Rowing is more than a sport. It's a world-renowned form of exercise that can help keep you in shape for a variety of different sports. In fact, few sports are out there that don't retain some direct benefit from a rowing workout. It trains your back, legs, and upper body, as well as offers a lasting endurance test for your mind.
Whether you're a football player looking to increase your endurance or a tennis player wanting to strengthen your shoulder, rowing can help give you the edge you need to succeed.
In this article, we'll explore 6 popular sports and how rowing exercises can benefit athletes looking to improve their performance:
How Rowing Exercises Can Help You Train for Basketball
Basketball is a sport that requires both endurance and explosive power. By using a rowing machine, you can improve both of these areas and become a better basketball player. Rowing improves anaerobic power, speed, and agility - all attributes that are so valuable for young basketball players.
In addition to improving anaerobic power, rowing can also help basketball players develop cardiovascular endurance, which is important for running up and down the court for extended periods of time.
In one article we found about a former college basketball player trying to make it as an Olympic rower, former New Hampshire forward Morgan Baillie said rowing also can help develop mental focus:
“I think it takes significantly more mental toughness in the sport of rowing. I used to think basketball took a lot of mental toughness until I got into rowing. It’s just so grueling that you really have to be able to let everything else disappear from your mind and just focus on what you’re doing. The mental toughness aspect has been multiplied.”
How Rowing Exercises Can Help You Train for Volleyball
Volleyball is a sport that requires a lot of upper body strength and explosive power. By using a rowing machine, you can improve your upper body strength and develop explosive power, which can translate to a better volleyball game. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that rowing training improved upper body power in college volleyball players.
One example of a volleyball athlete making the transition to rowing very naturally came from Australia.
Aussie Nadia Guillaumier played volleyball on the collegiate and pro levels for 28 years before transitioning to indoor rowing. When asked whether rowing training helped with her first love, Guillamier told Rowing Australia:
"Absolutely it does on a few fronts. I have been rowing longer distances of 5000 metres and, of course, 250,000m during the Interstate Indoor Regatta was a big part of that. Now we are back playing volleyball, shorter distances help me with no impact aerobic fitness and quick recovery that you need between points and sets in volleyball."
In addition to improving upper body power, rowing can also help volleyball players develop good posture and body alignment, which is important for hitting accurately and efficiently.
How Rowing Exercises Can Help You Train for Golf
Golf requires a lot of core strength and stability to maintain proper posture and execute a good swing. By using a rowing machine, you can improve your core strength and stability, which can translate to a better golf game.
In addition to improving core strength, rowing can also help golfers improve their cardiovascular endurance, which is important for walking long distances on the golf course.
How Rowing Exercises Can Help You Train for Football
Football is a sport that requires both aerobic and anaerobic fitness. By using a rowing machine, you can improve both of these areas and become a better football player. The ergometry of rowing is proven to improve oxygen consumption and anaerobic performance in athletes and would certainly provide similar results for college football players.
If you need more proof, check out how NFL tight-end Rob Gronkowski uses a rowing machine to stay fit in the video HERE. In addition to improving cardiovascular fitness and anaerobic performance, rowing can also help football players develop explosive power, which is important for sprinting, jumping, and tackling.
How Rowing Exercises Can Help You Train for Swimming
Swimming requires a lot of upper-body strength and cardiovascular endurance. By using a rowing machine, you can improve both of these areas and improve your swimming performance. Rowing training can improve pulmonary function in male adolescents, which can translate to better swimming performance. In addition to improving upper body strength and cardiovascular endurance, rowing can also help swimmers develop good posture and body alignment, which is important for swimming efficiently.
In a Swimming World article, coach Jeff Commings details how he introduced rowing workouts to his U19 swimming athletes:
"Rowing does the following: teaches an early catch, teaches hand speed, teaches feel, teaches a relaxed recovery, teaches pace at various speeds and it teaches negative splitting. I think you’ll agree that sounds a little bit like swimming! One of the great challenges on the C2 is trying to go 10 pulls at the same stroke rate and hold the same 500-meter pace time. I have yet to see anyone, including myself, get beyond eight pulls. In fact, if you can stay within one you’re doing extremely well. An example of that would be 10 pulls at 25 strokes per minute at 2:10 pace. If you can do that, imagine what the athlete learns about feel and pace."
How Rowing Exercises Can Help You Train for Tennis
Tennis is a sport that requires a lot of shoulder strength and mobility. By using a rowing machine, you can target these muscles and improve your game. Rowing exercise programs improve shoulder strength, endurance, and mobility in junior tennis players. In addition to strengthening the shoulders, rowing can also improve core stability and lower body strength, which are important for generating power and maintaining balance on the court.
Rowing is a highly effective exercise that offers numerous benefits to athletes in all sports. Whether you're looking to improve your endurance, power, or overall health and fitness, rowing is a great option to consider. So why not give it a try and see how it can help take your game to the next level?
If you want to give rowing a try or join a crew team, check out this article:
Five Sports That Could Produce The Best U.S. Rowing Athletes
