6 Best Strength Training Exercises for Rowing

Strength training exercises are essential for rowers. Specific exercises can help to increase the strength and stamina of the muscles that contribute to rowing performance.

Rowers also need strength training exercises for their non-rowing muscles, which will otherwise be quite underdeveloped. If they do not balance out their muscle strength, they are likely to get injured easily. Hence, strength training is essential for rowers.

Best Strength Training Exercises for Rowing

Check out the following strength training exercises that will increase your rowing strength and stamina. You can also check out these rowing workouts to improve your fitness and strength.

1) Deadlift

Deadlifts teach you how to initiate rowing motions with your legs, hips, and lower back. It is one of the best strength training exercises ever created for rowing.

Instructions:

Place the barbell on the floor and position your feet approximately hip-width apart beneath it.
Grab the bar with an overhand or mixed grip while squatting.
Straighten your arms, drop your hips, tighten your abs, and slightly arch your lower back.
Ensure that your hips and the bar rise simultaneously by driving your feet into the floor to generate lift force.
Keep the bar against your shins, and when it reaches your knees, drive your hips forward to stand up.
Avoid arching your back and bending your arms.
At the peak of your repetition, do not lean back, as doing so increases your risk of injury.
Next, prioritize hip flexion to pull the hips back, then knee flexion and bar return to the floor.
Repeat after allowing it to settle for 1-2 seconds.

2) Bulgarian Split Squat

The act of rowing is bilateral or two-limbed. Consequently, it is simple to develop left-to-right strength disparities. Minor imbalances are not cause for concern, but larger imbalances will increase your risk of injury and decrease your rowing performance.

Unilateral or single-limbed exercises, such as Bulgarian split squats, are some of the best strength training exercises to avoid these issues.

Instructions:

Lean your back against a knee-high bench. You can hold dumbbells in both your hands to make the exercise more effective.
One of your legs is on the bench behind you, so make sure to lean forward with a split-stance hop.
You should bend your legs and lower your back knee to the floor.
As far as your flexibility will allow, descend.
Stop just short of extending your front knee to maintain tension on the target muscles as you stand back up.
Again descend and repeat.
Increase the difficulty of this excellent exercise by holding dumbbells.

3) Dolphin Push-Ups

Push-ups are one of the best strength training exercises that help correct muscle imbalances that can develop if you place too much emphasis on your pulling muscles.

Instructions:

Place your hands on the floor with your fingers pointing forward and approximately shoulder-width apart.
Walk your feet out and back with your arms extended until your body is straight.
Activate your core.
Bend your elbows and lower your chest until it is within an inch of the ground.
Then, push your body backward while simultaneously lifting your hips to the ceiling.
To extend your shoulders, tilt your head backwards between your arms.
Move forward and perform another repetition.

4) Incline Row

Bodyweight exercises are also quite effective at improving rowing strength. Incline row is one of the best strength training exercises that works out the major upper-body pulling muscles, making it a valuable addition to rowing workouts.

Instructions:

Adjust the height of the bar on a squat rack, power rack, or Smith machine to approximately waist level.
Additionally, you can utilize a suspension trainer, such as a TRX.
Place yourself beneath the bar and grasp it with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
Extend your legs in front of you, lean back, and raise your hips to form a straight line with your body and flex your abs.
Bend your elbows and pull your chest up to the bar by bending your elbows.
Bring your shoulders back and down.
Keep your posture upright.
Repeat with your arms extended.

5) Chest Supported Row

Competitive rowers frequently perform chest supported rows. Every time you row, you exercise your lower back. Therefore, it is necessary to give it a break from time to time while still training the rowing muscles. This is one of the best strength training exercises to do exactly that.

Instructions:

Adjust a bench's angle to approximately 45 degrees.
Lie face-down on the bench, with your head placed at the top.
Use a barbell with an overhand grip that is slightly wider than shoulder width, or a pair of dumbbells, whichever is preferred.
Allow your arms to hang freely from your shoulders.
Bend your elbows and row the weights to the bench's underside at approximately sternum height.
Maintain straight wrists and squeeze your shoulders back and down.
Repeat with your arms extended.

6) High Pull from Hang

This is one of the best strength training exercises for rowing as it trains rowing specific muscles.

Instructions:

Maintain an overhand, shoulder-width grip on the barbell.
Your feet should be hip- to shoulder-width apart.
Slightly bend your knees, brace your core, and pull your shoulders back and down.
Lower the bar to just below your knees by pushing your hips back and bending your knees.
This is the position of hanging.
Stand up explosively and use this momentum to pull the bar to mid-chest height in front of your body. You should have your elbows higher than your hands.
When the bar reaches the chest, shrug your shoulders up to your ears.
Repeat while extending your arms to lower the weight.

Takeaway

Performing the aforementioned strength training exercises regularly will help to strengthen your muscles for rowing and enable you to improve your performance. You can also check out these best exercises to become a stronger rower.