Using an indoor rowing machine is a great way to burn extra calories.
That being said, how many calories can does rowing burn?
I dug into some of the research and I should be able to provide an accurate number (dependent on your bodyweight below).
As a quick note, let’s do a quick overview of what a calories is, and it’s context in exercise.
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Calories and Exercise:
Simply put, calories are the fuel that your body uses to produce energy.
In scientific terms, a calories in actually a measure of energy that can be used.
In the context of diet and exercise, calories are what your body uses for fuel. However, there’s a hitch in the system. If you eat too many calories, then your body will start to store them as fat.
This is part of your body’s self preservation system. It doesn’t know where its next meal will be coming from, so to preserve energy, your body will store excess calories and store them for fat that can be used for energy at a later date.
All of that being said, when you eat too many calories, your body will store them as fat. It’s estimated that if you eat an extra 500 calories per day, you’ll gain 1 pound of weight in a week.
On the flip side, if you eat 500 calories less per day, you’ll lose 1 pound of weight in a week.
While eating less calories in a day can lead to weight loss, it can be very difficult to diet in this manner. This is why I’ll present the benefits of rowing as a calorie burner.
If you eat at maintenance level (i.e. the amount of calories that your body burns on a daily basis), if you add in exercise to burn excess calories, you’ll lose weight.
So, let’s say your calorie maintenance level is 2,500 calories a day. If you eat over that number, you’ll start to gain weight. If you eat under that, you’ll lose weight.
If you eat at maintenance level (2,500 calories), plus do daily exercise that burns 250 calories in a day, you’ll lose weight! To the tune of about a half pound per week.
This is where burning calories comes into play with fitness and cardio.
You might be asking, how good is rowing for burning calories?
Read on below…
How Many Calories Do You Burn While Rowing?
The answer is …
…..that it depends.
This is because each person burns calories at a different rate (according to research).
Like most things in life, there isn’t one straightforward calories-burned number that will be 100% accurate. However, there are some guidelines that I can give you for how many calories rowing burns below.
One of the major factors to keep in mind is the bodyweight of the person using the rowing machine. The energy output difference between a 125lb female and a 200lb male are going to be quite different.
Below, I’ll give calorie burn rates for various body sizes, this should allow you to approximate the amount of calories that you’ll burn while using a rowing machine.
125-Pound Person
If you weigh around 125 pounds, you can burn a large amount of calories while using an indoor rowing machine. Keep in mind that you won’t burn as many calories as someone with a heavier body weight. This is due to the fact that it takes less effort for a smaller body to perform the same physical activity as a larger person.
Research shows that a 125-pound individual can burn up to 420 calories per hour while rowing at a moderate pace. If you row at a high intensity, the amount of calories you can burn in an hour jumps to or 510.
155-Pound Person
Individuals who weigh 155 pounds can expect to burn about 520 calories at a moderate pace. If rowing at a hard pace, that number increases to around 630 calories in an hour.
185-Pound Person
For those that weigh around 185 pounds, you can expect to burn around 620 calories per hour rowing at a moderate pace. This number increases to around 750 calories in one hour rowing at a hard intensity, according to Harvard Medical School.
240-Pound Person
Individuals who weigh close to 240 pounds can anticipate burning around 650 calories per hour spent rowing. This number will increase with intensity.
In Closing
Rowing at one long, monotonous pace isn’t always ideal. I recommend switching up your rowing program to provide a variety of workout styles,
This could include a series of short sprints, weightlifting combined with rowing, as well as longer endurance work.
The key is to find a workout style that you like, and that you’ll stick with.
Row on!