"In general, rowing builds muscle mass faster than running," Elmardi says. One study found that rowing utilizes nearly 85 percent of the body's muscles, while running is considered a lower-body exercise, meaning it uses fewer muscles overall, says Elmardi.
Running is said to be slightly harder than rowing. Moderate-intensity cardio exercises are challenging. They engage major muscles in the body and produce significant movement. It is difficult to row or run for long as both are full-body workouts.
Rowing is considered a low-impact exercise, like cycling, elliptical trainers, and swimming, so it puts less stress on your joints, bones, and connective tissues than running, jumping, and other high-impact sports. As long as you're using proper form, the risk of injury on a rowing machine is also very low.
Rowing works a lot more than just your arms—it also targets the glutes, hamstrings, quads, core, back, and shoulders, making it an excellent full-body cross-training option for runners.
Running and rowing are fantastic workouts with incredible cardiovascular health perks. Running burns slightly more calories than rowing, although rowing offers a fuller-body workout. If you're interested in either–or both!
"In general, rowing builds muscle mass faster than running," Elmardi says. One study found that rowing utilizes nearly 85 percent of the body's muscles, while running is considered a lower-body exercise, meaning it uses fewer muscles overall, says Elmardi.
"Running typically burns more calories than rowing because it's a more demanding form of cardio since you're working against gravity," Tuttle says, although that depends on someone's fitness level and how hard they're working. "Truly both are good for calorie burn and overall health," Tuttle says.
Runners use a 400m distance as the basis for track workouts, which is one full lap. In rowing, 500m is an approximate equivalent. Try 500m rowing repeats instead of 400m running repeats: 4 x 500m with 1 minute rest in between.
Whole body exercise not only improves the health of the muscles in your arms, legs, core and back, but also in your heart and blood vessels. Unlike running or cycling, rowing recruits large muscle groups in both your upper and lower body from the very first stroke, and strengthens your heart and cardiovascular system.
Rowing can help develop strength in individual body parts such as the arms, legs, and core, improve cardiovascular health, increase endurance, and even burn calories. Also, rowing is a low-impact workout that is easier on your joints compared to high-impact exercises like jogging and running.
DOES ROWING BUILD MUSCLE? Yes, a rowing machine can help build muscle in various body areas, including the upper body (arms, back, and chest), core, and lower body (legs and glutes). The rowing motion engages multiple muscle groups at once, making it an effective way to build strength and muscle.
As you go slower, rowing gets easier faster than running does. Running a 5k in 15 minutes is easier than rowing a 5k in 15 minutes, but doing 5k in 30 minutes is probably easier on the erg than running it.
Is Rowing 5000m a Good Workout? Any rowing is a good workout! Rowing 5000m is considered a middle-distance row, but it can feel pretty far for a novice rower. It can be particularly difficult if you aren't yet able to maintain your pace for a 1000m to 2000m row.
So, a 400 meter run is equivalent to a 500 meter row or a 1000 meter BikeErg.
Most beginner rowers will be able to achieve 1000 meters in a time between 3:50 and 4:30.
The time we want you to finish in: 7 minutes for males and 8 minutes for females. Seven minutes or less tells us that you're not only in good shape, but that you're also willing to silence your mental demons, go all out, and keep getting better. Of course, it's OK if you can't finish in 7 minutes.
Unlike other sports, there are no breaks in rowing. A crew must row a full 2,000 meters with no stops or off-strokes. The strain that you feel on your body is intense. As you can tell to the left, you cannot even control your facial expressions through the excruciating pain!
Rowing is widely considered by those within international sports as the most physically demanding in the Olympic program. It not only requires extreme endurance and strength, but also considerable mental strength and the ability to push yourself well past your limits.
It depends on your fitness goals whether 20 minutes of rowing is enough. If you are looking to improve your cardiovascular health, 20 minutes of rowing can be a good start, particularly if you have a low fitness level to start with.
Rowing is one of the most effective cross-training Cardio + Strength workouts because it provides a full-body, low-impact exercise, engaging over 85% of your muscles, almost double the amount used in cycling.
"As long as you maintain strong form, the rowing machine is a great full-body workout that can improve both strength endurance and cardiovascular endurance." Unlike other cardio options, the rowing machine has the edge of simultaneously being a strength and cardio workout, notes Tyrrell.
So, which kind of workout is rowing: strength or cardio? Simply put, it's both. Rowing is a cardio exercise because it involves continuous, repetitive movement that increases your heart rate. But it can also challenge your muscles from a strength perspective.