Rowing is a full-body exercise that can help build and tone your muscles, improve your cardiovascular function and increase your stamina. Rowing is particularly effective for older fitness enthusiasts because it is low-impact and easy on joints.

The exercise burns calories rapidly, making it a suitable addition to your workout regimen if weight loss is your chief priority. A vigorous 30-minute workout on a rowing machine can burn 255 calories for a person weighing 125 pounds, 316 calories for someone who weighs 155 pounds and 377 for an individual who weighs 185 pounds. Frequent rowing can help you work toward the daily calorie deficit that is integral to weight loss.

Directions

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1. Sit tall on the rowing machine with your arms straight, back upright, knees and ankles flexed.

2. From this position, use your lats to pull your shoulders down and brace your core.

3. This will help protect your lower back.

4. Push your legs while still bracing and contracting your core.

5. When your legs are straight, hinge at the hips and lean back to about 45 degrees.

6. The last movement is from your arms as you pull the handle towards your torso, about a few inches above your belly button.

7. To finish the move, you do the same movement, only in reverse order.

8. You extend the arms, hinge the hips forward, bring the torso over the legs and then bend the knees so you're back at the Catch phase.