeping your spine straight. Your shoulders should be relaxed so they are pulled back and down. This will help you to avoid injury and make your workout more efficient.
In addition to the muscles mentioned above, rowing also targets your back and latissimus dorsi muscles, which support your arm movements.
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Back muscles
Rowing is a full-body workout that targets 86% of your muscles, including your back muscles. It is a coordinated muscle action that involves every large muscle group in the body.
At the start of the rowing stroke, or the "catch" phase, your back muscles are relaxed. As you work through the drive sequence, your back muscles work more as you swing your torso open. The lats, or latissimus dorsi muscles, are engaged in this phase, helping to pull the handle toward the body and support good postural positioning.
In the third phase of the rowing stroke, your core is engaged as you hinge further back at the hip. This engages the muscles that make up your core, including the rectus abdominis, internal and external abdominal obliques, and transverse abdominis. At the same time, your back muscles are contracting to help keep the torso in the finish position and to internally rotate the upper arms.
The rhomboids, upper-back muscles responsible for retracting your shoulder blades, are also engaged during the rowing stroke, helping to keep your upper body organized with good technique and proper form.
Overall, rowing is an excellent exercise for targeting the back muscles, as well as providing a comprehensive, high-intensity, low-impact workout that strengthens your heart and lungs and improves your overall health and well-being.
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Shoulder muscles
Rowing is a full-body workout, with 86% of your major muscle groups targeted in a single rowing stroke. It is a \"pushing\" sport, with the majority of the work done by the large muscle groups in the legs. However, the upper body and core are also heavily involved.
The deltoid muscles in the shoulders are involved in the initial pulling/connecting motion of the rowing stroke and help keep you stabilized throughout. During the drive, all of the shoulder muscles are contracting. As you pull the handle towards your abdomen, your biceps engage, and your shoulder muscles contract. Your triceps are then engaged in the recovery phase as your arms extend back out in front of you to return to the starting position.
The rhomboid muscles in the upper back are responsible for retracting your shoulder blades in the rowing stroke and help keep your upper body organized with good technique and proper form.
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Frequently asked questions
Rowing targets 80%-86% of the body's muscles. It is a full-body workout that targets the upper body, lower body, and core muscles.
The upper body muscles targeted include the biceps, triceps, deltoids, forearms, lats, rhomboids, trapezius, and shoulder muscles.
The lower body muscles targeted include the hamstrings, glutes, calves, and quads.
The core muscles targeted include the abdominals, obliques, and lower back muscles such as the erector spinae.
To properly engage the targeted muscles during rowing, it is important to use the correct form and technique. This includes maintaining a forward torso tilt, pushing with the legs, and pulling the handle towards the body with the arms. The arms and legs should work in a fluid motion, and the core should be engaged to stabilize the body.
