The Benefits of Using VR Rowing for Fitness: Why You Should Try It

The list of virtual reality rowing machine benefits runs long! But I’ll try to summarize all that in this short article. Have you read the “Boys in the Boat” book by Daniel James Brown? 

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics tells a story of friendship, dedication, endurance, and love, but the main star of it, apart from the inspiring students of the University of Washington, is the sport of rowing. I fell in love with it and indoor rowing, and I want to share why with you here.

There are so many reasons to love this total-body workout.

What are the benefits of rowing for fitness?

Rowing is one of the most efficient sports with vast benefits, it engages both the upper and lower-body muscles and builds strength, cardio, and endurance. Rowing can also benefit your heart and lungs and improve your overall health.

Even a rowing workout as short as 5 minutes could have benefits because doing some exercise is better than doing none at all.

However, the American Heart Association Trusted Source recommends getting at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both. If you completed a 20-minute HIIT workout on the rower just twice per week, you’d be more than halfway to your aerobic activity goal.

How many calories can you burn from using the rowing machine?

According to Harvard Health, a 125-pound person can burn 255 calories in 30 minutes of a vigorous rowing workout. A 155-pound person can burn 369 calories, while a 185-pound person can burn 440.

In comparison, a 125-pound person can burn 270 calories in 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer, while a 155-pound can burn 324 calories and a 185-pound person can burn 378.

Combining daily rowing with a healthy, balanced diet is a great way to be active or stay in shape.

Is indoor rowing just as efficient as traditional outdoor rowing?

The answer is yes, and this is especially important for everyone living in conditions that do not allow access to the amazing sport of traditional outdoor rowing.

Rowing machines, also known as ergometers or ergs, use your upper and lower body on every stroke. According to the American Fitness Professionals Association, the rowing stroke consists of 65–75% leg work and 25–35% upper body work.

Indoor rowing also burns serious calories without putting added stress on your joints. It allows you to control the movement and pace and is a great exercise for active recovery. It’s sometimes recommended as an exercise option for people with early stages of osteoarthritis.

There is one problem with indoor rowing though.

It gets boring. If you are rowing at your home, or at the gym, you are in the best case scenario watching something mildly entertaining on the screen in front of you, or in the worst, looking at yourself in the mirror, suffering from boredom.

But how can something so beneficial for your fitness and health be so boring? I’m sure you can think of 100 other things that are good for you but not really fun, right?

Is there a way of solving this? 

Of course, you might be the rare type who can keep on rowing endlessly in a zen-inner-peace state, but if like me, you mostly focus on checking how many seconds have passed since the last time you looked at the clock, maybe you need external help with managing workout boredom.

So, what is the solution?

When your mind has something interesting to focus on, your body is more able to follow repetitive movements without getting bored and giving up. The one thing that has been scientifically proven to offer these results is immersive fitness, especially Virtual Reality fitness (it’s possible on rowing machines, too!).

When you immerse yourself in VR, and especially when you choose a training program that can motivate and distract you for considerable time, enough to finish your 30-60 minutes workout, your body is actually able to feel less pain and work out for longer periods. A study done by the University of Kent shows exactly this: pain intensity is usually 10% lower when working out in VR than without it, and the time to exhaustion for VR users is two minutes longer than those doing conventional exercise. The VR users also showed a lower heart rate of three beats per minute than the non-VR users.

How can VR rowing motivate you to exercise

You are on a beautiful lake rowing in lane number 4, with 6 other rowers on your sides. The race starts, and you feel your heart pumping more and more, your muscles pulling as much as they can and your lungs extending to their maximum. As you cross the race end line you smile, satisfied with your ranking, and the high-intensity exercise you just finished.

Or, you find yourself in Antarctica, surrounded by whales and polar bears, and you see the Aurora Borealis in the distance. As you row at your own pace a huge polar bear jumps in front of you and starts running, you want to catch up and increase your pace. It’s magical and fun, and you only feel the pure happiness of being in such a place. You reach the end, wave at the bear, and take off your headset: you’ve been working out for 40 minutes without even thinking about it.

Competing, achieving goals, catching trophies, and finishing challenges, are some of the ways VR rowing can motivate you to exercise. Combined with the amazing, beautiful worlds you immerse yourself in, you will be able to row longer, with better pace, and with the satisfaction of achieving your fitness goals. It’s great for beginner and advanced rowers alike! 

Where can I find VR exercises for my rowing machine?

HOLOFIT by Holodia is the only VR fitness program specially developed for use on row ergs, and it is available on the Meta store. To use it, you need a Meta Quest VR headset, your row erg, and the HOLOFIT subscription. Let me show you what HOLOFIT users say on the Meta Quest store about how it motivates them to use their rowing machine:

Try HOLOFIT for free today!