10 Rowing Machine Workouts to Burn Calories With Low Impact Cardio

Rowing machines are considered the “Swiss Army knife” of fitness equipment because of their versatility. Rowing is a full-body, low-impact workout, which means it won’t strain your joints and ligaments. Even so, the machine can be used for high-intensity interval training, endurance training, strength and core training and more.

Whether you’ve just purchased an at-home rowing machine, want to mix up your typical row workouts or are looking for something to try at the gym, there are plenty of rowing machine workouts that can be accessed free of charge. Here are some free rowing machine workouts worth pressing play on:

Sunny Health & Fitness

Sunny Health & Fitness is an equipment company that caters to a wide variety of fitness needs. Their YouTube channel features a wide variety of free workouts taught by noteworthy health and fitness professionals and has an entire playlist dedicated to rowing workouts for every fitness level.

View all workouts here.

Start with this 10-minute workout for beginners.

RowAlong

New indoor rowing workouts are added weekly to this free YouTube channel, taught by certified Concept2 instructor John Steventon. Steventon created this channel to make indoor rowing more accessible and less intimidating. As he puts it in his intro video, he provides free workouts “without the alpha male testosterone.” Steventon provides everything from rowing plans to rower hacks, technique training videos and more.

View workouts here.

Challenge yourself with this 35-minute interval workout.

HowtoRow.com

If you’re looking for more structure and routine over a one-off workout, the training guides on HowtoRow.com are a great resource. Choose your experience level and the site will create a 6-week training course that outlines workouts for every day of the week, including rest days and stretches. Instead of following a video, your workout calendar will specify a type of workout, for example, a 20-minute steady state row or a castle row, where you do 2-minute intervals alternating between faster and slower stroke rates. So if you’re someone who likes to pop on music or a podcast and just row, these are for you.

View workouts here.

Dark Horse Rowing

With rowing workouts that range in distance from 500m to 5k, trainer Shane Farmer has made it his mission to offer something for everyone through Dark Horse Rowing. Whether you’re looking to master the fundamentals of rowing, challenge yourself with a HIIT rowing workout or do endurance training, there’s no shortage of options.

View workouts here.

Try this 20-minute intermediate workout.

British Rowing

The official authority on both indoor and outdoor running, British Rowing offers plenty of workouts for all levels. Their YouTube page features videos led by top rowing athletes that focus on proper technique. More tailored workout plans can be found on the British Rowing site as well.

View workouts here.

This 30-minute workout also includes body-weight strength exercises off the rower.

Training Tall

Popular fitness trainer Austin Hendrikson offers free workouts, tips and training advice on his YouTube channel, Training Tall. His rowing workouts cover everything from “How to NOT fall off the rower“ to high calorie-burning row routines and everything in between.

View workouts here.

Burn 100 calories in just 4 minutes with this intense routine.

RowingWorkouts.org

This free resource allows you to explore rowing workouts, filtering not only by experience level but also by the mood you’re in. We especially like the “ignite” category; a section filled with workouts that will help you blow off steam when you’re angry or stressed.

View workouts here.

UCanRow2

Terry Smythe, an elite-level rower and founder of Michigan Technological University’s crew, created UCanRow2 to share her knowledge and love of the sport with anyone who has access to a rowing machine. Workouts range from beginner-level, form-based classes to advanced interval training. She also has tons of videos featuring short drills, form tutorials and explainers to really help you master the rower.

View workouts here.

Try this 15-minute “builder” workout for all fitness levels.

The Pete Plan

This no-frills blog contains tried-and-true training methods from renowned indoor rowing competitor and coach Pete Marston. For those looking to improve their rowing stats, The Pete Plan takes rowers through a three-week cycle aimed at training competitors for speed and endurance.

View workouts here.

Xeno Muller Elite Rowing Coach

Xeno Muller trains high school athletes and helps them get recruited to the college rowing program of their dreams. He also offers a plethora of free rowing workouts on his YouTube channel for every level of experience.

View workouts here.

Work up a sweat with this 40-minute pyramid-style workout.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com