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Why don't rowing machines offer more resistance?
Posted on 10/2/25 at 4:48 pm
Posted on 10/2/25 at 4:48 pm
I have always wondered this. Virtually every other piece of gym equipment offers the option to select a crazy high level of resistance. But the 10 on rowers doesn't really feel all that different to 1. What gives?
6
Posted on 10/2/25 at 7:40 pm to Big Scrub TX
Because it’s for cardio. Not strength training. Do bent over barbell rows if you want more resistance. And if it is in a globo-gym, I guarantee the fan screen is dirty and 1 will be the same as 10. Probably has never been properly cleaned
This post was edited on 10/2/25 at 7:54 pm
Posted on 10/2/25 at 8:19 pm to Big Scrub TX
LINK more than you ever wanted to know.
Rowing is mostly cardio, but it does build some strength, it's just a lot less efficient than weight training. A novice who didn't do any other form of training would notice some gains. Somebody who was already strength training wouldnt.
Rowers don't look like bodybuilders but the elite ones are pretty jacked. They do a lot of strength training though, so its not all from the rowing.
Rowing is mostly cardio, but it does build some strength, it's just a lot less efficient than weight training. A novice who didn't do any other form of training would notice some gains. Somebody who was already strength training wouldnt.
Rowers don't look like bodybuilders but the elite ones are pretty jacked. They do a lot of strength training though, so its not all from the rowing.
Posted on 10/2/25 at 8:32 pm to Big Scrub TX
It's helpful to think of the numbers on the side as the size of your boat. 1 is a skinny racing shell, 10 is like a big canoe. It's like bicycle gearing, you set it for what you need but one isn't necessarily harder than the other. They're meant for different things.
Posted on 10/2/25 at 9:09 pm to DR93Berlin
quote:Both treadmills and ellipticals have vastly more resistant settings than rowing machines. Are those not for cardio also?
Because it’s for cardio. Not strength training
Posted on 10/2/25 at 9:10 pm to Ingeniero
I appreciate the info in the replies, but it doesn't really answer my original question. You would think with all the innovation in every aspect of everything (including gym stuff), there would be rowing machines that featured big resistance. It's really weird to me that - seemingly singularly - there isn't.
Posted on 10/2/25 at 10:43 pm to Big Scrub TX
Your effort determines the resistance. The harder you row, the harder it is, or should I say, the more force you apply per stroke the harder it is. The effect is logarithmic, not linear. Row 2000 meters on a 2:00/500 meters pace and your legs will be toast, regardless of setting.
This post was edited on 10/2/25 at 10:59 pm
Posted on 10/2/25 at 10:54 pm to Big Scrub TX
The link I posted above should give you a better understanding of the damper settings and how they relate to erg output. It's somewhat counterintuitive and I had trouble understanding it at first too. You'll get it after a while. Rowing is not quite like any other form of exercise and it takes a while (in my case about two years) to really get the hang of it.
Posted on 10/3/25 at 12:02 am to Jim Rockford
quote:I do (I think!) understand what you are saying.
Your effort determines the resistance. The harder you row, the harder it is, or should I say, the more force you apply per stroke the harder it is. The effect is logarithmic, not linear. Row 2000 meters on a 2:00/500 meters pace and your legs will be toast, regardless of setting.
Does that really differ from running? (The harder you run, the harder it is). Ditto the elliptical. Seems kind of like a truism to me?
If you run 2000m at a blistering pace with no slope, that will light you on fire also.
It just seems like there would be machines that were "hard" to do strokes on. Barely anyone is actually training for actual rowing. But for those that are, I would have imagined there was a machine that you killed yourself on that then made the water itself seem relatively easy.
I've always noticed this and thought it was odd.
Posted on 10/3/25 at 12:33 am to Big Scrub TX
The concept 2 is the gold standard for practically all competitive rowers. Almost every rower from high school up to Olympians uses it for offseason and off water training. There are a few exceptions, but not many. It mimics the water pretty well. Think of it this way. If you're rowing a racing shell or a heavy rowboat, the water doesn't get any thicker or offer any more resistance. The resistance comes from the drag and inertia of the boat. A stroke isn't any harder in one or the other, but the rowboat will take more strokes for a given distance because it doesn't go as far per stroke, assuming the same effort in both boats. The same with the concept 2.. Depending on the setting, you get more or fewer meters per stroke. You can really get into the weeds on whether you have more fast or slow twitch muscle fibers and which setting is optimum, but concept 2 recommends that most people set it on 5 or 6 and that's what I do.
One other thing to consider is that rowing is pretty safe, but cranking on it as hard as you can puts a strain on your lower back. It's not designed to be a horizontal deadlift.
One other thing to consider is that rowing is pretty safe, but cranking on it as hard as you can puts a strain on your lower back. It's not designed to be a horizontal deadlift.
Posted on 10/3/25 at 7:01 am to Big Scrub TX
Seated cable rows for resistance
Rowing machines for cardio
Rowing machines for cardio
Posted on 10/3/25 at 8:10 am to Jim Rockford
quote:
concept 2 recommends that most people set it on 5 or 6 and that's what I do.
Correct.
Most of the people I see on the rowing machine do not have the right form. I see them crank it up to 10 and use their lower back too much during the late catch/early drive portion of the motion. They'll try and bang out 2000m as quickly as possible, and this often leads to poor form. They think higher damper settings and quicker times = better, but it's not. You're setting yourself up for injury if you push too hard and/or too fast as your form will likely suffer.
I was no different. When I first started, I threw it on 10 and had poor form. My back would be in awful pain at the end. After some research and really focusing on my form, 6 is where I've settled. My pace is somewhere between 2:10-2:15/500m. Not world class by any means, but a good everyday target for your average 40-something guy like me. I'm sure I could do a single 2000m session faster, but why be near the point of nausea at the end? That's not fun to me (maybe it is for others?).
To me, rowing is very meditative. It's also a good metric that other parts of your body training are working together as one. It brings together cardio, leg strength, core strength, arm strength, and back/shoulder strength. If one of those is lacking, you will find out about five minutes in on the rowing machine. Focus on your form and breathing. Get in a good mental zone. The only stat I look at on the lcd screen is the force output chart, and I really try and make it look ideal and repeatable.
Posted on 10/3/25 at 8:19 am to Big Scrub TX
Why dont you work harder on the max setting?
Jeeze man.
Jeeze man.
Posted on 10/3/25 at 10:02 am to Jim Rockford
quote:Yeah, my friend just got one. He seemed quite content.
The concept 2 is the gold standard for practically all competitive rowers. Almost every rower from high school up to Olympians uses it for offseason and off water training. There are a few exceptions, but not many. It mimics the water pretty well.
I understand what you are saying, but certainly the vast majority of users aren't actually training for real rowing, right?
Posted on 10/3/25 at 10:44 am to Big Scrub TX
Are you a CrossFiter that instead of rowing has a seizure on the machine? Those people wreck lots of rowing machines.
Posted on 10/3/25 at 10:52 am to Lakeboy7
quote:
Are you a CrossFiter that instead of rowing has a seizure on the machine? Those people wreck lots of rowing machines.
What are you talking about
Posted on 10/3/25 at 11:36 am to Big Scrub TX
I know there are a bunch of isokinetic rowers out there. That would probably be your best bet.
Posted on 10/3/25 at 12:33 pm to Lakeboy7
quote:?
Are you a CrossFiter that instead of rowing has a seizure on the machine? Those people wreck lots of rowing machines.
I rarely ever use them. This has just been a curiosity of mine for years. And I've seen too many bad CrossFit injuries to be interested in that.
Posted on 10/3/25 at 12:35 pm to Big Scrub TX
quote:
And I've seen too many bad CrossFit injuries to be interested in that.
Such as?
Posted on 10/3/25 at 1:51 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:One friend of mine almost died of a "Transient Ischemic Attack", essentially a type of mini-stroke that was brought on by the program. He went to the ER and they went down a huge list and could not figure out what was wrong with him and then another doc was like "wait, were you doing CrossFit?" and from there they immediately knew what to look for...as in, it was a thing they were used to seeing in CrossFitters.
Such as?
Evidently, "it was caused by an exercise induced tear in an artery and the subsequent healing process released a clot that caused the TIA."
This was a very fit (and actually pretty young) person who showed zero signs of systemic or other malady.
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