Rowing = muscles?

:) Yeah. I remember everytime we had a hard session my legs would feel wobbly and I could barely walk down the stairs!!! :) Just like any normal gym regime your body requires a repair period (that's when you build muscle mass!!!), where your body grows to accommodate your new daily muscle needs. ;) It takes me a day to get back to normal, so it's very important!
 
Rowing is not the best means of building muscle mass. Rowing is cardiovascular and muscular endurance exercise. Having said that, you rarely see a skinny rower, you will build some muscle if you eat a high-protein diet.
 
Muscle mass? No.

Lean muscle? Yes.

It is plainly a cardio exercise, however the motion of it makes good for your muscles. You won't see anyone bulking from rowing.
 
Rowing is really good for shoulders, chest and hands. However you should start slowly or else you would feel sore all over the body. I prefer rowing outdoors but if you can't manage it, indoor rowing provides the same benefits.
 
bryce12 said:
Rowing is really good for shoulders, chest and hands. However you should start slowly or else you would feel sore all over the body. I prefer rowing outdoors but if you can't manage it, indoor rowing provides the same benefits.
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The most dominant muscle groups in rowing are the legs and the back, the big muscles groups. You pull using your pack muscles and your legs are obviously a prime mover. I'm not sure how rowing is good for the hands, could you elaborate on that?
 
Definitely both. Whenever it's canoeing season, I put on quite a bit of muscle mass in my arms. Rowing is pretty healthy as exercise.
 
writer811 said:
Definitely both. Whenever it's canoeing season, I put on quite a bit of muscle mass in my arms. Rowing is pretty healthy as exercise.
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You must be genetically blessed with a unique capacity to build muscle because I have never been able to build muscle through rowing, neither have the people I row with. Rowing is good for muscular endurance and improving your vo2 max, but not hypertrophy.
 
It definitely has an upper body emphasis. I mean, you have to use your arms a lot and the lower part of the body has to strain to keep you firmly in place...right...?
 
shaun said:
You must be genetically blessed with a unique capacity to build muscle because I have never been able to build muscle through rowing, neither have the people I row with. Rowing is good for muscular endurance and improving your vo2 max, but not hypertrophy.
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You might be right because I do tend to put on muscle mass easily. I can see a noticable difference after just one month.
 
writer811 said:
You might be right because I do tend to put on muscle mass easily. I can see a noticable difference after just one month.
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Do you lift weights as well or is your muscle mass solely from rowing? Watching the rowers at the Olympics - most of the rowers have a decent amount of muscle mass and they are obviously very lean, but I suspect they are doing some form of resistance training to build muscle and strength. I suppose you could build muscle doing explosive rowing sprints.
 
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