Are Rowing Machines Good for Abs? What to Know

Yes, rowing machines are genuinely good for your abs. Every stroke engages the muscles across your trunk, including your abdominals, making rowing one of the most effective total-body core exercises you can do. The catch is that technique matters: row with the right form and a focused core, and you'll feel your abs working hard. In this guide we cover exactly how rowing targets your abs and how to get the most from every session.

Are rowing machines good for your abs?

Rowing machines are a great way to work your abs, and you can use them in several ways to get the best core workout possible. There's no such thing as too much ab training, so if you're building up your core for beach season or sports performance, adding a few extra ab exercises to your weekly programme will always help.

The ab benefits of rowing machines. First, it's worth being clear about what to expect from a rower in terms of ab training. We're talking about the typical upright rower found in most gyms, such as air rowing machines and magnetic rowing machines. You'll get much less of an ab workout from other types, like hydraulic rowers, because they focus far more on your arms and back.

When you exercise on a rowing machine, your body engages all of the muscles in your trunk, including those in your abdomen. This makes rowing one of the most effective total-body ab exercises. And because it's an aerobic activity, you'll be working hard enough, for long enough, to burn fat and shed any extra weight around your midsection, which further enhances the look of your abs.

How to get the most out of a rowing machine for abs

To target your abs effectively on a rowing machine, focus on these three things on every stroke.

1. Keep your upper body straight

Avoid the urge to hunch over as if you're slumped in an office chair. Slouching leaves your abs and lower back cold, and it puts unnecessary strain on them, which isn't ideal when you're trying to strengthen those areas. Instead, stay upright and tall, and focus on driving the pull with your upper body while building your pace.

2. Maintain focus on the pull

Push with your lower body at the start of the stroke, then follow through by engaging your back to draw the handle towards you. Really focus on pulling through with your back rather than your arms, because pulling with the arms takes the work away from your core.

3. Keep your core tight and engaged

It's easy to unintentionally let the tension drain out of your core partway through a set. That won't help you build a six-pack. It just wastes time and energy. To stop this, squeeze your abs as you pull and hold that tension throughout the stroke. It can help to imagine flexing your abs at the same time, or to picture a rope tightening around your midsection that you draw in on every pull.

Maximise your ab gains with a rowing machine

If you want to double down on your ab gains from rowing, consider supersetting your rowing routine with isolated abdominal exercises such as crunches, reverse crunches and planks.

Supersetting means performing two exercises back to back with no rest in between. Here's an example of how that looks when you're building your abs with a rower.

Example rowing machine abs workout

• 2 minutes of moderate rowing on a mid/high resistance level, supersetted with a 1-minute plank
• Rest for 1 minute
• 2 minutes of moderate rowing on a mid/high resistance level, supersetted with 2 minutes of crunches (as many reps as possible)
• Rest for 1 minute
• 2 minutes of moderate rowing on a mid/high resistance level, supersetted with 2 minutes of reverse crunches (as many reps as possible)
• Rest for 1 minute
• Repeat the circuit one or two more times depending on your fitness level

This is just one example of how to improve your ab strength by supersetting a rowing workout with isolated ab exercises. We'd also recommend adding further abdominal work to your routine over the week to develop your core even more.

Summary

So, are rowing machines good for abs? Absolutely.

Rowing machines aren't the most exciting piece of cardio kit, but they're excellent for building abdominal strength and overall core stability. As we've outlined, a few simple tweaks to your technique can make sure your abs get a really good workout too.

To recap, make sure you:

• Keep your upper body absolutely straight while rowing
• Maintain focus on the pull throughout the whole stroke
• Keep your core tight and engaged the entire time
• Consider supersetting your rowing with isolated ab exercises such as planks or crunches

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