Is a Rowing Machine Good for Strengthening Your Core Strength?

Regular physical exercise is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Physical exercise can improve your brain health, help control your weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen your bones and muscles, and improve your ability to carry out daily activities. But we all know that pure exercise can only get limited results and over time may also become more and more boring, but if the use of good fitness equipment everything will become different. A good piece of fitness equipment is the key to help us achieve various fitness goals, and rowing exercise machine is an ideal choice. It can provide you with excellent whole-body exercise without harming your joints.

The popularity of the rowing workout machine has soared in the past few years. It used to be mainly used by rowers, but now it has become one of the most popular fitness equipment in major commercial gyms and home gyms. One of the main reasons why it has become so popular is that the rowing machine can mainly exercise a lot of muscles. Not just your arm muscles and leg muscles, but almost 80% of your muscles of your entire body can be exercised. Since a strong core is an important aspect of successful rowing, many people have asked questions in recent years about whether the rowing workout machine is good for strengthening core strength. If you also have this question, please continue reading. I will give you a specific and detailed answer in the following article.

What is core strength?
When it comes to the core, many people simply think it is in the abdomen, and you may be no exception. But in fact, it’s not all about your abdominals. The core is not just your front, it also wraps around your whole body, helping to strengthen and stabilize your whole waist. Strong core strength should be aimed at all the major trunk muscle groups, which are: the front trunk (mainly including rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis and oblique abdominis) and the rear trunk (mainly including erector spinae, quadratus lumborum and gluteus maximus). These muscles work together effectively to ensure the stability of your body when rowing.

Is a rowing workout machine good for strengthening your core strength?
The answer is undoubtedly yes. Even if you have never rowed once with a rowing workout machine, you can clearly see from the action—pushing back explosively with your legs and then pulling the handle toward your chest—that it's an incredible exercise for both your upper and lower bodies. But even better, rowing is also a high-intensity exercise for your core. In every complete rowing motion, when your body slides forward, you can exercise your abdominal muscles well because your abdominal muscles are like sit-ups; while when your legs are pushed back, it can exercise your lower back well. When you use the fitness rowing machine, because you sit on a small but not particularly stable seat, your abdominal muscles and lower back muscles will help you keep stable when you slide back and forth, so that you can exercise your core well and strengthen your core strength.

How to use a rowing workout machine to strengthen your core strength?
Some people may still be unable to get the stronger core they want despite using a rowing machine, mainly because they don't row properly. To strengthen your core strength, you must master the correct rowing posture and your core must participate in every step. This means that your abdominal muscles should stay engaged (tight), flexed or stabilize your body during the whole rowing action. The following is a breakdown of the exercises of using the rowing workout machine to strengthen core strength:

1. The catch: When your torso flexes forward, your abdominal muscles should be engaged.

2. The drive: When you pull the handle toward your chest and drive it backwards with your legs, your upper body should be fully engaged. This helps to tighten the abdomen to maintain an upright posture, while gradually strengthening your core.

3. The finish: Your back should lean back slightly as you finish and your abdomen should slow down the momentum while stabilizing the body. The body should also slow down the swinging backward as you finish.

4. The recovery: As your body recovers back to the starting position (the catch), your abdomen will flex your body forward and your core will contract. Keep your shoulders and back engaged at all times.

As you can see, a rowing machine is good for strengthening your core strength, but only if you use it in the correct posture.