Rowing for Cardio

I`ve searched on MAP under this subject but most have been too vague, and google came up with lots of commercial sites telling me that rowing machines improve your whole body better than anything possible. So I thought i`d ask MAP!

Rowing for cardio?

1) how long for? in sections, bulk or ?

2) what resistance setting for optimum results?

3) how many times a week?

Any info greatly appreciated!

 

It would be very helpful if you stated your goals. For general conditioning I would recommend intervals 2-3 times a week along with weight training or MA. Settings is different on every machine.

Others will tell you more.

 

Rowing is probably one of the most under-rated forms of exercise, definitely one of the least used pieces of equipment in most gyms. For a full body, zero-impact, anaerobic workout, it's hard to beat.

The exact routine you use will depend alot on your goal. I'll presume it's to burn calories, rather than improve your 2000-meter time. I'd say if you're new to exercise, start with 10 minutes or so, at a steady pace, 2-4 days per week. After you can get through that, I'd add 3 minutes to the workout. Once you're handling 19-22 minutes, you could consider playing with pace/speed/intensity.

A great site, and one of the most popular ones regarding indoor rowing, is www.concept2.com They even have a "workout of the day" feature. I'd suggest wandering around there, and possibly asking the locals.

 

Thanks for the site.

I currently do alot of running and cycling, normally 45 minutes to an hour running so im not sure what the equivelant is on a rowing machine.

I`ve currently got roughly 10% body fat but eat like a horse so would like to keep my body fat low as it is and also help my cardio for Muay Thai.

 

There's no strict conversion, but, workout to workout, rowing is more intense. I'd say you could reasonably row for half the same time you'd spend running/cycling and get comparable progress.

 

Work your way up to HIIT training on the rower - great exercise!

 

Bewater hit it on the head. Rowing is great if you have bad weather and want to keep your workouts going strong. Throw it into your running and cycling.