Rowing to lose weight

[Anth_F]

I would like to add that rowing to lose weight is going to be very hard. Simply for the fact that rowing(or almost any aerobic exercise for that matter)actually burns few calories.

When I started rowing, in 2014, september, my weight was 77 kg.
I bought a magnetic rower (not a C2) and rowed randomly with it till december, when I actually broke it in half.
2015, january, I had home my C2 and re-started seriously.

In 2015, december, I was 65 kg. I'm at today 61.5 kg

With any kind of alimentary restriction. I eat god food but I also drink god wine and beer
Maybe I'm genetically happy, but I'd not say that to lose weight with indoor rowing is very hard.

Btw I row 6 in a week for an average sum of 70-80 km. Go figure.

Cu. Paolo

I guess it depends on the individual. Everyones body is different, and reacts differently to forms of exercise. Some may find it hard and others not so. For me, i felt the weight loss through not rowing exactly hardcore, i just put in a lot of moderate rate sessions and enjoyed it... the quick weight loss came automatically as a bonus if you like because i enjoyed rowing every day.

[GateDad]

Paulo: Congratulations on your weight loss. In 8 months you have lost about 7 pounds, wonderful, really. However at the rate of 1 lb. per month a person with significant weight to lose(let's say for the sake of argument 50 lbs.)would need 4 years of solid rowing to do so. A reasonable diet can be followed that would allow for a 1 lb. per week, and that is more like what most people need to do. I have followed my calories expended from rowing and it seems that following an every other day plan I will burn about 1/2 lb. per month(corresponds to the same rate that you have seen if I had done it 6X's per week). That's perfectly fine, but many people out there have 75 or even 100 lbs. to lose... It's just not a realistic approach to losing excess body fat. Row as you enjoy, keep up a healthy, sustained and vigorous effort, get all that you can out of it, but if losing weight is your goal, cut the calories. Actually, do both, of course. Rowing will build some muscle, not like a high intensity strength training program, but still will help. Eventually once your body becomes accustomed to the effort, the muscle building will stop, unless you progressively add more intensity to your rowing. That's just physics. Again though, I enjoy the rowing for rowing's sake. Any weight loss is just an extra benefit.

[at1839]

Paulo: Congratulations on your weight loss. In 8 months you have lost about 7 pounds

Preambe. I'm from Italy. English in *not* my native tongue.

7 pounds? Not so.

From 2014 december to 2015 december I lost average 1Kg (2.2 pounds) a month. Eventually I became so fit that to lose weight is not easy and for sure not a goal. Not to be faster as a rower. From 2015, december to 2016, july I lost the last 3/4 Kilos, but that doesn't matter, IMHO. Also, you'd think in therms of percentage too, 10Kg out of 75 are not the same of 10Kg out of 150, of course, will be here 20 Kg out of 150?

In the game of weight loss to excercise at a decent intensity have some collateral effects.

1) directly burned Kal, read time spent into excercise.
2) basal metabolic rate, read post training stress, aka intensity of the workout, you know.
3) muscle build; muscle need calories to *live*, 24h/day, fat doesn't.

In the end, you're right, I enjoyed to row and that made unnecessary for me to be subject of any diet. I love food

My living experience. Your mileage may vary

But anyway I guess if a *fat* guy get caught with rowing, is a *impact free* sport anyway, he will loose weight. A lot. Quickly.
For sure faster with the help of a reasonable diet, but If I've to pick up one of the two, excercise versus diet, I'll pick up to exercise, 100%.

Have fun. Paolo.

[Irhleeds]

At the moment I'm warming up at UT3 pace and doing the main part of my row at UT2. UT3 is burning around 8 calories/minute and UT2 around 11 calories/minute. I've added a spell on the cross-trainer into my training too. I can burn 11-12 calories/minute on the cross-trainer with it on a pretty low setting. As with the erg, I'm building it up gradually.

I appreciate that losing weight is an equation. If you want to get the most from increased activity (which I'm also doing to improve my general fitness level), you have to be aware of what you're putting into your body as well as what you're expending.

I've found out in the past 18 months or so, that indoor rowing is extremely helpful to me mentally, and played a significant role in helping me recover from recurring bouts of depression. I love rowing hence it was the obvious "weapon of choice" in my battle to lose weight.

[Irhleeds]

Paulo: Congratulations on your weight loss. In 8 months you have lost about 7 pounds

Preambe. I'm from Italy. English in *not* my native tongue.

7 pounds? Not so.

From 2014 december to 2015 december I lost average 1Kg (2.2 pounds) a month. Eventually I became so fit that to lose weight is not easy and for sure not a goal. Not to be faster as a rower. From 2015, december to 2016, july I lost the last 3/4 Kilos, but that doesn't matter, IMHO. Also, you'd think in therms of percentage too, 10Kg out of 75 are not the same of 10Kg out of 150, of course, will be here 20 Kg out of 150?

In the game of weight loss to excercise at a decent intensity have some collateral effects.

1) directly burned Kal, read time spent into excercise.
2) basal metabolic rate, read post training stress, aka intensity of the workout, you know.
3) muscle build; muscle need calories to *live*, 24h/day, fat doesn't.

In the end, you're right, I enjoyed to row and that made unnecessary for me to be subject of any diet. I love food

My living experience. Your mileage may vary

But anyway I guess if a *fat* guy get caught with rowing, is a *impact free* sport anyway, he will loose weight. A lot. Quickly.
For sure faster with the help of a reasonable diet, but If I've to pick up one of the two, excercise versus diet, I'll pick up to exercise, 100%.

Have fun. Paolo.

Like you Paolo, I love food and I love to row. I need to make sure I row regularly and be sensible what I eat.

[nabeel21]

That's good to hear you finally buckled up and started your way to healthier life.

I also started my fitness journey almost 2 months ago. I'm 6ft tall and weigh 95kg. Rowing has helped me lose 4 kg weight in 40 days. It is great achievement for me.

Another thing which I have noticed, diet plays a vital role in reducing your weight which I have no idea until I started exercising. I accompanied my exercise with healthy diet of legumes and just leafy green vegetables and hot water(always felt enhanced metabolism). Just cutting down from unhealthy fats, I cut my 700 calories easily from diet and other calories are taken care of by concept 2 erg. Only diet will help lose weight easily, but exercise is also necessary to build endurance & strength for daily chores and to stay active and healthy.

That's why I always used rowing machine in combination of treadmill. I loved jogging because it also work out the entire body and increases metabolism of body. When you sweat it feels nice, like all the toxins are drained out of your body. But if you are someone who is very obese I don't recommend using treadmill because it put strain on your knees. It's your choice to choose between treadmill or rowing machine or use both with healthy balanced diet.

Cheers, Be the best of version of yourself.

[tordoc]

Give this a read:

The Hacker’s Diet-

https://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/

It’s free. I think it’s all a good read. The meat is in the management section.

This was written by a well known programmer who became progressively out of shape as he became more attached to his desk. It’s very logical, engineering based, and focused on CI vs CO - calories in va calories out.

[DavidA]

It’s free. I think it’s all a good read. The meat is in the management section.

Where are the vegetables?

[Maiedah Rafi]

When rowing for weight loss, workout consistency and duration are key. For maximum results, strive to complete 30–50 minutes of rowing five to six times per week. Aim for a comfortable intensity of moderate, steady work where you can still carry on a conversation. Add intervals for variety.

[mict450]

I have to agree with the others about diet. Rowing is great for fitness and mental health, but if you are looking to lose fat, your number priority to get right is what you put in your mouth. No amount of exercise is going to fix a faulty diet.

[dabatey]

Foodwise. Swapping out for slightly healthier options of similar can help a lot. Eg Swap a 250 cal Snickers bar for a 100 cal Muesli Bar. Swap a 200 cal bag of crisps for a baked low cal variety (often in slightly smaller bags to help). Low calorie ice-cream is a great invention. Many lower calorie choices available such as 0% fat yoghurt etc.