5 Rowing Exercises to Burn Fat & Build Muscle
Rowing exercises are a low-impact workout that’s great for burning fat and improving cardiovascular fitness. They primarily train the leg and back muscles but also work the abdominals, chest, shoulders, forearms, and hips to some degree.
If you want to target certain muscles in your upper body, consider rowing instead of running or riding a bike. Most of the exercises below involve putting your arms through different ranges of motion instead of simply moving your legs around in space like a bicycle or running.
Best Rowing Exercises To Lose Fat & Build Muscles
Here are five rowing exercises you can add to your daily workout routine:
1) Barbell Row
The barbell row is one of the best rowing exercises for building back and losing fat muscles. An underhand grip targets the lower back, while an overhand grip involves more biceps.
How to do barbell row?
- Hold a weight in front of your body, and bend at the waist while maintaining a neutral spine.
- Bend over as far as you can without straining, but don't overstretch.
- Squeeze the lat muscles at the top of the movement by pulling the weight back towards your belly button.
2) Pendlay Row
This rowing exercise combines the benefits of a barbell row with that of the deadlift. It's also a great way to improve the quality of each rep, making it a good alternative to the barbell row.
How to perform pendlay rows?
- To set up for this exercise, you will need a barbell and a bench or step.
- Place the bar on the floor; lie face up on the bench, and position your feet flat on the floor.
- With a shoulder-width underhand grip, grab the barbell with arms straight.
- Pull the barbell upward till it touches thr upper abdominal region.
- Keep your torso parallel to the floor throughout the movement.
- Bring the bar back down to the floor slowly.
3) Dumbbell Row
The dumbbell row is a perfect rowing exercise for burning fat and building strength in the back. You can do them while kneeling on a bench or standing.
How to perform dumbbell rows?
- Whether you're curling a dumbbell or using a barbell, always pull the weight back towards your hip before raising it upward.
- That keeps your body in the proper position and allows you to work the muscles of the back more effectively.
4) Inverted Row
The inverted row is a bodyweight rowing exercise many people find challenging, but with some practice, you will be able to do it easily. This exercise uses your own bodyweight, which should be sufficient as long as you have someone nearby to help if you need more weight.
How to do inverted rows?
- Perform it by hanging underneath a barbell in a squat rack or on a Smith machine.
- Lift your body up, pulling towards the upper abdomen.
- The easiest way to do this exercise is with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Slightly harder would be body straight.
- To make it more challenging, try balancing while sitting on a box.
5) T-Bar Row
The T-bar row, like the barbell row, is a back exercise that works the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and trapezius muscles. The main difference between the two rowing exercises is that the fixed path of motion of the T-bar row means you can use more weight than you would if you were using free weights.
How to perform T-Bar row?
- Grab the bar with an overhand grip that's shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
- Lean forward 45 degrees, and pull in toward you by contracting your back muscles and bending your elbows, keeping your chest out and lower back arched.
- At the top of each rep, squeeze your shoulder blades together, and slowly lower the weight back to the starting position.
Wrapping Up
In the end, the best rowing exercise for your needs depend on your goals but also make sure you leave enough energy to bring it in the gym. There's nothing worse than being so fragile from your punishing workout that you're unable to enjoy your multiple rest days afterward. Be smart in how you schedule them, and you will reap the benefits both inside and outside the gym.
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