Row Machines
 

OK so, I've always heard that the row machine is a great workout. I heard that it works the entire body etc etc.

I used it for the first time today. I only did it for 15 minutes because my back was hurting (I probably had poor posture as I used the machine). Anyway, I expected it to really work my arms and back muscles but I never felt any real burn. I mean, not like I feel when I use the free weights or weight machines.

Should I have used a higher intensity? Or is the row machine just magic in that it builds muscles w/o any real discomfort? :-)

It's hard to say without knowing the intensity you were rowing at. For me, I definitely feel it when I use the rower. 20 minutes in I'm dripping with sweat. I think (again for me) that a rower gives back a lot of what you put in to it. You have to force yourself to go quickly, unlike with a treadmill. Personally, I love rowing and would recommend you give it another try. Check out some how-to videos online that'll show you the proper technique so you don't injure yourself, or talk to a trainer at your gym.

Make sure you know how to erg correctly. It's a very specific movement. As Ferumbras suggested, check out YouTube videos or ask people at the gym how to do it. You shouldn't feel pain when erging.

Great tips, you two! Thank you!!! After hearing from you, I am pretty sure I wasn't using the machine properly. I will look up the proper technique and give it another try.

Yeah posture is important, some people are more "army" than others, others are more "leggy" i.e their main force is from their arms or legs. Try do both, I feel if at the start of the row you push with your legs, and as you go back use your back/stomach muscles with your arms to complete the extension back. As previous posters said youtube "rowing machine technique" and lots of videos will show you. As for level it really depends on your buildup. I guess speed-rpm is more important than resistance. I.E 30-35 rpm at a low level is better than 5-10 at a high resistance. Maybe someone will correct me though. I try to aim around 32-34 rpm when on it at top level, for what its worth.

NO MACHINE works as well as free weights.:)

Haha. I was going to say-if you did body weight squats with dumbbell rows, you would have felt it !
Even a suspension trainer (TRX, Lifeline Jungle Gum, etc) row and squat combo is a good workout.

Did you measure your heart rate while on the rower?

I didn't measure my heart rate. And I use free weights quite frequently. I was simply curious about the row machine since I'd heard so many good things about it.

When I searched on YouTube, I found there are several videos that show *incorrect* technique (according to the video comments).

Do you guys believe this is the correct technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqVmMd7FdAA

I think that looks correct. My experience with rowing is that when I was in high school our team would sometimes erg with our rowing team, so take my perspective with a grain of salt :). We learned the basics of proper technique- namely that the arms follow the legs. As the legs move out the arms should follow.

I'm not able to look at the video at this time, but I can tell you the basic steps for using the erg, and provide you with a couple warnings to avoid injury.

Warnings first:

Always, always keep your back straight, from the bottom to the top -- no bananas! Only rulers can row right ;)

Always keep your wrists straight, too -- if you pull with a bent wrist, you can injure your tendons and ligaments.


Ok, so the stroke, and I recommend you try it slowly a few times to get the feel for it, before you try to go all in :):

Sit up at the front of the erg, with your legs perpendicular to the floor, back straight but leaning forward (I'm no good with angles, but maybe 45 degrees?), arms straight and holding the bar.

Push your butt back, keeping your back straight and at the angle you were at when sitting at the front. Keep your arms straight, too. So your butt and the seat are moving back, and your body (and the bar) is moving back with it. Don't move JUST your butt and the seat -- make sure that everything's shifting back simultaneously, but only your legs are making the "boat" move forward at this point.

As you reach the end of your leg push, start to lean back with your back.

As you reach the end of your back lean (remembering to keep it straight!), start pulling the bar toward you with your arms (remembering to keep your wrists unbent -- you can let them turn sideways on the bar to get a better reach, but don't let them bend up or down).

When your hands are at your chest, that's the end of the stroke.

Then start moving your arms forward, staying legs straight and back leaned back.

When your arms are almost straight, start leaning forward.

When you're almost all leaned forward, let your knees come up and slide your butt up toward the front of the erg, remembering to keep your back straight and your arms straight and up.

Repeat!

Please note, I am not a professional or a coach, so if you're feeling pain, stop, etc. These are just rough guidelines for how to erg successfully.

Good luck!

Thank you, indiblue and TheWalrus!!!! So much good info! I really appreciate it. :-)

As a former rower who used to do a lot of erging, I feel qualified to weigh in. ;) 98% of people (no exaggeration) I see erging in the gym are doing it radically wrong and are NOT getting a good workout so I think if you fix your technique you should be able to push yourself hard. Personally, I have always been able to get a better workout from erging than running or ellipticalling or anything else. It's a little hard to figure out the stroke at first but once you do you will feel very powerful performing it if you're doing it correctly.

Both the video you posted and the step-by-step description that TheWalrus typed are correct. You can injure your back erging so be careful to keep it straight and don't slump. The only thing I would add to TheWalrus's description is that your hands should stay pretty level throughout your stroke. Many people raise their hands to get over their knees and dip them down right before coming to the front of the erg so the chain flaps around and that is incorrect. Your hands should come in so that the handle barely touches your sternum, right where the band of your sports bra hits. You should also keep your elbows out wide, not close to your sides.

I think you should try asking roaming trainers or whoever at your gym for their assistance - however, they probably don't know what they're doing either so if they seem unsure or contradict these other instructions just write them off. If you asked a person walking by wearing a rowing T-shirt for their help, you would probably make their day. I know I would be happy to help for a few minutes if someone asked me.

One more thing to think about is what we call your "ratio," which is the ratio of the time you spend on the pushing part of your stroke to the time you spend on the slide up to the front of the erg, or your recovery. This is really important in rowing but less so in erging, but it's still something to consider. Sliding up to the front of the erg is your rest for that stroke, and the more rest you take the more power you can put into your next push. You should always be quick on your push so that you can feel the resistance in the chain. You'll get more out of your workout if you give yourself proper rest on each stroke. A ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 would be good to start with.

As for the resistance setting on the fan and your stroke rate, it depends on the workout that you want to do how you should set those. You don't want to be flying back and forth on the erg at a high stroke rate (>40 strokes per minute) with zero resistance, just like you wouldn't do that on an elliptical. The higher your resistance, probably the lower your stroke rate will go. Same with the length of your piece - at a short sprint your stroke rate will be high, for a long row it will be quite low. Personally I keep the fan at setting 4 unless I'm doing quite a long piece (an hour) and then I'll move it to 3 or a very short piece where I'm focusing on power (and veeeeery long ratio) in each stroke for which I would move the fan setting up.

I would say that a medium place to start, and to adjust to your needs from there, is to keep the fan setting at 4 and adjust your stroke rate to the length of your piece. For instance, if you're doing 4 short 5' pieces I might have a stroke rate of 26-28. For a half-hour or longer it would be 20-22. In a full-out sprint I might get up to 35-38. This is just what I do personally so opinions will vary, but I wanted to give you a starting point.

P.S. If you do this regularly, expect to get blisters/calluses.

Thank you so much ERHR! I tried it again today. I did it for 30 minutes this time. And yes, I felt it! My technique was better for sure but I don't think it was totally correct. Though, I did focus on keeping my back straight and some other things that I remembered.

Oh, and there are no trainers at this gym as it's the gym at my job. :P

And I was having serious butt pain for the last 10 minutes...the seat is hard and uncomfortable.

I think I might keep it up. I kind of like it.