How do you use a rowing machine properly?

The rowing machine is the most misunderstood object in the gym. People sit down, grab the handle, and yank it towards their chin with their arms while their legs do something vague. It looks like hard work and it is, but mostly in the wrong places. Done properly, rowing is a smooth, rhythmic, surprisingly elegant movement, and most of the power comes from the legs. This page is about the indoor rower; for rowing on water, see what rowing is like.

The four parts of the stroke

Concept2, a maker of indoor rowers, breaks the stroke into four parts. In our own words:

1. The catch. You are forward on the seat, knees bent, shins roughly vertical, arms straight, shoulders relaxed and level, leaning slightly forward from the hips. Your heels may lift a little. This is the starting position.

2. The drive. Push with your legs first. As they straighten, swing your upper body back past vertical, then finish by pulling the handle in with your arms. The order is the whole secret: legs, then body, then arms. The handle travels in a straight line.

3. The finish. Legs straight, upper body leaning back slightly and held steady by your core, handle resting lightly just below your ribs, wrists flat.

4. The recovery. Reverse the drive: arms, then body, then legs. Straighten the arms, lean forward from the hips, and once the handle has passed your knees, bend them and let the seat slide forward to the catch.

A useful rhythm: the drive is quick and strong, the recovery is slow and relaxed. Think of it as a push and a glide.

Common mistakes

Based on Concept2's technique guidance, the usual culprits are:

• Pulling with the arms first. Bending the elbows at the start of the drive wastes the strongest part of you. Legs first.
• Bending the knees too early on the way back. If your knees come up before the handle has passed them, the handle has to go over your knees. Arms and body first, then knees.
• Hunched or raised shoulders. Keep them low and relaxed.
• Overcompressing at the catch. Sliding too far forward, so your shins go past vertical, puts you in a cramped position.
• A death grip. Hold the handle with relaxed fingers and flat wrists.
• Rushing the recovery. Racing forward makes the stroke choppy and tiring.

The damper setting

The lever on the side of the flywheel housing, numbered 1 to 10, is the damper. It is tempting to assume 10 is the "proper" setting. Concept2's own advice argues otherwise: a blog post on damper myths says that a setting of 3 to 5 is likely to give most people the best workout, and compares lower settings to rowing a sleek, fast boat and higher settings to a slow, heavy rowboat. Higher settings, it says, are more about strength than about aerobic fitness, and it points out that Olympic rowers don't race at a 10.

So start around the middle and adjust to what feels smooth. The effort comes from how hard you push, not from the lever.

Short first sessions

While you are learning the sequence, keep sessions short and easy. A few minutes of relaxed rowing, a rest, then a few more is plenty. Focus on the order of the movement rather than on the numbers on the screen. Some people find it helpful to practise with legs only, then legs and body, then the full stroke, building it up in stages. Once the sequence is automatic, the machine becomes a great place for longer, steady sessions or short, lively ones.

Concept2 also suggests not pulling too hard until the technique is comfortable, which is good advice for any new movement.