Can Rowing Machines Improve Posture and Back Pain?

Rowing machines can improve posture by strengthening the back, hip and trunk muscles that keep you upright, but they are not a treatment for back pain. Good technique may leave your back feeling better, while poor technique can make a sore back worse.

A safety note before you start. Everything here is general information. If you have back pain, see a GP or physiotherapist before you row, and stop if the pain increases.

How rowing loads your back

Your spine stays long throughout a good stroke, and your back acts as a link between your legs and the handle. The legs push, the trunk holds firm, and the force passes through to your arms. At 20 strokes per minute, a 20-minute row repeats that 400 times.

That repetition is why rowing can build the muscles that hold you upright, and why a fault matters. A rounded lower back at the catch is repeated 400 times too. Rowing also draws your shoulders back at the finish, which works muscles that desk work tends to neglect.

It’s still only part of your day. If you sit for hours, getting up regularly counts for at least as much as any session on the erg.

Set up to protect your back

Setting	What to do	Why
Footplate	Strap across the widest part of your foot	Lets your legs drive properly
Damper	Start around 3 to 5, as Concept2 suggests	A heavy, slow stroke loads your back more
Seat	Sit in the middle, shins roughly vertical at the catch	Stops you overreaching
Handle	Light overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart, flat wrists	Keeps your shoulders low

Our drag factor page explains the damper in more detail, including how to read the real resistance on the monitor.

Common posture faults and fixes

The stroke order is legs, then body, then arms on the drive, and arms, body, then legs on the way back. Most posture faults show up at the two ends of that movement.

Fault	What it looks like	A simple fix
Rounded lower back at the catch	Spine curves as you reach forward	Hinge from the hips, shorten the slide slightly
Slumping at the finish	Chest collapses, head drops	Sit tall, lift the chest, keep eyes level
Hunched shoulders at the catch	Shoulders roll forward	Reach with straight arms, keep shoulders low
Leaning back too far	Body beyond about a 10 degree lean	Stop the swing and draw the handle in
Poked chin	Head drifts forward	Keep your head in line with your spine

Film yourself from the side on your phone for 10 strokes. If you spot a fault, slow down and fix it at an easy rate before adding effort. Our guide to how to use a rowing machine shows each position in order.

Build the supporting muscles

Rowing alone won’t give you all the strength you need, and our article on getting into shape using a rowing machine looks at what it misses. Planks, bridges and bird-dogs are common trunk exercises, and 2 sessions a week of 10 minutes is a reasonable place to start. Our guide to making your lower back stronger has exercises and progressions. If you have a back problem, ask your physio which of these suit you before copying a list.

How long and how often

Start with 10 to 20 minutes at an easy effort, 2 or 3 times a week, with a rest day between early sessions. Add 2 to 3 minutes at a time. A long session at a heavy setting in your first week is a common way to end up sore. Once you’re past the early weeks, our guide to rowing for cardio covers intensity and goals.

Week	Sessions	Time	Effort
1 and 2	2	10 minutes	Easy, full sentences
3 and 4	3	12 to 15 minutes	Easy, full sentences
5 and 6	3	15 to 20 minutes	Easy to moderate

This is a rule of thumb for someone with no current pain. You’ll know your posture is improving if you can hold the same tall position at minute 15 as at minute 1. When you can, our rowing machine exercises for a full-body workout add variety to your sessions.

If you already have back pain

The NHS back pain page advises staying active and carrying on with daily activities where you can. It says back pain usually improves within a few weeks, and suggests walking, swimming, yoga and pilates may help. Rowing isn’t on that list, so ask your clinician about it. These set-up changes are worth discussing:

• A lower damper setting.
• A shorter slide, so you don’t need to reach as far.
• Shorter sessions at an easy rate.
• A lower-load alternative such as walking or swimming while it settles.

Our page on rowing with lower back pain goes into more detail.

Warning signs

Book a GP appointment if your pain hasn’t improved after a few weeks, is stopping your day-to-day activities, or comes from between your shoulders.

Get an urgent GP appointment or call 111 if you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or if severe pain starts suddenly or gets worse quickly.

Call 999 or go to A&E if you have pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or anus, changes in your bladder or bowels such as difficulty peeing, chest pain, or if the pain started after a serious accident.