The Rowing Sprint is a intermediate-friendly machine strength exercise that targets the quadriceps, lats and middle back, with the glutes, hamstrings, biceps and abdominals working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesQuads, Lats, Middle Back
Secondary musclesGlutes, Hamstrings, Biceps, Abs
EquipmentMachine
LevelIntermediate
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Rowing Sprint
Strap in, set a moderate to firm damper, and row easy for several minutes before any hard effort.
Sit at the catch with shins vertical, arms straight and the torso hinged forward from the hips.
Drive the legs down as hard as you can while keeping the arms straight and the back angle fixed.
Snap the back open and pull the handle to the ribs, finishing the stroke with the legs already flat.
Push the hands away fast, rock the torso over, and let the knees rise into the next catch without collapsing.
Hold maximum effort for the planned distance or time, then paddle very light until breathing settles.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Develops peak power output on a non-impact machine that measures every stroke.
Stresses the anaerobic system hard in efforts short enough to fit any session.
Reveals technique breakdown quickly, which makes it useful as a coaching diagnostic.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Letting the recovery speed match the drive, which shortens the stroke and drops pace while the rate climbs.
Yanking with the arms before the legs finish, which cuts the strongest part of the drive out of the stroke.
Pushing the legs and opening the back at the same moment, which is inefficient and loads the lower back.
Judging the effort by stroke rate on the monitor rather than split, so the numbers rise but the pace slows.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Rowing Sprint, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
