This 20-Minute Rowing Workout for Older Adults Can Build Muscle and Boost Heart Health

Here’s a 20-minute workout for older adults using the rowing machine, created by Rachel Perlman, CPT, performance coach for the training app Future, who’s based in Windmere, Florida.

A 20-Minute Rowing Cardio and Strength Workout

This workout has a dumbbell routine (described later in the article) in steps 5 and 10. If you don’t have dumbbells, you can use exercise bands or even household items like water bottles or canned goods.

Here’s how to do the rowing workout:

1. Sit on the rower and tightly secure your feet on the foot plates so that the straps are over the balls of your feet.
2. Start off with a warm-up for two minutes on the rowing machine, where your SPM is between 16 and 18 and your RPE is around 3. This should feel relatively easy.
3. Continue for two minutes with a steady row, with your SPM between 18 and 20 and your RPE at about 4. The intensity may feel moderate.
4. Then, crank it up a notch for a one-minute power row. Your SPM should be between 20 and 22, and your RPE should be between 4 and 5. The intensity should fall between moderate and high.
5. Get off the rowing machine for a quick strength circuit (described later in the article), performing one set of 10 reps for each of the four strength moves.
6. Get back on the rowing machine and do a power row for one minute, with your SPM between 22 and 24 and your RPE at 5 or 6.
7. Take a one-minute break for recovery, but do not stop moving, as your muscles might tense up. Instead, lightly row and recover, with an SPM of 16 to 18 and an RPE of 3.
8. Do another one-minute power row, where your SPM is between 22 and 24 and your RPM is 5 or 6.
9. Take another one minute of recovery with a lighter row, keeping your SPM at 16 to 18 and your RPE around 3.
10. Do another round of strength exercises, repeating the same exact moves with the same number of reps as before.
11. Get back on the rowing machine and perform a steady row for two minutes, where your SPM is between 20 and 22 and your RPE is 4 or 5.
12. Crank up the intensity for a one-minute power row, with your SPM at 22 to 24 and your RPE between 5 and 6. This row should feel challenging as a final push.
13. Cool down with a two-minute light row, keeping your SPM at 16 to 18 and your RPE at 2 or 3.
14. Unstrap your feet and get off the rower.

How to Row With Proper Form

• ‌‌Catch This is when you bend your knees as the seat slides toward the front of the machine. Let your arms straighten, and hinge gently forward from the hips until — if flexibility allows — your elbows are past your knees. On your first catch, grab the handle at the front of the machine. Tilt your body forward, but do not hunch your shoulders or push yourself into an uncomfortable stretch.
• ‌‌Drive The drive happens when you push the seat back with your legs. As your legs straighten, pull the handle close to your chest and brace with your core.
• ‌‌Finish This is the resting position, sometimes described as the opposite of the catch position. Your legs are stretched, your shoulders and back are leaning away from your legs, and your hands are pulled up to your chest.
• ‌‌Recovery First, let your arms extend, then hinge your torso slightly forward from the hips and allow your legs to bend as you slide forward to the front of the machine.

Other Safety Tips

• Make sure to stretch before and after your workout.
• Check that the straps are firmly securing your feet before you start rowing.
• Keep your knees flexible but straight — do not lock them but also do not let them bend too far inward or out to the sides.
• Grasp the handle lightly from the top and try to keep your hands in line with your wrists.
• Keep your shoulders back and not rounded as you row, and hold your head straight.
• Keep your core engaged to add stability and power.
• If you do not currently exercise regularly — and you have cardiovascular, metabolic, or renal disease (or any symptoms of those conditions) — visit your doctor first to get a medical clearance for regular exercise. Even if you do exercise regularly, checking in with your doctor before starting any new exercise program or if you feel any pain during exercise may be a good idea.

3 Rowing Tips to Keep in Mind

Perlman shares three key rowing tips:

1. “In order to lower your SPM, keep your leg drive powerful, but slow down the transition between your strokes,” she says. To increase SPM, speed up the strokes.
2. “Think to yourself, ‘Legs, core, arms’ for the order of events in a stroke, and think, ‘Arms, core, legs’ when returning to the starting position for the next stroke,” Perlman says.
3. Keep the handles close to your legs for stronger leg drive and proper posture, and avoid letting your arms do the bulk of the work. Perlman says rowing should be about 60 percent legs, 20 percent core, and 20 percent arms. “This will maximize your stroke rate and drive,” she says.

4 Exercises to Do Off the Rower Mid-Workout

You’ll do these four strength exercises twice during this 20-minute rowing workout. Do 10 reps of each exercise per set.

Remember that having proper form is critical to avoid injury. You can use lighter weights to start, then gradually increase the weight as long as your form remains correct.

1. Biceps Curl

Activity: Dumbbell workout

Body part: Arms

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Keep your arms at your sides, with your elbows close to your body and your palms facing away from you.
2. Keeping your shoulders down and your chest open, bend your elbows and lift your hands until the dumbbells reach your shoulders.
3. Lower the dumbbells back down with control to return to the starting position.

Avoid swinging your arms by engaging your core and keeping a soft bend in your knees. “Imagine there are magnets on the insides of your elbows keeping them attached to the sides of your body, as this will help isolate the biceps so they can do all of the work,” Perlman says.

2. Shoulder Press

Activity: Dumbbell workout

Body part: Arms and shoulders

1. Stand tall, with your feet hip-width apart and a soft bend in your knees.
2. Lift the weights to your shoulders, with your elbows bent at 90 degrees and your forearms and palms facing away from you.
3. On an exhale, brace your core and press both dumbbells overhead.
4. Lower the weights back to the starting position with control.

Avoid arching your back by bracing your core. Imagine sewing your rib cage closed, and keep a soft bend in your knees, Perlman says.

3. Dead Bug

Activity: Body-weight workout

Body part: Core

1. Lie flat on your back, with both arms reaching straight toward the ceiling.
2. Lift your feet off the floor so your legs are bent at a 90-degree angle.
3. Keep your lower back in contact with the floor through the entire duration of the exercise.
4. Slowly and with control, extend your right leg and left arm away from each other.
5. Lower your limbs as far as you can while keeping your lower back on the ground. Fight the impulse to arch your back by tightening your abs, pressing down to anchor your lower back to the floor.
6. Exhale as you return your right leg and left arm to the starting position with the same slow, controlled movement.
7. Repeat with your left leg and right arm, then return to center again.

Don’t rush. Move slowly and purposefully, maintaining a tabletop position with your knees over your hips to activate your lower abs, Perlman says.

4. Bird Dog

Activity: Body-weight workout

Body part: Core

1. Get on your hands and knees, with your hands directly in line with your shoulders and knees in line with your hips.
2. Look down at the floor and brace your core (tucking your tailbone just slightly) to create a straight line from the tip of your head to your tailbone.
3. On an exhale, reach your left arm straight out in front of you until your upper arm is in line with your ear.
4. Simultaneously reach your right leg straight behind you, fully extending your knee.
5. Pause here for a moment.
6. Reverse the motion and return to the starting position.
7. Switch sides, reaching your right arm forward and raising your left leg back.
8. Pause and then return to the starting position.

Press into your supporting hand and knee that’s on the ground, as this helps activate your obliques and anti-rotational core stabilizers to assist with balance as the opposite sides lift to perform the movement, Perlman says.

The Benefits of Rowing for Older Adults

You may want to add rowing to your exercise routine for many reasons, both in general and as you age. Here are some of the top benefits of a rowing workout:

It Boosts Heart Health

“Regularly rowing helps strengthen the heart, improve blood circulation, and lower the risk of heart disease," says Lalitha Bhowani-McSorley, lead physical therapist and owner of Brentwood Physio in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Rowing also effectively boosts aerobic capacity, or VO2 max, Perlman says: “VO2 max represents the maximum amount of oxygen our body can utilize during aerobic activity and how well our heart and veins can push blood to our muscles and the rest of the body.”

It’s Low-Impact

Rowing is performed seated, so there isn’t as much impact on your knee joints, which are prone to wear and tear and more sensitivity in older adults, Perlman says.

Its low-impact nature makes it safer for your joints and bones, yet rowing still offers the benefits of a full-body workout: “Rowing hits the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, core, chest, arms, shoulders, and back,” Perlman says.

It May Help Reduce Stress

The Takeaway

• Rowing machine exercise has benefits for your heart, muscles, and even mental health.
• This 20-minute rowing machine workout for older adults incorporates strength-building and stability-enhancing moves like biceps curls and dead bugs.
• It’s important to have proper rowing form and to follow the safety tips provided in this article when performing the workout. Talk with your doctor if you experience any pain, have a prior injury or a health condition, or have recently had surgery.