How to Cool Down After Rowing Machine Workouts

To cool down after rowing machine workouts, row easily for 3 to 5 minutes, step off, and hold a few gentle stretches for 20 to 30 seconds each. The whole thing takes 5 to 10 minutes, and after a short easy row you can skip most of it.

What a cool-down does, and what it doesn’t

Stopping dead after a hard piece can leave you light-headed or breathless, and stretching while warm is more comfortable than stretching cold. Those are the practical reasons to do one.

Don’t expect more than that. A 2018 narrative review in Sports Medicine, by Van Hooren and Peake, found that most evidence shows active cool-downs don’t significantly reduce muscle soreness, and don’t appear to prevent injuries. They do clear lactate from the blood faster, and may speed the recovery of heart and breathing rates. The authors judged them largely ineffective for most recovery markers, though they may still offer some advantage over simply stopping.

So treat a cool-down as a comfortable way to finish and a moment to check how you feel, not a guaranteed fix for aches. Short of time? Keep the easy rowing and drop the stretches.

How long to take

These timings are a rule of thumb. Match the cool-down to what you’ve just done. If rowing sits alongside other training, our guide to adding rowing machine workouts to your fitness routine has tips on recovery between sessions.

Session	Easy rowing	Stretching	Total
Easy row, 20 to 30 minutes	1 to 2 minutes	Optional	2 to 5 minutes
Steady row, 40 minutes or more	3 minutes	3 minutes	6 minutes
Intervals	5 minutes	4 minutes	9 minutes
2k test or race	5 to 10 minutes	4 minutes	9 to 14 minutes

A 10-minute routine

Time	What to do
0 to 4 minutes	Easy rowing, rate 16 to 20, light pressure
4 to 5 minutes	Slowly stop, unstrap, stand up
5 to 9 minutes	Gentle stretches, holding each 20 to 30 seconds
9 to 10 minutes	Slow breathing, water, a note in your log

Step 1: row easy

Drop the pace and stroke rate well below your working level. As a guide, take a pace you could hold for an hour while chatting, with a rate in the high teens. If you’ve been rowing at 2:10 per 500 m in intervals, try 2:30 or slower for this part.

You know you’ve done enough when you can speak a full sentence without gasping and your breathing has settled. After a 2k test, let your legs stop shaking before you step off. Stand up slowly and hold the rail or a wall for a moment if you feel light-headed.

Step 2: gentle stretches

Hold each one still for 20 to 30 seconds and breathe steadily. Stretching should feel like mild tension, not pain. Do both sides where it applies. Pick the 4 or 5 that feel tightest if you’re short of time.

Stretch	How to do it	Target
Hamstrings	Sit on the floor, extend one leg, reach gently towards your toes	Back of the thigh
Quads	Standing, pull one heel towards your glutes	Front of the thigh
Hip flexors	Kneel in a lunge and tip the pelvis forward slightly	Front of the hip
Lats and upper back	Reach arms forward, clasp hands, round the upper back	Between the shoulder blades
Chest and shoulders	Place a forearm on a wall and turn away gently	Front of the shoulder
Lower back	Lie on your back and pull both knees towards the chest	Base of the spine

Our guide to static stretching after a workout goes into more detail, and benefits of stretching before and after rowing explains how this fits with what you do before a session.

Step 3: drink and refuel

Drink water as you finish, and eat when you’re hungry. You don’t need to chase a lost-sweat figure. Thirst and light-coloured urine are a reasonable guide for most people, and our hydration guide has more detail.

Spend 30 seconds on your log while you’re there: distance, average split and one word for how it felt. Our guide to why you get DOMS after rowing explains what to expect from soreness 1 or 2 days later.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Stopping dead and walking off. Even 2 minutes of easy strokes lets you settle.
2. Stretching hard into pain. Mild tension is the limit.
3. Bouncing in a stretch. Hold it still and breathe.
4. Skipping it every time. On a hard day, 3 minutes of easy rowing is better than nothing.
5. Using stretching to mask a repeat problem. Ignoring the same sore spot session after session rarely ends well.

If something hurts

Muscle tiredness is normal. Sharp or worsening pain is not. Stop, and speak to a GP or physio if it persists. If your lower back or knees ache after every row, get your technique and set-up checked rather than stretching harder. Plan your next session from our training hub.