Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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General training information, not medical advice. If something hurts, stop and see a professional.
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Explore/Functional

Rowing Machine

Also called Rower, Row erg

MachineCompoundEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Upper back & lats, Quads

Also glutes, biceps, hamstrings

You need

Rower / SkiErg

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Catch
2Finish
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Legs, then body, then arms
  2. 2Reverse it on the way back
  3. 3Damper at 4–6, not 10

Most common mistake

Pulling with the arms first.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for functional

Compare with

vs Wall Ballvs Air Bikevs SkiErg
A
For functional
#6 of 45
See the full list →
Research
74
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 74
TransferStrong
Injury protectionGood
PracticalityExcellent

Common in workouts, and a good engine builder.

Research behind these criteria

  • Transfer: Seitz et al., 2014 · Markovic, 2007 · Blagrove et al., 2018 · Rønnestad & Mujika, 2014
  • Injury protection: Lauersen et al., 2014 · van Dyk et al., 2019 · Harøy et al., 2019 · Webster & Hewett, 2018
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SPull-UpBodyweight
  • AFront SquatBarbell
  • APush PressBarbell
  • BAir BikeMachine

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