Building a Home Gym can be a daunting task, given the immense amount of information out there about traditional and innovative exercise machines. Just like every other sphere, exercise and fitness have seen innovations in equipment as well.
A Rowing machine is one such innovation that has been around for years but does not have the same household recognition that a treadmill does. This article will help you discover for yourself why investing in a Rowing Machine for a Home gym is better value for money and better for the overall goals that you would want to reach within your own fitness journey.
Fitness requires patience, determination, and good equipment along with appropriate knowledge about the equipment. Here, we will learn the perks of using a Rowing Machine as compared to the traditional Treadmill.
Full-Body Workout
A treadmill helps work out only the lower body, whereas a Rowing Machine works on the whole body. It will work out your arms, legs back and joints all together as you push and pull on the rowing machine. It works hard on your core as well and strengthens it. The treadmill works out only the lower part of your body, as it is designed to replicate walking or running. The calves, quads, glutes, and hamstrings are worked on by the treadmill. So if you are looking into something for your Home gym, investing in a full-body workout system is a better deal, rather than buying separate machines to work out different parts of your body and fulfill separate needs.
Low Impact Workouts
A treadmill is good for high-impact workouts and weight loss, which can be replicated by running without a treadmill. You can walk on a treadmill for a low impact workout as well. But a Rowing Machine offers only low impact workouts even at high resistance and drag settings. It is designed to help with muscle building and strengthening and not just fat loss. If you have trouble with high-impact exercises and have trouble keeping up, a Rowing machine is perfect for you. You can read more about Rowing Machine VS Treadmill from here.
- Strengthening: Treadmills are not designed to help with increasing the overall strength of the body. If strength training is what you are interested in, a Rowing Machine is the way to go. A Rowing machine is a brilliant option to strengthen your back, in case it is a problem area for you. Back issues as well as chronic joint pain are common issues for people after their 30s. It is important to take proper care and strengthen them through working out. Rowing Machines are perfect for that. If you are in your 30s or older, rowing machines offer low impact exercises which do not overwhelm the body, but provide full-body exercises which focus on maintaining and strengthening the body, which you should be working on. It is also a great option for strengthening your core, if that is something you want to work on.
- Versatility: Again, a rowing machine is more versatile than a treadmill, given its full body workout feature, as it replicates the action of rowing a boat. You can change the resistance and drag to target different parts of the body. Changing the resistance challenges your body into putting in more power and hence strengthen the joints and build muscle. A treadmill can only be used to strengthen leg muscles and lower body joints.
- Fewer Injuries: Being a low impact workout, a rowing machine has a lower threshold and chance of injuring the user. Treadmills report a higher occurrence of knee and ankle injuries which can sometimes lead to chronic pain. Whereas rowing machine users report fewer injuries. But, in cases of overtraining and mishandling, rowing can lead to chronic upper back and shoulder pain as well. Both machines have to be used with the utmost care to ensure no injuries are sustained.
- Time Efficient: Olympic rower and Doctor Cameron Nichol have called rowing “the most time-efficient total body workout” out there. It works on 8 different muscle groups and 85% of the muscles in the body, which is more than the treadmill. It ties in with the versatility factor of the rowing machine as well.
- Maintenance: Treadmills are tougher to maintain compared to rowing machines because of the sheer number of moving parts.
- Cost: Both treadmills and rowing machines can get expensive, but most fitness experts are of the opinion that you don’t need the best rowing machine to get a great workout and bang for your buck, but having a cheaper quality treadmill does more harm than good. If you are in a gym, the rowing machine is generally free. Investing in it for a home gym is also a good idea given all its pros.
- Space Required: Treadmills generally take up a lot of space, which you might not have at home. Rowing machines, based on the model you purchase can be pretty compact when not in use. Even when in use, they take up less space than a normal-sized treadmill.
Rowing machines offer instant gratification if you like feeling the workout. Treadmills take some time to get you to break a sweat, but rowing machines get you there immediately. You can easily increase the resistance and drag to change the power and strength that you put in. Treadmills can change speed and inclination, working out your leg muscles.
There are hundreds of rowing machines out there, that you can buy, but which one to buy? Concept 2 Model D and Model E are the tow topmost and most reviewed rowing machine of today’s market, and to check the difference between these two beasts, you can read this detailed comparison article by Fit Territory.
Whichever exercise you choose to do, make sure you get at least 10 minutes of all-around warm-up exercises done to preparer your body for the exertion ahead. Do not begin without a warm-up, it is one of the most important rules of exercising. Learn how to properly use these machines and the proper form to be maintained to get the most out of the workout and avoid injuries.
Do your research on how long you should be doing these exercises based on your age, weight, and gender, so that you do not overdo it. Overdoing exercises also leads to unwanted consequences which can be avoided by doing proper research and getting consultations or a trainer if you are interested.
Both treadmills and rowing machines have their own place in the gym and training sessions. It is advised to use both while working out in the gym for your target days. Use a rowing machine on full-body days and use the treadmill on leg days. But in case you are looking to get something for yourself at home, a rowing machine is better than a treadmill, given all the perks and versatility.
