What Muscles Does Rowing Work? Proper Form and Technique

Rowing machines offer a powerful, total-body workout, working up to 86% of your muscles in one go. Similar to a horizontal deadlift, rowing activates key muscle groups with each stroke, especially in the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, calves, and spinal erectors. The rowing stroke itself is divided into four main phases—catch, drive, finish, and recovery—each targeting a different muscle set for a balanced, effective workout.

Each rowing stroke is a sequence of distinct movements, engaging specific muscle groups to enhance your strength, stability, and endurance. Here’s a breakdown of each phase to help you get the most out of your rowing machine workout.

The catch phase, named after the position where the oar “catches” the water, is the starting point of the stroke.

• How to Perform the Catch: Start with your seat positioned forward on the slide, knees bent at a 90-degree angle, and shins vertical. Relax your back while maintaining a neutral spine and extend your arms straight in front of you, firmly holding the handle.
• Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, glutes, calves, triceps, latissimus dorsi (lats), trapezius (traps), and rhomboids.
  This phase readies the posterior chain and upper body muscles for the drive.

The drive is the power phase, where the primary movement and force generation occur.

• How to Perform the Drive: Keep a forward torso tilt and push off the footpads with your quadriceps, then extend your legs as your hands move over your knees. Pull the handle towards your sternum while engaging your lats, traps, deltoids, and rhomboids, as well as your core for stability.
• Muscles Worked: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, deltoids, biceps, lats, traps, lower back (erector spinae), and abdominals.
  The drive uses the strongest muscles in your legs and back for an explosive push and pull.

The finish completes the rowing stroke, providing a moment to focus on stabilization.

• How to Perform the Drive: Keep a forward torso tilt and push off the footpads with your quadriceps, then extend your legs as your hands move over your knees. Pull the handle towards your sternum while engaging your lats, traps, deltoids, and rhomboids, as well as your core for stability.
• Muscles Worked: Quads, hamstrings, glutes, deltoids, biceps, lats, traps, lower back (erector spinae), and abdominals.
  The drive uses the strongest muscles in your legs and back for an explosive push and pull.

The recovery phase is the reset phase, allowing you to prepare for the next stroke.

• How to Perform the Recovery: Extend your arms forward using your triceps, then hinge forward at the hips to return to the starting position. As the handle moves past your knees, engage your hamstrings, glutes, and calves to slide forward.
• Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, glutes, calves, triceps.
  Recovery should be a controlled, gradual movement to help prevent muscle fatigue.

• The Catch Phase: Focuses on back and leg muscles, preparing your body to initiate the stroke.
• The Drive Phase: Engages major muscle groups in the legs, back, and core for powerful movement.
• The Finish Phase: Reinforces core stability, with a focus on upper body strength.
• The Recovery Phase: Allows eccentric control, bringing your body back to the catch position in a controlled manner.

By mastering each phase, you can maximize the benefits of your rowing machine workouts, targeting all major muscle groups and building balanced strength, endurance, and stability. A rowing machine workout offers not just cardiovascular endurance but a full-body challenge that makes it an effective, efficient workout solution.