by James - This article may contain affiliate links.
If you have chosen the rowing machine for your cardio workout, you have made the best fitness decision of your life. It has been voted as the best machine in the gym for melting calories, strengthening, and firming muscles. It has a magical way of transforming your entire body. It is a real full-body workout boosting your heart rate to the top.
Many fitness experts admit that using the rower is easier compared to other equipment in the gym. However, in the easiness lies the magical trick. The design of the rower is to engage all muscles. This means that you will cover all of them from your arms, legs to the core. This is the best way to burn calories. This gives the rower the best and most effective fat shredding power in the gym. How then to you hack into this power?
Want a rower for the home? Check out the best rowing machines here.
From the following guide, you will learn how to burn more calories with the rowing exercise more effectively.
Contents
How to use the rowing machine for weight loss
1. Sit Taller
Harnessing your core is only possible if you are correctly aligned. Ensure that your back is not rounded. Lift the chest while keeping the gaze in-front. As long as you do not drop your head, you are ready to melt the fat. The correct posture also reduces the chances of injury.
Check out the following guide to learn the proper technique.
2. Work On Your Legs
The legs have an incredible collection of muscles that determines your fitness. The legs should be driven into the heal, rest every stroke you make. This will give you firm muscles, especially around the booty where it matters. It is the perfect machine to reveal your true figure.
3. Alternate the Power Strokes
Once you have completed your warm-up, incorporate three sets of power strokes. They are executed by fast and explosive hard strokes. Pick an increasing rhythm or pace, considering that your muscles are already warm. A speed of 24 strokes per minute would be appropriate. These exercises work on your arms, legs, and core. These are the three areas where the most powerful muscles in weight loss are located.
4. Do the Ladder Drill
The technique works by beginning as low as 20 strokes per minute. Increase the speed with every set until the body hits its limit. Increasing the pace melts more calories within a short session. This moves you from the zone of aerobics to that of sprint-aerobics. Reduce the speed gradually until you return to the point you started. Always push your limits.
Here are two sample rower workout workouts for weight loss.
Credit: dailyburn.com
5. Incorporate Other Exercises
The gym has other equipment for different muscles. Sticking on the rower will only work on a particular set of muscles. Fat is stored in almost all parts of your body. To achieve holistic fitness, you need to pay attention to other areas. Use the treadmill, lift weights, do push-ups and sit-ups, etc. Work with a fitness expert to incorporate a wide range of exercises that focus on other parts of the body. Alternate the high and low-intensity exercises and interrupt the sets.
Do you still need some motivation? Check out the rowing machine before and after picture of this guy. You can see more here.
Credit: askyourfitnessquestion.com
Related questions on rowing for weight loss
How long do you have to row to burn 500 calories?
The number of calories you can burn with rowing depends on several factors such as your age, weight, intensity, type of machine, etc. Hence, it is not easy to tell. However, according to health.harvard.edu, here are some examples for 30 minutes rowing:
| Calories burned – Moderate | Calories burned – Vigorous | |
| 125-pound person | 210 | 255 |
| 155-pound person | 260 | 316 |
| 185-pound person | 311 | 377 |
So, if you are an average weight guy (185 lbs) to burn 500 calories, you need to row intensively for about 40 minutes, or moderately for 50 minutes.
How many calories do you burn on a rowing machine for 10 minutes?
By checking the previous chart, if you are a woman being 125 lbs, with moderate rowing, you burn about 70, with intensive rowing about 85 calories.
If you are a man weighing 185 pounds, you burn about 100 calories with moderate training, and about 125 with intense.
Can you lose belly fat on a rowing machine?
Sure! Actually, it is one of the best types of training since it is a compound movement. That means it works multiple muscles at once.
Why is that important?
The more muscles are activated at a given time, the more energy is required, so the body burns more calories.
And, if you want to burn belly fat, the key is to lower your body fat. It seems to be logical to target the abs with various exercises such as crunches. However, those are short, isometric moves that burn only a few calories. We do abdominal exercises to strengthen and shape the muscles, not for losing weight.
But, from the following video, you can learn a trick, how to target your core muscles more effectively.
In a nutshell:
This cardio equipment produces excellent fat melting results when used correctly. Make every session a little bit more intense than the previous one. Work with your fitness instructor to develop a plan that includes the most effective rowing machine exercises for weight loss.
Topic:
