There are several exercises you can pair with the rowing machine to create a workout that targets all the muscles of the body.
The best complimentary exercises to pair with the rowing machine are going to help you build muscle and strength, burn fat, reduce stress, potentially cutting your workout time in half.
The “key” to choosing an exercise to pair with the row machine depends on your goals for that workout. If your aim is to build your back muscles, a row or deadlift may pair great with the row. If your goal is full body strength, the squat and push up jack might be the perfect exercise.
But before we go into what exercises are great to pair with the row, let’s get into what the row does for your body.
First, the row is a great endurance exercise. It enhances the heart and lungs capacity to get oxygen to the organs of the body.
Second, rowing is great for the upper back, biceps, lower back, forearms and legs. The continual rowing motion will build lean muscle in these areas of the body over time.
Last, rowing will reduce stress, put you in a better mood, improve brain health, reduce your risk for certain diseases and cancers, and help you burn calories.
Rowing, whether done indoors or outdoors is a great low impact activity. There is no pounding like you would see with jogging or running.
Exercises to Pair with Rowing
Best Exercise to Pair with Rowing
The best exercises to pair with rowing are going to be squats, kettlebell swings, and pushups.
These exercises will all complement each other and give you a workout that works the muscles of the entire body.
The rows will work the upper back, biceps, lower back, forearms and legs.
Kettlebell Swings will focus on your glutes, shoulders, legs and back.
The squat will work the quads, hamstrings, back and glutes.
Pushups will work the chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, and hip flexors, giving you a full body workout.
The combination of these exercises will give you a workout that builds muscle, increases endurance, and can be done in the comfort of your home with only your body weight or dumbbells as the resistance.
Other exercises to pair with rowing include:
1. Cycling
2. Sumo Squats
3. Glute Raises
4. TRX Pikes
5. Lat Pull Downs
6. Curtsy Lunges
7. Reverse Flies
8. Deadlifts
9. Jump Rope
10. Treadmill Sprints
Combining Rowing and Cycling
Combining the row machine with the stationary bicycle is a great way to hit your muscles in different ways. You can alternate these exercises or do them on consecutive days. Both exercises will increase endurance and help you to put on lean muscle throughout your body.
Throwing in a chest exercise like a cable flies, push up jacks or dumbbell bench press will help round out the exercises to help you develop the majority of the major muscle groups of the body.
You can start your workout cycling and end the workout with a row machine finisher. How you do this is going to depend on your goals for the workout and the muscles your trying to develop.
Rowing Machine Workout for Weight Loss
One of the best ways to lose weight with a rowing machine is by doing a HIIT Rowing Machine Workout. Doing a workout in this manner will create an afterburn effect where you burn calories even when you are not exercising. You can expect to burn about 300 calories every 20 minutes with all out effort.
Start by warming up. Then row as hard as you can for 30 seconds. Rest for 15 seconds. Go hard again for 30 seconds. Do this for 20 minutes 3 times a week and you will burn a large amount of fat over time. Superset this with the stationary bicycle and you will give yourself an amazingly difficult HIIT rowing machine workout.
20 Minutes of rowing is enough if you do it as part of a HIIT rowing machine workout. If you are rowing at a moderate pace just to get your cardio in for the week, it’s recommended you do 30 to 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise at least 3 times a week.
Try not to row everyday because this could have a reverse effect on muscle gain and recovery. You will continue to break down muscle without giving them a chance to recover.
Rowing Exercise without Machine
If you are looking for an exercise to pair with a standard row, pick something that will use the “push” motion to work the muscles of your body. This will include a push press, chest press, chest fly, or any variation of the standard push-up.
A great exercise to directly combine with a row is a pushup. These are called renegade rows. You will need some dumbbells. Start in pushup position and do a pushup. Then immediately go into a row with both arms, still in pushup position. This exercise alone will work many of the muscle groups of the upper body.
Rowing Exercises at Home
There are several different rowing exercises you can do at home. Each will hit the muscles of your back, biceps, forearms, lats, and rhomboids differently. Make sure to focus on form and do a number of reps and sets to force your muscles to fatigue.
Different rowing exercises you can do at home include:
1. Bent-Over Barbell Rows
2. Inverted Rows
3. Single or Double Arm Dumbbell Rows
4. Seated Cable Rows
5. Rowing Machine
6. Upright Rows
7. TRX Rows
8. Meadows Row
9. Low Row
10. Chest Supported Row
You can do many of these exercises with a pair of dumbbells or weighted barbell. Many of these rowing exercises will tone your arms, although you will want to add a push exercise to tone your shoulders, triceps and chest muscles.
One row machine that I love is this FITNESS REALITY 1000 PLUS. It’s sleek, durable, comes with a workout training app, and has 14 levels of resistance. It’s one of the best on the market.
Summary: Exercises to Pair with Rowing (Complimentary)
When you are looking for a complimentary exercise to pair with the rowing machine, make sure you do exercises that either work similar muscle groups or opposite muscle groups. If you are focusing on back and biceps, pair the row with a deadlift and bicep curl. If you are wanting to work the opposite muscles that a row works, pick an exercise like the triangle pushup or the dip. Whichever you choose, asses the muscle groups that you are wanting to work that day and pick the appropriate exercises to do the job.
If you liked this article, check out: Exercises to Pair with Deadlifts and Squats (Supersets)
