How to Use a Rowing Machine Even If You’re a Total Beginner

If you’ve ever suspiciously eyed the one or two rowing machines tucked into the corner of the cardio area at your gym, you’re not alone. These machines often seem more intimidating and difficult to climb onto than an elliptical or a treadmill, primarily because not everyone knows how to use one properly.

What do the numbers on the screen mean? Do I need to set anything up? Am I going to look silly? These questions and more tend to plague non-rowers, whether they are faced with how to use a rowing machine in the gym or one at home like the Peloton Row. Here, we’re breaking down everything beginners need to know about how to use a rowing machine correctly so you can confidently and successfully take advantage of this efficient total-body workout.

What Beginners to Rowing Machines Need to Know

In addition to the intimidation factor that comes with using any new piece of fitness equipment, some gym-goers opt to skip the rowing machine because it doesn’t seem like a legit form of cardio or a replacement for HIIT or your favorite fitness class. But in truth, rowing requires deliberate, mechanical full-body movement. Competitive team rowers work hard to match the timing and speed at which their oars dip into water for the greatest propulsion and boat speed.  

Good form is also essential to prevent injury. Stroke mechanics, overall training load, and a person’s individual fitness level are all factors novices want to be aware of while learning how to use a rowing machine correctly. According to the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, common rowing injuries include lower back/lumbar injury, rib stress, shoulder impingement, knee pain, and wrist/forearm tendinopathy (the broad term for any tendon condition that causes pain and swelling). 

Rowing machines designed for indoor training, called ergometers or ergs, are a convenient way to practice form and build strength and endurance year-round, and are available in many types that use magnets, air, water, or hydraulics to deliver resistance with each stroke. While some models are touchscreen-free, the Peloton Row offers magnetic resistance and a touchscreen that allows you to stream workouts and view your spot on the Leaderboard, as you would on the Peloton Bike.

How to Use a Rowing Machine Properly 

Before you pick up the handle and start rowing, there are a few things you need to set up on the machine itself to position yourself for success.

Strap Yourself In—Correctly

Every rowing machine is going to have adjustable footplates, which is where you strap in your feet at the front of the rower. “The ideal footplate position should allow for the strap to be secure over the widest part of your shoe,” explains Peloton Row instructor Katie Wang. This will allow your heels to come up a little (if needed based on your flexibility) when you’re at the catch, or the front part of the stroke, while keeping the balls of your feet securely pressed onto the footplate the entire time.

“Most people can make two different footplate settings work, so I like to say when in doubt pull the footplate a little lower,” Katie adds. This will likely be more comfortable for you as well.

Be Mindful of Resistance

Whether or not you need to set your resistance ahead of time is going to vary based on the rower you use. Some rowing machines, including most that you would find in a gym or other public setting, have a damper on the front of the machine that determines the resistance that you’ll want to position before you begin rowing. “I recommend keeping your damper between a 3 and 5 for the best workout,” suggests Katie. “It's a common misconception that the higher the damper setting the harder the workout, but that's not the case. What I love about rowing is at the end of the day we are creating the intensity and resistance by the power of our stroke. So the harder we row, the more resistance we will feel even at those lower dampers.” 

Another boon: Keeping your damper lower will allow you to maintain proper form as you start to row at higher stroke rates (or move faster up and down the slide), which will minimize your risk of injury as well as engage all the proper muscles so you can achieve that total body workout. 

Rowing machines without a damper are even easier to use—simply clock how the resistance works before you begin. With the Peloton Row and some other rowers, such as water rowers, your resistance is based on the power and effort you put in. Still others have buttons on the handle that allow you to adjust the resistance during your workout.

Set an Intention For Your Session 

This is another step you may or may not need to do depending on the machine you are using. On the Peloton Row, you’ll set your pace target before you begin your workout. On others, you can set the length of your rowing session or workout structure, such as how many intervals you want to complete and how long each interval and each rest should be.

Proper Rowing Machine Form

No matter the machine you’re rowing on, your stroke will always follow the same four stages: catch, drive, finish, and recovery. The catch is a fancy name for the start of your rowing stroke, when your body is compressed at the front of the slide, while the second stage—aka the drive—describes the push and pull required from your legs, upper body, and core to move the seat backwards to the slide’s opposite end. The third-stage position, or the finish, describes the legs straight, leaned back position with the handle pulled in just below your chest, while the fourth stroke stage, recovery, is when “your arms cross over the knees and pull your body forward before your legs start to bend,” Katie says. No matter how fast you row or how high your stroke rate is, the recovery should always take twice as long as the drive. This, Katie says, is key to rowing with proper form. “Sometimes our best strokes happen when we aren't stressing too much about the form or the metrics and instead fall into the rhythm of the workout.”

What Do the On-Screen Metrics Mean?

While the screen on each rowing machine is going to be a little different, there are a few metrics that you’ll see on every single one that you can use to guide your workouts. Here are the main ones to know.

Stroke Rate

On the Peloton Row, this number is identified as “Strokes.” Other machines may indicate this as “SPM,” or strokes per minute. One stroke is considered moving from the catch to the finish and back to the catch again. Your stroke rate will likely range from 18 to 36 during your workout. The higher your stroke rate, the more quickly you’re moving up and down the slide of the rowing machine. However, rowing at a high stroke rate (which is considered anything above 30 SPM) does not necessarily mean you are “rowing faster” in the same way as moving your legs faster means that you are running faster. The speed at which you are rowing is actually measured by your pace.

Pace

This is the number that’s followed by “/500M”. Think of it like the speed your boat would be moving if you were rowing on the water. This metric, which you’ll also hear rowers refer to as split, is expressed as the number of minutes it would take you to row the boat 500 meters; the lower your pace number, the faster you are rowing/moving your boat. As mentioned above, rowing at a higher stroke rate does not always equate to a faster pace. Instead, your pace is determined by how powerful your drive is and your ability to replicate that power at a consistent stroke rate over an extended period of time.

Distance Rowed

Measured in meters, this is the total distance you’ve rowed over the course of a workout. If you’re rowing to improve your endurance, you likely want to row a couple thousand meters in a session. For an interval training workout, you’ll likely row between 50 and 500 meters in a single interval.

Time Elapsed

This one is pretty self-explanatory: It’s how long you’ve been rowing.

Additional Metrics on the Peloton Row

Along with the metrics above, there are a few others that you’ll see on the screen of the Peloton Row. There’s your output, measured in watts, which is how much power you generate with each stroke. There’s your total output, the total power you generate over the course of a class, which determines your place on the Leaderboard. The calorie number will give you a general idea of how many calories you have burned throughout a class (you can also hide this number).

Getting Comfortable With Rowing Machine Workouts

Ready to incorporate rowing into your fitness regimen? Peloton Row classes are available to Peloton App One and Peloton App+ Members in addition to Peloton Row owners, making it easier than ever! 

Here are some of Katie’s tips to help you get started.

Focus On Technique, Not Speed

“Many of us are blessed to have walked or biked in our lifetime but rowing is a new way for a lot of us to move our bodies. So remember it may take some time to get into the flow of things,” Katie says. If you’re sore in new places after your first few sessions, don’t be discouraged; you’re likely just using new muscles that you haven’t used in conjunction with one another before.

One way to adjust to rowing faster is to try out classes with different instructors. “Each instructor and class type offers a different perspective towards the workout and diversifying your class type will only help you master the mind-muscle connection in your stroke faster,” Katie says.

Perfect Your Pace, Then Sync Your Stroke

If you’re using the Peloton App to do a Row class on a different rowing machine, Katie suggests paying the most attention to your pace number. “Instructors will reference four pace intensities, Easy, Moderate, Challenging, and Max,” she says. “As the paces get more intense you want your pace or split number to be lower.” The changes in your pace as you move from one intensity to another will likely be just a few seconds, while the difference from your Easy pace and your Max pace will probably be 30 or fewer seconds, so don’t expect drastic changes in your number. 

Once you have a handle on your pace, you can try to sync your stroke rate. “Instructors will also call out ranges for the stroke rate,” Katie says. If you’re new to rowing, start by trying to stick to the lower end of the stroke rate range and maintaining a consistent rate as opposed to starting on the high end and bouncing around within the range. The ability to drive with the same amount of power every single stroke is what is going to improve your pace as well as your rowing in general.

Make It Your Cross Training

Depending on the class you take or the structure of your rowing machine workout, rowing can be a sprint workout, an endurance training session, or a way to strengthen your muscles. “Rowing also pairs beautifully with strength training, so I recommend incorporating it into your strength days or checking out one of mine or Adrian's Row Bootcamps and see how it can amplify your strength workout,” Katie suggests. Change up the type of workout you do on your rower to see what feels best and what you find to be the most fun way to use the rowing machine.

One of the best parts about rowing is that it is a low-impact workout, so it can remain a part of your workout regimen whether you’re training for a race or competition, need something easy on your joints, or are trying to improve your fitness. No matter what brings you to rowing, we have a feeling that once you start, it will remain a staple in your rotation for a long time.