“That’s the biggest mistake for many people who are new to rowing: They just sit down and flap up and down like a dying salmon for five minutes and go, ‘I found that really tough. I didn’t enjoy that. I’m not going to do that again,'” says Concept2 certified rowing coach John Steventon, the creator of RowAlong and a multiple world record-breaker in his own right.

With a few simple technique tweaks and the right training plans, though, you can progress from flailing fish to powerful pulling, harnessing the rower’s unique power to activate most of your body’s big muscle groups for unparalleled, heart rate-cranking cardio. Here, Steventon and Clapp provide some simple tips to level up from rowing noob to erg excellence, and four workouts to keep your training varied and fresh—even when your sweat-soaked shirt isn’t.

How to Become a Better Rower

First thing’s first, Clapp says: Warm up your hamstrings before you row. This isn’t just about injury prevention, either.

“If you have tight hamstrings when you get on the rower, you can start to curl your back over and look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame” when you’re starting your stroke, he says. In order to get in the position you need for a good, strong start—shins perpendicular to the floor, and body leaned slightly forward—loose hamstrings are a must.

To get his own hamstrings limber for sprinting on the erg, Clapp spends three to four minutes doing lunges, bodyweight squats, and side lunges.

After that, he says, you’re ready to row. Here are Clapp and Steventon’s keys to make every stroke slap.

Coach’s Tip: Set the Machine’s Drag Factor Properly

Lots of guys who hop on a rowing machine crank it up to the highest setting. They think it’s resistance, after all—and it should be high since you’re on the rower for a hard workout.

That’s a mistake, according to Clapp. “I’m the fastest sprinter on the planet, and I’m not strong enough to use the maximum,” he says.

Unlike the little knob on a stationary bike that provides resistance to the wheel spinning, the arm on the rower’s flywheel isn’t resistance. It’s a “drag factor,” controlling how much the wheel slows down after each stroke. Turning it all the way to 10, Clapp says, is like trying to start a boat from a dead stop on every stroke, or slamming on the brakes before each pedal stroke on a bike. For his world record effort, Clapp had the drag factor set at 6. When he set the world record for 500 meters on the machine in 2024, he had it set at 7 or 8, he says.

Most normal guys are best suited at 4 to 6, according to Clapp. For shorter efforts, go a little higher in that range, and for longer, smoother rows, stick to the low end. These numbers are specific to Concept2 RowErgs, but you can apply the same principle to any machine you find yourself using, even if they use water or magnetic systems.

Coach’s Tip: Arms Pull Last, Not First

A powerful rowing stroke is a lot like a deadlift, Steventon says. It’s about pushing with your legs and straightening your hips. The pull with your arms should happen at the end, almost as an afterthought. Your stroke should happen in three parts, he says, in this order: “legs, body, arms.”

Throughout the stroke, think of your hips as a bucket, he says. When it’s tipped forward, water will spill out in front of you. When the bucket’s tipped backwards, it would spill behind you. Use this image as you perform these three steps on every stroke.

Step 1: The Catch

At the front of the stroke, when you’re closest to the machine, hold the handles with arms straight. Your shins should be vertical. And your torso should be tilted forwards to the front of the machine with your hips tilted forward so that the bucket is spilling towards the machine.

Step 2: Leg Drive

Drive with your legs, straightening them. When you’re halfway through straightening your legs, drive your hips so that your back shifts from in front of your hips to behind them, just like you would in a deadlift. This swing of the back, which tilts the bucket from forward to spilling out the back, creates the most power you’ll get in the whole stroke, Steventon says.

Here, your back should be flat with a natural curve, and slightly behind your hips. You arms are still straight out in front of you.

Step 3: Arm Pull

When your legs are fully extended, pull your arms so that your fists come to your nipple line. That’s the finish of the stroke, having gone through legs, body, then arms. Return to start by reversing this order: Straighten your arms, shift your back forward, and bend your legs to return to the catch position.

Coach’s Tip: Don’t Depend on Your Foot Straps

Steventon says that many beginning rowers don’t get the sequence of legs-body-arms right—so they tend to pull themselves back to the front of the machine using the straps around their feet. This can lead to pain and injury in the front hip flexors and the anterior tibialis, the muscle that runs along the front of the shin.

Using the footstraps to pull also messes with your rowing form, he says: “The knees pop up, and you find that you’re throwing your hands up over the knees like they’re on a rollercoaster.”

Instead of pulling with your feet, use the momentum of reversing your stroke to go back to the catch: Straighten your arms, swing your back forward by flexing the hips, and then use your hamstrings to bend your knees.

4 Rowing Workouts to Go Faster and Longer

IF YOU WANT to get fast on the rower, you don’t have to use it every day. Clapp trained on the machine just twice per week in the five months he built up to his 1,000-meter record, mixing the machine into strength training sessions focused on squats and trap bar deadlifts and cardio sessions on the SkiErg and bike.

Want to row more? Mix a few high-intensity sessions with longer, slower rows, Steventon advises, keeping your strokes per minute at 25 or below.

“The best workout anybody can really do is a 30 minutes row at 20 strokes per minute,” he says. The main hiccup with that workout, he says: It can get really boring.

These four workouts are not boring, with options for slower cardio sessions, challenging intervals, and all-out sprints to keep your time on the erg exciting.

Workout 1: 1 Minute On, 1 Minute Off

This workout is simple: Row hard for one minute, aiming for 30 to 35 strokes per minute. Then rest for one minute. Repeat that cycle 12 times.

The trick, Clapp says, is to try to go the same distance in all 12 repetitions. To do this, don’t start at your maximum effort: Start at a rate of perceived exertion that’s around seven out of 10. Then try to maintain that speed and distance over all 12 repetitions—by round 12, you’ll likely be holding on for dear life.

When the workout becomes too easy, Clapp says, add more intervals before adding more speed, going up to 18 rounds per workout.

Workout 2: All-Out 100s

This is one of Clapp’s favorite workouts for building speed, and he says it works as a finisher after a strength training session.

After a short warm up, row 100 meters as fast and hard as you can, aiming for 40 or more strokes per minute. Once you’ve gone 100 meters, rest for two minutes, then do it again. Repeat eight times.

Why he likes it: “You can pretty much go all out, leave nothing, and still recover for the next effort.”

Workout 3: 20 to 30

Doing a wave or sawtooth effort like this can make 20 minutes of rowing feel much faster, Steventon says, while still letting you sustain your effort over a longer session.

Row for one minute at 20 strokes per minute, then amp it up to 30 strokes per minute for another minute. Repeat this cycle for 20 total minutes.

Workout 4: Power Strokes

When you’re aiming for longer, slower rows to build an aerobic base, Steventon recommends concentrating on two things. First, make sure the easy work is really easy, keeping your stroke rate around 20 or so per minute. Second, mix things up every three minutes or so to keep yourself challenged and engaged.

One easy way: Do 10 more powerful strokes every three minutes. Get on the rower for 20 to 30 minutes of slow rowing. Every three minutes, crank up the intensity to 10-out-of-10 for 10 strokes. Go back to your slow pace, and repeat.

Workout 4: The 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 Workout

Do this one for the endorphin rush. In the latter half of this pyramid workout, Steventon says, you’ll feel like you were “born to row.”

Here’s how it works: For every effort in this workout, you’ll try to maintain your 2K pace—that is, the pace you can row consistently for 2,000 meters on the machine. You’ll need to set down a baseline time to aim for before you do this one.

You’ll do a wave of efforts, rowing for one minute, then two minutes, then three, then four … and back down the ladder, with each longer effort giving you more rest. Here’s how it works:

• Round 1: Row one minute, then rest for 90 seconds.
• Round 2: Row two minutes, then rest for three minutes.
• Round 3: Row three minutes, then rest for four minutes and 30 seconds.
• Round 4: Row four minutes, then rest for six minutes.
• Round 5: Row three minutes, then rest for four minutes and 30 seconds.
• Round 6: Row two minutes, then rest for three minutes.
• Round 7: Row for one minute.

After you’ve done the four-minute effort, Steventon says, the worst is over. As a result, you’ll feel great, even though you’ve got lots of work left to do. One caveat, he says: Avoid doing this session in a crowded gym. When you’re resting for six minutes after Round 4, you might lose out on your machine.

Top Rowing Machines for Your Workouts

The Concept2 RowErg is Clapp’s machine of choice for all-out speed (and the MH team loves it, too)—but we’ve tested dozens of rowing rigs through a variety of workouts at home and at the gym. Here are a few of our favorites. If you want even more options, check out our full list of top picks.

Men’s Health-Approved Rowing Machines

Our team put tested dozens of rowing machines through a variety of workouts at home and at the gym. Here are a few of our favorites. If you want even more options, check out our Best Rowing Machines story.

Best Overall Rowing Machine

Best Connected Rowing Machine

Best Water Rowing Machine

WaterRower Club Rowing Machine with S4 Monitor

Best Space-Saving Rowing Machine

Echelon Fitness Rowing Machine

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