Rowing machine muscles worked: how one stroke trains almost your entire body
Bruno Rodriguez, DPT, CSCS: Strength, recovery, and physical therapy expert
Nov 23, 2025 · 11 min read
Rowing looks like an upper-body pull, but research shows each stroke is mostly legs and hips, backed up by powerful core and back engagement. Understanding the rowing machine muscles worked will help you get fitter faster and avoid injury. “If you treat the rower like an arm machine, you miss about 70 percent of its […]