How Are The Rowing Machine and The Treadmill Similar

Both Are Effective For Developing The Cardiovascular System

The treadmill and the rowing machine are both tools that are used to develop the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system is developed through performing training sessions which increase heart rate to varying levels and therefore create adaptations to this system due to the stress placed upon it. Training the cardiovascular system is very different from training the muscular system which is done through resistance training.

Both Are Technical Activities

Both of these tools requires a certain level of technique to perform them well. Running is much more of a natural or innate skill, that being said, those who have been sedentary for extended periods of time will find running technique very challenging and it may take some time prior to being able to run with good technique. Building technique on the rower is very important prior to executing challenging cardiovascular protocols on the machine. Unlike the stationary bike or the elliptical, both of these training tools require technical consideration prior to using them, especially for high intensity interval training.

How Are The Rowing Machine and The Treadmill Different

Rowing Is Non-Load Bearing

The biggest difference between these two machines is that the rowing machine is not load bearing. This means that the joints of the knees, ankles and hips are not required to take weight of the body.

Running however is load bearing, for this reason it needs to be approached with caution. When we run after having been sedentary for extended periods of time it not only puts a great deal of challenge on the cardiovascular system but also on the joints that may only be able to take very few repetitions (strides) of impact. This means running needs to be built up very slowly over time and shouldn’t be used to perform high intensity interval training from the outset.

This is not the case for rowing, which although it does require some technical learning, it can be used for both high intensity interval training and low intensity interval training from the outset once technique is acceptable. This means that for individuals who are not looking to become runners but just want to stress their cardiovascular system, the rowing machine is probably the best option.

Rowing is a Full Body Workout

Rowing is much more of a full body workout than running. Running pretty much takes the upper body out of the equation 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. Although, there are little to no muscular adaptations from using the full body. This means that those with upper body injuries will be able to use a treadmill and not a rowing machine in some cases.

Both Create Sport Specific Adaptations

When we are training for a specific sport it is always better to use the modality the closest to the one we strive to compete in. Both the rowing machine and the treadmill will create cardiovascular adaptations, but they will also create sport specific adaptions that will help you on race day in your selected sport. If you are a rower, use the rowing machine as your indoor modality, if you are a runner use the treadmill as your indoor modality as the machine closest to your modality will have the highest transfer to your sport.

Why This Is An Important Comparison

Factors to Take Into Consideration

Injury Prevention

Running is very associated with injury, this is not runnings fault per se but the fault of poor programming. Poor programming is usually seen through applying too much stress (too higher dose) and then this results in some form of injury. If you just want to stress your cardiovascular system and are not interested in becoming a runner (running 2-3 times a week) then I suggest using the rowing machine. If you do want to become a runner and are interested in making slow and steady incremental increases in volume and intensity, then the treadmill is for you.

Body Composition

If you are overweight, obese or morbidity obese (or you have clients that are) you need to take this into consideration. Individuals who are very overweight should strive to use non-weight bearing modalities as it allows for the cardiovascular system to be stressed without putting too much strain on the joints. Those who are overweight will be putting more stress on the joints due to the extra load they are carrying through fat storage. Remember, if we ramp up running very slowly because of the poor volume tolerance the joints have, we are making a trade off and not stressing the cardiovascular system as much as we could on a non-load bearing activity.