# Do Cycling and Rowing Compliment one another?



## Losidan (5 May 2009)

I have a decent rower my dad gave me and quite enjoy using it too. I have been reading around some websites around the indoor rowing scene and in particular some training articles which focus on lactic acid tolerance and increase aerobic threshold etc....Struck me as quite useful stuff to do when the dark nights and bad weather is here....Wondering if anyone does the same and if they find it compliments their cycling or works against it?

Dan


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## bonj2 (5 May 2009)

Personally i'd rather watch paint dry, but it can only be good for cardiovascular fitness.
It might put a bit more muscle on the upper body which technically you don't need for cycling but only likely to be a problem if you really are at the top end of racing and you are really putting lots of bulk on your upper body. Besides you'll lose fat as well so that will have to be taken off the muscle mass gain.


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## jimboalee (5 May 2009)

Yes. Do the indoor rowing to strengthen the lower back. It works the quads and glutes too.
If you keep your arms straight and use the legs and back to complete the stroke, its as good as doing hyperextensions.


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## Twenty Inch (5 May 2009)

Yes they do.

"Nice rower". 

"Cheers. Nice bike"

Unless you mean complEment each other.

[/pedant]


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## Ben M (5 May 2009)

Yes, any cardiovascular exercise will help to improve your fitness, and you'll be a better cyclist as a result.

Remember that to improve your CV fitness, you need to be working hard, around 70%+ of your maximum heart rate for half an hour. Anything less and you're really just burning off calories.


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## valleyold boy (6 May 2009)

I,ve been indoor rowing on the concept2 machine for the last 3 years,I do about 50k a week for most of the year.I bought a hybrid bike in October and have done over 500 miles on that since.As a 66 year old I found the rowing gave me a great cardio base to start cycling and got into 30 mile rides just about straight away.I recommend it particularly in the winter.


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## macky82 (7 May 2009)

I have indoor rowing but i don't know how to use it.  I was hoping to get some ideas from you and hope I could start in awhile.


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## Ludwig (9 May 2009)

Yes I would think rowing is very good for cycling but you need to be careful that you don't become too muscle bound and to some work to help with your speed endurance. Rebecca Romero was an Olympic medalist rower before becoming a Gold medalist cyclist last year. The upper body work from rowing is also very beneficial to cycling.


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## Dave5N (10 May 2009)

No. Ride yer bike.

Jimboallee will be along in a minute to explain specificity.

He'll be right.


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## GrumpyGregry (10 May 2009)

a rower is a perfect bit of cross training kit, a great indoor fat burner, and an excellent tool for benchmarking your general level of fitness on, CV fitness especially.

I row to loose weight and get fit, cycle to get and keep fit in the Summer (april - september) and run once a week to ensure that the benefits transfer over into the winter, when I don't cycle as much and when I'm to be found running around on a rugby pitch as a referee three times a week.

To me the perfect year round fitness combination is access to a rower, a bike, some weights for resistance / strength work, a pair of running shoes and a heart rate monitor which can be used in each and every context.


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## zarrafak (10 May 2009)

GrumpyGreg said:


> a rower is a perfect bit of cross training kit, a great indoor fat burner, and an excellent tool for benchmarking your general level of fitness on, CV fitness especially.
> 
> I row to loose weight and get fit, cycle to get and keep fit in the Summer (april - september) and run once a week to ensure that the benefits transfer over into the winter, when I don't cycle as much and when I'm to be found running around on a rugby pitch as a referee three times a week.
> 
> To me the perfect year round fitness combination is access to a rower, a bike, some weights for resistance / strength work, a pair of running shoes and a heart rate monitor which can be used in each and every context.



More or less what I do, except for the rugby ref thing!
- I'd add swimming to the list. 
The only problem is that back support and flexibility isn't fully covered. - A problem for me as I like to play tennis too.


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