Rowing machines have many benefits. They are one of the best pieces of fitness equipment when it comes to getting an all-round workout. For this reason, they can be challenging to use because they engage most of the muscles in the body. This means that you can get the toned body of your dreams. They also provide a fantastic cardiovascular workout. The faster you row, the more intense the workout is. Rowing is one of the best ways to burn calories – you can burn at least 800 calories per hour with an intensive rowing workout. It also improves muscle strength, endurance and flexibility.
Suitable for older people
Rowing machines are designed to mimic rowing on the water. The rowing action works the arms, chest, legs, back, shoulders and stomach muscles. It is also a low impact activity, with little stress being placed on the joints. This means that it is suitable for older people to do too, as well as the younger generation. However, if you are new to rowing, you might experience pain in the knees and lower back due to incorrect technique. Back injuries are the most common ways to be injured whilst using a rowing machine, and hyper extending the back is common for beginners. To limit this, it is vital to choose a rowing machine that supports the back.
The correct technique to use whilst rowing is to keep the elbows close to the body. It is also important not to fully extend the knee and elbow to minimize the risk of injury.
Strengthening lower and upper body
To work on strengthening the upper body, you can choose to use just your arms, and leave out the part of the rowing action that requires you to use your legs. Likewise, if you want to concentrate on strengthening your lower body, you can use just your legs. To build up muscles and tone them, you can increase the resistance on the machine so that it requires more effort to complete the stroke.
Ability to track your progress
Another useful benefit of using a rowing machine is the ability to track your progress, using the digital computer. This allows you to see at a glance how far you have rowed, how many calories you have probably burnt and so on.
