Muscles Worked During Rowing

Quadriceps

Glutes

Hamstrings

Rhomboids

Latissimus Dorsi

Trapezius

Biceps

Erector Spinae

Muscles Used During The Rowing Movement

The rowing movement is made up of two primary movement patterns, the push with the lower body and the pull with the upper body. The pushing movement with the legs involves all the large muscles of the lower body, the quadriceps, the hamstrings and the glutes, all of which work in unison to push the body backwards while the arms remain straight. The pulling movement requires that the muscles of the upper back (lats, traps, rhomboids) and the biceps pull the handle. The muscles of the lower back (erector spinae) also play a key role as well as the core in general in maintaining good positions. This is a wide variety of muscles that are worked during the rowing movement, making rowing a full body movement.

Is the Rowing Machine Effective at Strengthen These Muscles

Although the rowing machine “works” these muscles, that doesn’t mean that muscular adaptations are being made. The amount of resistance placed against the muscles is simply not high enough to encourage strength or hypertrophy adaptations. It is important to understand that rowing is a behaviour that is performed to improve the cardiovascular system and not strengthen or grow the musculature.

Use Resistance Training Not Rowing

Resistance training is the most effective way to create adaptations towards muscles, it provides sufficient enough load to create the desired adaptations of strength and hypertrophy while rowing does not. Resistance training will target all the muscles groups used in the rowing movement pattern and all the other movement patterns.