rowing machines - Best Home Gym Equipment

How Long Should You Row On A Rowing Machine?

John — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 18:01:00 +0000

Of all the cardio workout machines gaining popularity today, the rowing machine sits at the top of the list. This low-to-the-ground equipment, also called an ergometer, sheds those calories whole engaging the core, arms, back, and legs. Read Here: Best Treadmill Machines For Walking

Not only that, working out on a rowing machine is much easier on the joints and knees than other machines, making it a low-impact solution for everyone, especially for arthritic people.

Thus, it is no surprise that this is stapled equipment in most gyms and should be a part of every workout routine. Whether you are a beginner or an avid rower, the question now is: How long should you row on the rowing machine? Read Here: Top 10 Best Treadmills Under $1000

The answer? It depends!

Everyone will be different since everyone has different objectives and goals as well as time frames to achieve such goals.

Read More:

Factors To Determine The Needed Amount Of Rowing Time

Here is a simplified guide in order to help you determine the time you should be rowing on a row machine.

Your Schedule

Although it is easy to say that you need to spend 60 – 90 minutes a day working out, people are always busy. So, it is always helpful to first determine how much time you can invest in working out every day.

If you have less than an hour every day, then you will need to remove other activities from your schedule including Netflix binging, Facebook, and more. Anything that does not involve your core goals for your job, health and family should be sacrificed.

Or you can try doing two things simultaneously. For instance, if you want to watch your favorite TV show, you can do so while rowing. There is always time for workouts. You only need to make it a priority.

So, once you figure out how much time you can give to exercise, add it to your daily schedule and make it a routine. Building a habit is the best way to ensure that you will reach your goals.

Determine Your Goals

Next, you need to determine your goals in order to determine your rowing time. Not having an objective or a goal before starting your workout is like walking around in circles. You need to have a particular goal and should follow the SMART goal guide. You can then use your goals in order to work backward into the time you should row in a rowing machine.

The Calories You Want Gone

If you have a particular amount of weight you wish to shed, then this can also help you in determining the time per day you can spend on rowing.

For instance:

A goal of losing 24 pounds in 2 months, means you need to lose 3 pounds a week.

Now, 1 pound is equal to 3,500 calories. So, to lose 2 pounds, you need to shed 10,500 calories weekly. Dividing the 10,500 calories by 7 days, you will need to shed 1,500 calories daily.

Your goal of losing 24 pounds in 2 months will require you to make a 1,500 calorie deficit every day.

Take note, however, that rowing is not the only way to obtain this 1,500. You can also cut down the calories by making some healthy eating choices.

Switching your breakfast of a bagel with yummy cream cheese and a cup of cappuccino into black coffee and banana can already remove over 300 calories. That’s just for breakfast.

Now, if you can cut 750 calories from eating healthy, then you can just row until you burn the other 750 calories. This may take anywhere from 45 minutes to 75 minutes depending on some factors such as weight, age, rowing intensity, and heart rate.

In addition, rowing can help boost your metabolism in order to burn more calories for the rest of the day. So you might only need to burn 500 calories from rowing and extra 250 from your increased metabolic rate. All in all, having a weight loss goal as a base can help you estimate how long you should be rowing every day.

Muscle Building

Another thing that can affect the time you need to row in a rowing machine is whether or not you want to build muscle.

First of all, rowing is more of a cardio exercise than a strength training workout. In order to gain muscle, you will have to supplement your rowing with weight training. If you want to build those lean muscles and become ripped or shredded, then rowing machines can help you.

The best way to obtain lean muscle is by performing HIIT workouts. Such workouts are intense and short, helping you to shock and break down muscle fibers in order to stimulate growth.

Some of the simplest HIIT rowing workouts are rowing real hard for 20 seconds then followed by 20 seconds of rest, repeating the cycle as many times as you can with a total workout time of fewer than 10 minutes. Now, after or before the HIIT rowing workout, you will have to supplement it with kettlebells, pull-ups, sit-ups, and push-up workouts.

Read More:

Any Cardio Benefits?

While some people are after the calorie-burning power of the rowing machine, some only want to reap the heart-pumping benefits.

Rowing can be used for anaerobic or aerobic exercises. Meaning you can receive every cardio benefit from rowing. This all depends on your workouts, goals and the time you spent rowing.

For Anaerobic Exercise

If you wish to increase your anaerobic conditioning, you’ll have to spend less time rowing. Your workouts will need to be higher in intensity but for only shorter amounts of time. An anaerobic workout can only last between 5 – 20 minutes.

For Aerobic Exercise

If you wish to develop your aerobic conditioning, then you will have to row for a bit longer. You can perform steady and consistent workouts between 45 and 90 minutes. This is because heart rate and intensity will be much lower, meaning you can last for longer. Regardless of what your goal is, you need to mix different workouts for effectiveness.

The Time Frame

Having various time frames for your objectives also has an impact on the amount of time you spend in rowing, particularly if you want to lose weight.

For the previous example, losing 24 pounds in 2 months, we gave you a rough estimation of rowing 45 minutes to 75 minutes per day.

But, if you expand your time frame, to 4 months, then you may only need to spend 20 – 30 minutes a day on the rowing machine. Or you can row for 40 – 60 minutes every other day.

What’s The Least Amount Of Time You Can Use The Rowing Machine?

Most busy people would ask this question. However, this kind of negative outlook and attitude is something you should do even before you start working out. You should not be looking for an easy way. Instead, you need to create a goal and figure out the amount of time and work you will need in order to achieve your goals.

Still, to answer the question, an individual can row for 15 – 20 minutes daily and still see results in a few weeks. A 15 – 20 minutes of daily rowing can help an individual lose at least 0.5 pounds every week, depending on their current state.

If you are out of shape, then you can easily and quickly see results from your daily rowing. Furthermore, a healthy diet before 20-minute rowing can provide you even amazing results.

Read More:

So, How Long Should You Row On A Rowing Machine?

Coming this far, you should have a better understanding of how long you need to row. In a nutshell, this all comes down to what your goals are and the time frame to complete them. Below is a breakdown of the amount of time a rowing machine is commonly used and the goals that you can achieve by doing so.

15-Minute Daily Rowing

Rowing for 15 minutes per day and a goal of losing weight, means that you will need to expect a longer time frame for your goals.

15-minute daily rowing can only burn 150 – 300 calories depending on your intensity level.

So, you can only lose 0.5 pounds a week without a strict diet. In order to lose 10 pounds, you will need to wait for 20 weeks.

However, rowing 15 minutes daily can also result in losing over 0.5 pounds per week since your metabolic rate will go up, allowing you to burn more calories burned overall.

Adding a healthy diet to your rowing weight loss goals, you can lose another 1 pound per week. In addition, intense rowing for 15 minutes can help improve your anaerobic conditioning, allowing you to build lean muscles.

30-Minute Daily Rowing

Now rowing for 30 minutes daily, you should lose at least 1 pound weekly. This is probably the healthiest way to lose weight and keeping the weight off.

You can easily lose over 1 pound a week if you row for 30 minutes daily. Not only that, but you can also improve both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, so you will see lean muscle development in your legs, core, chest, back, and arms.

90-Minute Daily Rowing

Now, rowing for an hour and a half every day is for serious rowers or people who are desperate to lose weight.

Rowing for at least 90 minutes can help shed more than 1,000 calories in a single session, which can result in shedding 2 pounds a week for rowing along.

It also gives your metabolism a huge kick, so you can even lose up to 3 – 4 pounds weekly depending on your current health and weight.

That and a healthy diet and you can result real quick. This workout period is also great for aerobic conditioning and for any long-distance training.

Proper Rowing Techniques

Now, all this estimation and counting are useless ad you certainly can get the benefits if you are not using the proper rowing techniques.

Here are some dos and don’ts when using the rowing machine.

Rowing Dos

Proper Form

With the proper and correct posture, you get to lessen the strain on the wrong parts which can result in soreness and boost beneficial results.

Do sit up straight and your back arching slightly. Bend forward with your hips and once the handle passes your knees, bend your legs.

Once you bend forward, you need to refrain from pulling back the handle with your back. Push with your legs against the pedal instead in order to avoid back strain.

For your arms, keep both elbows tucked at the sides, pulling until passing the torso and the rower handle is about an inch away from your ribs.

Leg Power

The machine will certainly work your arms, however, most of the power will come from your legs. Although the arms are working, the legs will be taking the most pushing and bending.

Be sure to use them to drive straight back and not upwards so you do not fall out of your seat.

Grip Properly

The way you hold onto the handle may affect the way how your arms move and work. Make sure to avoid an underhand grip and go with an overhand. The knuckles need to face forward with the thumb placed on the underside of the handle.

Rowing Don’ts

Starting With High Resistance

It is highly recommended that you start slow, particularly if it is your first time on a rowing machine. This should help you prevent pains and injuries.

Start at the lowest resistance and stay there until you have perfected your rowing motion and form. Then, feel free to increase the resistance.

Torso Pulling

Sit up straight, remember?

But not too straight, okay?

It is important that you keep your back at or past a 90-degree angle to prevent injuries and have an overall smooth motion. Pulling with your torso and bending too forward may feel more powerful, however, it puts you back in a bad position.

Forgetting To Breathe?

Rowing is a rhythmic and repetitive motion. Thus, you need to match your breathing. You will need to breathe in when recovering and breathe out when exerting power.

Read More:

The post How Long Should You Row On A Rowing Machine? first appeared on Best Home Gym Equipment.

The post How Long Should You Row On A Rowing Machine? appeared first on Best Home Gym Equipment.

The Best Exercise Machines for Bad Knees

John — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 20:32:00 +0000

Before, only adults experience bad knees, but not anymore. Today, even young persons are experiencing the same problem. Bad knees have physical and psychological effects that may affect your day-to-day works.

High-impact exercises such as running and jogging can be counterproductive if you have bad knees. Luckily, there are still certain exercises that help in reducing and preventing knee pain. But aside from that, there are exercise machines that you can use if you are suffering from any type of knee pain. Read Here: Is Spinning Bad For Your Knees? All You Need To Know!

Truth be told, exercising with bad knees is not easy and could be a real pain. Seeing other people have fun exercising and knowing you cannot do the same thing can be frustrating and depressing. Read Here: 15 Big Mistakes You’re Making on the Treadmill

To help you in achieving your fitness without making worsening the condition of your knees, in this article we have compiled the best exercise machines for bad knees. In addition to that, we will also include the best exercises for bad knees.

Read More:

Best Exercise Machines for Bad Knees

ROWING MACHINE

This exercise machine can offer strength-building as well as cardiovascular benefits. If you want to use a rowing machine, you will need to strap in your feet. Then, you’ll sit on a seat that is moving forward and backward on the railing. After that, you need to grab on a bar situated near your feet and pull the bar toward your stomach while pushing with your feet and outspreading your back.

The vast majority of rowing machines today come with a resistance setting that will increase the chain’s friction connected to the bar. It will also force you to utilize your upper body. Read Here: 5 Best Home Gyms of 2020 However, in the case of outdated rowing machines you need to set them before you start exercising, unlike the newer ones, you can adjust the resistance by just pressing a button.

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

If you want to try a low-impact and a full-body workout then an elliptical machine is perfect for you. This one of the best exercise machines for bad knees are perfect for adults and people who experience shin splits while exercising.

Unlike treadmills, ellipticals are much better on the knees and joints. What’s more, an elliptical machine is best suited for people who prefer upright exercises.

On the other hand, the movements you will need to do when using an elliptical machine are a cross between running, walking, and biking. It means you’ll need to use your legs in order to thrust movement.

This exercise machine will also give a great workout for the arms that are considered the subordinate force in the movement by helping the dynamo of the exercise. Read Here: Top 5 Best Elliptical Under 1000

By the way, if your elliptical machine comes with a preset workout program, don’t use anything that features differing speed and resistance. Keep in mind that changes when it comes to the difficulty level of workout might be too abrupt for the knees to handle. Take note, this will make fall off the elliptical machine, thus you end up hurting yourself.

RESISTANCE TRAINING MACHINES

This exercise machine will allow you to work on your leg muscles as well as the lower body without harming your knees. Before you perform an exercise, for example, a leg extension or leg curls, make sure to adjust the weights.

A leg extension will work the quadriceps that are located on the front of the legs. Whereas the leg curl will work the hamstring muscles on the rear part of your legs. You can perform it by lying on your stomach. Also, you can seat on your back but make sure it is supported by the resistance training machine. Read Here: Top 5 Best Power Rack

When exercising, you need to start with a lightweight and then work your way up to a heavier weight gradually. By doing this, you are certain that you will not strain your knees.

Read More:

STATIONARY BIKE

One of the best exercise machines for those who are recovering from knee surgery or with a previous knee injury is the stationary bike. The huge majority of gyms today provide an upright bike or a recumbent bike. If you are just starting out, a recumbent bike is ideal for you, this is because it’s in a reclining position.

An upright bike, on the other hand, is set up like mountain bikes. It means, it will force you to sit up, by means of your core muscles as you bike. Similar to a rowing machine, a stationary bike comes with a resistance setting that will allow you to elevate the friction on the pedal.

Usually, stationary bikes come with a strap on the pedal. As a piece of advice, avoid using it so that your feet will be able to naturally moving during workouts. Not only that, but you can also easily step on the ground which will prevent you from falling off. Read Here: Top 5 Best Spinning Bike To ensure that you will not strain your knees when exercising using this machine, don’t exercise at high rhythms. If possible, use between 80 and 100 RPMs.

TREADMILL

If your knee or ankle joints have an arthritis-related problem or injury, you should not be tempted to jog and run on a treadmill. But it is alright to walk at inclines. Walking on a treadmill may prove to be an excellent aerobic exercise without disturbing your joint pains as well as problems.

One of the best things about walking on this exercise machine compared to walking in the park is that the surface of the treadmill is uniform and even throughout your walk. This will prevent unexpected inclines and bumps that are not good for the joints. Read Here: Best Treadmill Machines For Walking

When using a treadmill, you should avoid choosing pre-programmed exercises that have changed in the difficulty of the workout. You need to select one that comes with uniform difficulty levels. Though you can also use manual programs in which you have full control over the incline settings and speeds all the time.

It is crucial that you make changes gradually and slowly so that your body will have the opportunity to adjust. One more thing, don’t program something that you can’t handle. Read Here: Top 10 Best Treadmills Under $1000

LEG PRESS MACHINE

You may possibly have bad knees, but that does not necessarily mean that you will not be able to things that you’re doing before.

A leg press machine is one of the most common equipment in the gym that helps in building key muscles in the legs. This exercise machine is available in two different types – a 45-degree leg press and standard horizontal leg press. Both leg machines can be utilized to develop the hamstrings and quadriceps of the gluteus as well as thigh.

Though it looks like a simple exercise, it is important that you use it properly to avoid any problem. By considering your form, you will be able to make the most of the strength building advantages and prevent knee injuries. Read Here: Top 5 Best Leg Extension

Further, when using this machine, try no lift more than the weight you can. If you do this, you will end up putting too much strain on your knees. Lastly, your head must be steady and comfortably laid contrary to the seatback.

EXERCISE MACHINES THAT YOU NEED TO AVOID IF YOU HAVE BAD KNEES

If you have arthritis or some type of knee pain, doing exercise is highly recommended. This will help in bringing more nutrients to the cartilage and circulating the blood. With regards to fighting this kind of pain, doctors advise their patients to perform the long-term exercise.

However, it is worth mentioning that if there are best exercise machines there is also equipment that you need to avoid if you have bad knees like knee curl and knee extension machines.

KNEE CURL MACHINE

Knee curl machines come in a wide variety some may give better results while others don’t. In actual fact, this the main reason why you should avoid this exercise machine. In addition to that, keep in mind that various positions of movement will target various muscles and that usually, the stronger muscles will activate to make the movement that you want intervening with the smaller stabilizers. Without such certain angles, further imbalances will become inferior that may lead to knee pains.

KNEE EXTENSIONS

The pain in the knees isn’t always but frequently halted from a weak muscle that supports and supports the knee. It may seem logical to make use of a certain exercise machine in an effort to target a particular muscle for collection. But unfortunately, a knee extension muscle is not ideal to be used in this concern

Making adjustments are extremely important to consider your overall height and certain mechanics of your patella alignment and knee joint. Now that you have an idea about the worst and best exercise machines for bad knees, let’s take a look at the best exercises that you can do when you’re dealing with such pain.

BEST EXERCISES FOR BAD KNEES

SWIMMING

One of the best exercises that you can do if you have bad knees is swimming. In case you didn’t know it is a versatile and low-impact exercise that will help in burning more calories more rapidly.

However, when you are kicking, proper form is very crucial. Make sure your knees are not tensed. Keep in mind that frog kick, as well as other techniques that will put stress on your knees, should be avoided. What’s more, you need to avoid the pre-lap push-off the wall most especially the traditional ones.

Read More:

WALKING

Aside from swimming, you can also do walking if you’re suffering from knee pain. Walking is also a great and low-impact exercise that will work out your entire body. For beginners, it is best that they stick to smooth and flat surfaces. After a few minutes of walk, your muscles will be strengthened.

HALF-JACK

This exercise will use half of the movement of the standard jumping jack. In fact, a half-jack will help in getting rid of stress in the joint generated in the active phase. For this exercise, begin with your arms dangling and feet together. Then raise your arms to shoulder level.

After that, move your one foot forward to the side while sustaining your weight on your motionless leg. From there, move the weight to your foot to the side while bringing your eg. For your other leg, repeat the process. To prevent further knee injury and pain, make sure that you do a warm-up before starting an exercise. Here are some of the best warm-ups that you can do that will not strain your knees.

For 5 minutes, march around your home or in place
Stretch the muscles in the lower part of the body such as the quads, calves, and hamstrings.
Perform every exercise for about one minute, perform every exercise. If possible, make the range between 30 seconds to one minute for every exercise.

CONCLUSION

Keep in mind that the best exercise machine for bad knees will depend on your personal requirements and condition. When recovery, as well as injuries, are concerned, it is crucial that you take into account your individual specifications to make the best choice possible. However, if you cannot decide which one should you use most especially when you are recovering, it is best that you consult a physiotherapist.

Bear in mind that recovery is very important. That is why you need to make a plan that is right for you. Once settled, you can match it with one of the above-mentioned best exercise machines for bad knees. Nevertheless, in this article, we listed six machines that are your best choice for a piece of exercise equipment for your bad knees. These are the rowing machine, elliptical machine, resistant training machine, stationary bike, and leg press machine.

If you are suffering from arthritis or recovering from a knee injury, the above-mentioned equipment will help you stay in shape and active. But still, you need to be careful about your conditions as well as the symptoms of injury. You don’t need to hurry, instead take it slow and easy to avoid further problems.

Read More:

The post The Best Exercise Machines for Bad Knees first appeared on Best Home Gym Equipment.

The post The Best Exercise Machines for Bad Knees appeared first on Best Home Gym Equipment.