How Yoga Can Improve Your Rowing Machine Performance

Yoga can improve your rowing machine performance in one main way: it gives your hips and hamstrings the range to reach a long catch without rounding your back. It also adds trunk control and a calmer approach to breathing, but it will not replace time on the erg, so treat it as support for your rowing.

If your only problem is low fitness, an extra row will do more than a yoga class. If time is the worry, read whether 20 minutes on a rowing machine is enough. If you feel cramped at the catch, or your back rounds as you reach forward, yoga is well worth trying.

What yoga adds to the stroke

Part of the stroke	What it asks of you	How yoga trains it
Catch	Folding forward from the hips with a long spine	Hamstring and hip work
Drive	A steady trunk that passes leg power to the handle	Boat pose, plank
Finish	Open chest, relaxed shoulders	Upper back and shoulder work
Recovery	Unhurried, controlled movement	Slow, deliberate transitions
Long pieces	Even breathing under effort	Breath awareness

Yoga also counts towards your strength work. The NHS activity guidelines list yoga among the activities that strengthen muscles, and they recommend doing those on at least 2 days a week. A dynamic yoga class may do more for you here than slow stretching alone. For the rest of the strength side, how to get an Olympic rower’s body includes a strength session and a sample week.

8 poses matched to rowing

Hold each for several slow breaths, and move only as far as is comfortable.

Pose	Works on	Why it helps on the erg
Downward-facing dog	Hamstrings, calves, back, shoulders	Longer reach at the catch
Low lunge	Hip flexors	These tighten with sitting and repeated catches
Pigeon or figure-four	Glutes, outer hips	Room to compress at the catch
Cat-cow	Spine	Teaches the difference between a long and a rounded back
Boat pose	Trunk	Holding position in the drive
Plank	Trunk, shoulders	Same as above, and easier to scale
Warrior 2	Legs, hips	Strength in a deep leg position
Thread the needle	Upper back, shoulders	Rotation that rowing never gives you

In forward folds, bend from the hips and keep your spine long, as you would at the catch. If you have to round your back to reach your toes, bend your knees.

A 15-minute routine

Do this after rowing or on a rest day.

Pose	Time
Cat-cow	1 minute, slow
Downward-facing dog	5 breaths, then walk the legs for 30 seconds
Low lunge, each side	5 breaths
Pigeon or figure-four, each side	8 breaths
Thread the needle, each side	5 breaths
Boat pose	3 sets of 5 breaths
Child’s pose	1 minute

Move slowly and breathe through your nose where you can. Never push into pain.

How to fit it around your rowing

• Before rowing. Use 3 to 5 minutes of flowing movement. Save long holds for afterwards. Our guide to dynamic stretching for rowing machine users has more options.
• After rowing. Row easy for 3 to 5 minutes, then use the 15-minute routine while you’re warm.
• On rest days. A 20 to 30 minute class or video makes a gentle change from the erg.
• Before a test. Skip long stretches on the day of a hard 2k. Keep to easy movement.

Here is how that could look in a normal week:

Day	Rowing	Yoga
Mon	Steady 30 minutes	15-minute routine
Tue
Wed	Intervals	3 minutes of flowing movement before, nothing hard afterwards
Thu		20 to 30 minute class
Fri	Steady 30 minutes	15-minute routine
Sat	Long steady row
Sun	Rest	Optional easy session

How to tell if it’s working

Yoga’s results are easy to miss, so check them on the erg. Film yourself from the side at the catch, rowing 10 easy strokes, and save the clip. Repeat after 6 weeks. Look for:

• Shins closer to vertical at the catch.
• A longer, flatter lower back as you reach.
• Less tightness in the hips over the last 5 minutes of a 30-minute row.

If you see no change in your catch after 6 weeks, the cause may be your set-up or technique. Our page on common rowing technique faults can help you work out which, and flexibility for rowers goes further on the stretches themselves.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Long, hard stretching before a race piece	Keep to dynamic movement, and do long holds afterwards
Forcing a pose to look right	Stop at the first strong stretch and breathe there
Holding your breath	Breathe steadily, and ease off if you can’t
Hard flexibility work straight after a very hard row	Do a gentle version, or leave it for the next day

Getting started

Try a beginner class or a good online course. A mat and comfortable clothes are all you need. Tell the teacher about any injury before you start, and ask a physio first if a pose causes pain. For the breathing side of yoga, our guide to proper breathing on a rowing machine shows how to link your breath to the stroke.