Rowing is an effective, low-impact cardiovascular exercise and also a sport. Rowers often train using indoor, stationary rowing machines called ergometers, or ergos, which are also popular gym and home-training devices. There are also competitions using indoor rowing machines. While rowing uses almost every muscle in the body, the main work is done in the pulling phase of a rowing stroke.
Knee Extension
A powerful push off is important in rowing. The more work that you can do with your big, powerful leg muscles, the less you will need to pull with your smaller, weaker arms. The main muscles responsible for knee extension are your quadriceps, located on the front of your thighs. The quadriceps, quads for short, are made up of four muscles with a common insertion point just below your knee cap.
Hip Extension
In addition to knee extension, hip extension is also a big part power development in rowing. Hip extension uses the biggest and potentially strongest muscle in your body -- gluteus maximus. The gluteus maximus, or glutes, also provides a comfortable pad on which to sit.
Back Extension
Keeping your lower back upright as you push with your legs and then leaning back to extend the length of your stroke is the job of your erector spinae. Made up of eight overlapping muscles that run from the base of your skull down to the bottom of your spine, these muscles must be very strong to support the effort of your arms and legs. Competitive rowers perform a lot of conditioning work for their back muscles to minimize their risk of injury and maximize performance.
Shoulder Retraction
Pulling your shoulders back is correctly called retraction and is an important part of a rowing stroke. The muscles responsible for this action are your middle trapezius and rhomboids. Located across and between your shoulder blades, these muscles ensure your arms have a stable base from which to pull.
Shoulder Extension
Rowers are known for their large back muscles. The action of pulling the arms back and into your body, a movement called shoulder extension, targets your latissimus dorsi muscles, or lats, for short. Well-developed lats look like wings and are located on the side of your back. Rowers perform a specialist exercise called bench rows to strengthen these all-important muscles.
Arm Flexion
Located on the front of your upper arm, your biceps brachii, biceps for short, are responsible for bending your arms. Novice rowers who use too little leg drive often find that their biceps are the muscles that fatigue first during a long or fast rowing session.
References
- "Anatomy of Exercise: A Trainer's Inside Guide to Your Workout"; Pat Manocchia; 2009
- "Rowing Faster"; Volker Nolte; 2004
- "An Illustrated Atlas of the Skeletal Muscles"; Bradley S. Bowden, et al.; 2002
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