How Are The Rowing Machine and The Stationary Bike Similar

Both Are Effective Tools To Train The Cardiovascular System

There is no difference in effectiveness of adapting the cardiovascular system through using the rowing machine or stationary bike. Both are as effective as the other for performing high intensity interval training and low intensity steady state (if an individual is technically proficient at rowing).

How Are The Rowing Machine and The Stationary Bike Different

Rowing is a Full Body Workout

Rowing is much more of a full body workout than cycling. Cycling pretty much takes the upper body out of the question and puts emphasis on the legs doing all the work. However rowing is the inverse in that it requires both the upper body (through pulling) and the lower body (through pushing) and therefore requires more of a full body effort.

Rowing is More Technical

The key difference between these two machines is that one requires good levels of technique and one requires practically no technique at all. This is an important distinction when making training decisions. If you are prescribing exercise programmes to yourself or your clients then you need to ensure that technique is sufficient prior to prescribing rowing intervals or zone 2 outings. Whereas on the bike, it is pretty hard for things to go wrong unless you or the client is unable to set the bike to a correct position.

Both Are Sport Specific

If you are training for rowing as a sport, then it goes without saying that training on the rowing machine will have much higher transfer to rowing on the water. The same goes for cycling, if you are training to compete in a cycling event then your cardiovascular training should be done on a stationary bike and not a rowing machine in order to have the highest transfer as possible.

The Bike Is (Slightly) More Comfortable

The bike position is much more natural to hold for longer periods of time than the rowing position. Most sedentary people would be able to sit on a bike at a low intensity for between 15-30 minutes without much issue, however if you were to put them on a rowing machine, it would be a different story all together. 30 minutes on a rowing machine for a sedentary person could literally be like hell. If you have the habit of rowing, that you have built up over time, it can be easy to forget this but it is important to remember when prescribing it to beginners.

Different Types of Discomfort

Although they both train the cardiovascular system, the pain that they cause when performing them at high intensities is very different. The rower is less localised to the lower body like the bike and creates an almost full body discomfort. That doesn’t mean to say that it is worse than the bike, which can be extremely challenging also. Taking away any form of technique as we do on the bike also allows us to switch off the mechanisms which help maintain technique and enter into a pretty dark place. Either way both of these erg machines will allow you to push yourself to the max, yet they will create slightly different forms of suffering while doing so.

Why This Is An Important Comparison

Cardiovascular training can often lead to a breakdown in technique, through both high intensity interval training or endurance training. This means that individuals need to be prescribed with the machine that they can best maintain good positions on, which in most cases is the stationary bike. That being said, learning to row effectively can be a great way to diversify your cardiovascular training protocols.

Factors to Take Into Consideration

Technique Capabilities

If you or someone your coaching has poor technical capabilities on the rowing machine, then maybe use the stationary bike to ensure you can get the cardiovascular adaptations your seeking while also building rowing technique in warm ups or in skill sections of training sessions.

Comfort In Positions

Do not set individuals long low intensity training sessions on the stationary bike or the rower if they are not used to these styles of positions. Make sure you are increasing these long endurance rides progressively over time, especially on the rower where they can be more uncomfortable and challenging.