Concept 2 Rowing Machine

Whether you want to lose weight, get fit or train as a serious athlete, the rowing machine benefits are immense. Rowing machines have gained significantly in popularity primarily because it has so many benefits over other forms of exercise. For most people running, cycling or elliptical machines make up “all” their options for cardiovascular training. Rowing however offers a unique solution in that it is a perfect balance in cardio and strength training.

Lets quickly look at all the various rowing machine benefits and why choosing indoor rowing is such a good fitness solution.

Firstly, lets look at the nature of rowing and its main advantages:

• Its low impact exercise – its easy on your knees and ankles and don’t have to absorb all your body weight as with running. The machine takes up all the impact so your body doesn’t have to.
• Upper body workout – the pulling motion is great for your arms and back.
• Lower body workout – the leg motion is great for your core muscles as well at the legs.
• High intensity – you can burn a lot of calories because you engage so many different muscle groups.
• Aerobic training – rowing is great aerobic training for cardiovascular fitness

Rowing has some distinct advantages for specific muscle groups. The obvious muscles that are engaged are the legs and arms but what most people do not know is that rowing is great for your core muscles and it engages the stomach muscles, the back muscles and your chest. It also works another very important muscles – your mind. Lets quickly look at how rowing engages each of these muscle groups and how it can benefit you.

1. The Legs
The rowing motion requires you to start each stroke with your legs fully compressed. To make the strokes you need to extend your legs completely which allows you to make a full leg motion. This motion engages all the muscles in your leg and is great for flexibility as well as building muscle strength.

2. The Arms
Your arms will do the bulk of the work and the pulling motion starts with your arms outstretched and completes with your arms pulling the handle to your chest. In a similar way this is a wide range of motions that engages all the muscles in your arms – especially the muscles in your shoulders and your biceps and triceps.

3. The Core
Rowing engages your core muscles in a unique way. Most people don;t realize this about rowing until they start doing it – and feeling it the next day. The unique way in which your legs and arms engage during a stroke actually works your abdominal muscles on both the on and the off stroke. The arm motion is very good for your back muscles and your chest muscles.

4. The Mind
One of the biggest rowing machine benefits is the way in which it can help your mind relax. All exercise is good for your mind but the rhythmic motion of a rowing machine has been described as therapeutic.

Some of the more practical benefits of a rowing machine is the fact that its relatively small and can easily be stored  with its small footprint. The latest Concept II rowing machines can actually fold in half which will allow you to store it neatly in a cupboard.