Latest news with #SoheeCarpenter
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rower Vs. Treadmill: Which Cardio Machine Is The Better Burn?
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." You walk into the gym at 5:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, hyped up for you ready for your weekly run, when the inevitable happens: all the treadmills are accounted for. You've been neglecting your cardio, and know you know you need to get something in. What machine should you pick instead? Enter: the rower. You might only associate rowing with people sweating bullets in CrossFit workouts or your militant high school crew team, but the machine is less intimidating than you'd think. It's a great low-impact, full-body workout that anyone can do. Should you wait it out for a treadmill, or test out the rower for the first time? 'Both are excellent tools in the cardiovascular health toolbox,' says Sohee Carpenter, PhD, CSCS*D, a fitness coach and member of the WH advisory board. We asked the experts to compare and contrast the two modalities. Meet the Experts: Sohee Carpenter, PhD, CSCS*D, is a fitness coach and member of the WH advisory board. Erica Coviello, CPT, is a level 2 certified RRCA running coach and owner of Run Fit Stoked. Michelle Reno-Parolini, CPT, is a master trainer at Concept2, and Director of Training and Product Strategy at RowHouse. Each machine will work your cardiovascular system, but in slightly different ways. A treadmill can replicate any kind of walking, jogging, or running you would do outside or on a track, says Erica Coviello, CPT, a level 2 certified RRCA running coach. Your quads, hamstrings, glutes, core, and calves work together to power your propulsion forward, whether you are walking or running. It's great for building power, strength, speed, and endurance, she says. If you're running or jogging, it might cause a bit more impact through the joints of your lower body—important for increasing your bone density, but might not be ideal if you have joint issues. Talk to your doctor before starting a running program if you've had lower body injuries in the past. The main differentiator between the rower and the treadmill is the muscles each recruit. Your whole body is involved on the rower. Sure, you might get subtle upper body action on the treadmill as you swing your arms—but you're truly using the muscles of your upper back and biceps to power the rowing movement, says Michelle Reno-Parolini, CPT, master trainer at Concept2. That's in addition to the muscles of your legs, namely the quads and glutes, that you'll use to push through the foot plates. 'This means higher energy demand (calorie burn) and increased oxygen use (aerobic capacity), even at moderate intensity,' she says. Plus, it's low impact on your joints, so you can train without the joint strain. However, the rower is a bit more technical than other forms of cardio, Reno-Parolini says. 'Without proper form, it's easy to get discouraged or miss out on the benefits.' Because of this, it might be worth it to work with the coach for a few sessions to ensure you have the form down before adding the rower into your regular routine. There's positives to both the treadmill and the rower, but deciding which is best for you will largely depend on what your goals are in the gym. Fat loss is, at its simplest, about calories in versus calories out—if you're consuming less than you're burning, your body will use extra fat as fuel. The rower requires more output from your body because you're using more muscles of your upper body to power the machine, Reno-Parolini says. So, theoretically, you'll burn more calories in a shorter amount of time on the rower than the treadmill, assuming equal intensity levels. However, the best cardio machine for weight loss is really the one you're going to use most often, Coviello says. You might burn more calories on the rower, but if you absolutely hate using it and thus skip out on cardio day whenever it comes around, you're better off using the treadmill. Of course, the quickest way to build strength is to strength train. But, that doesn't mean that your cardio routine can't help you get stronger. You'll gain some strength through your glutes and quads when you use a hefty incline on the treadmill, Coviello says. But, you're going to gain a bit more strength through the whole body on the rower, because the machine places more resistance on you (either through wind or water resistance, based on the type of machine you're using). Both machines will help improve your cardiovascular health, Carpenter says—what really matters is how, and how often, you use it. You can utilize a lower intensity, think 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate, to go for what is known as zone 2 cardio. This type of cardio can increase the amount of mitochondria in your muscle cells (the part of your cell that provides the fuel your muscles need to contract)—improving your performance and energy. More intense cardio (think 80 percent of your maximum heart rate or more), strengthens your heart's muscles, improving its ability to pump blood throughout the body. Factor in at least 150 minutes of low intensity cardio, or 75 minutes of high intensity cardio per week to reap all these benefits, according to the American Heart Association. If you've never used these machines before, or are just looking for a new way to challenge yourself on your favorite machine, our trainers provided some useful first time workouts that you can factor into your cardio days, below. You can get both your high intensity and steady state cardio in on the rower. If you're looking for a quick and dirty sweat, try incorporating intervals into your workout, Reno-Parolini says. Try rowing at full effort for 30 seconds on, and then resting for 30 seconds for 5 rounds. Interval training is great for 'building power and improving your anaerobic threshold,' she says. Make it more challenging by increasing the amount of rounds or length of time you spend sprinting. If you'd rather take the zone 2 approach, try to maintain a slow to medium pace for five to 10 minutes. You can increase that amount as your body adapts and you feel like you can handle more. You can also use the treadmill for short bursts of high intensity, Carpenter says. Use distance or time to set your interval. Try running fast for 30 seconds, walking for 30 seconds for five rounds. As that gets easier, you can add more rounds or try to run faster. You can also use the treadmill for some of that steady state cardio. Find a nice medium pace you can maintain for five to 10 minutes, and increase time as you adapt. 'This is when you can pop in some music or a podcast and zone out,' she says. Learn all its functions. Make your equipment work for you by familiarizing yourself with its abilities. For example, many treadmills nowadays can program incline or speed increases so you're not hitting the 'up' arrow a bunch of times when doing intervals, Coviello says. Some also have pre-programmed hill and interval workouts that can be extremely useful. Ask a trainer at your gym to give you a little crash course to learn more about the specific machine you're using. Get a coach. A little guidance never hurt anyone—especially when it comes to the rower. Row technique is difficult to master, so it might be worth grabbing a trainer to help you get a feel for the movement. 'A good coach can help you learn faster, stay injury-free, and unlock the full value of the machine,' Reno-Parolini says. Start slow. 'You want to, of course, not start off doing too much too soon,' Carpenter says. You run the risk of causing overuse injuries if you do. 'It's better to start off with shorter, less intense sessions and let your body adapt over time as you make the sessions harder.' Mix it up. Best part about cardio? You don't have to just pick one outlet. 'If you're trying to optimize your health and stay well-rounded with your fitness, it's not a bad idea to engage in multiple forms of cardio to cross-train,' Carpenter says. 'So even if you may primarily use the treadmill, maybe add in a [row] session every now and then - and vice versa!' You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
This Type Of Workout Builds Muscle And Burns Fat In Less Time, New Study Shows
Think you always need long, slow strength sessions to build strength and burn fat? Think again. New research suggests that high-intensity circuit training—workouts that pack multiple strength moves into shorter sessions with less rest time—can deliver similar gains in strength, muscle, and fat loss as traditional weight training. Led by Sohee Carpenter (a Women's Health cover star!), PhDc, CSCS, the new study offers useful takeaways for anyone short on time or craving variety in their routine. Here's what the research uncovered, and what a trainer wants you to know before switching things up. Meet the expert: Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab The study, which was published in the European Journal of Sport Science, followed 14 active women in their 20s and 30s as they either did high-intensity circuit training or traditional strength training three days a week for eight weeks. Both groups performed the same six exercises: leg press, dumbbell bench press, trap bar deadlift, lat pulldown, hip thrust, and standing dumbbell shoulder press. But the high-intensity circuit training group performed the first three exercises in a time-based circuit fashion with minimal rest, followed by five minutes of rest before doing the same thing with the last three exercises. The strength training group did the same six moves—but did one exercise at a time in order and rested for three minutes between sets. Both groups did three sets of eight to 15 reps, pushing their sets close to muscle failure. (That piece is key!) The researchers took various body measurements before and after the study intervention and found that both groups increased their three-repetition maximum (a common measure of muscular strength, looking at the maximum weight a person can lift for three reps with proper form). Both groups also lost similar amounts of body fat and gained comparable lean body mass (muscle). 'Both high-intensity circuit training and traditional strength training are similarly effective for increasing strength and lean body mass and decreasing body fat percentage in trained women,' the researchers concluded. 'Those interested in maximizing time efficiency may prefer high intensity circuit training, as these sessions took much less time to complete.' In an Instagram video breaking down her findings, Carpenter said: 'Many of us have been taught that circuit training is not nearly as effective for strength and body composition, yet we did not find that to be the case.' The researchers stressed in the study that both groups pushed themselves to 'near-muscular failure.' But what does that mean exactly? You get to the point in your reps where you're close to not being able to do another rep with the proper form, explains Albert Matheny, RD, CSCS, co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab, who was not affiliated with the study. 'The reason you have to push your muscles this way is because you have to create an adaptation,' he says. 'It only occurs if you push beyond a certain point. Pushing near your max is telling your body it needs to adapt and to get stronger and more efficient.' You'll usually feel a tight or burning feeling in your muscles when this happens, along with trouble moving at the same rate or with the same amount of strength, Matheny explains. You actually don't need to (and shouldn't necessarily) choose between the two. As the study found, both can lead to similar results. But, if you're looking to speed up your gym sessions, keeping the time period short between sets can cause you to get the same muscle gains as if you were to chill out for a bit between them. That being said, Matheny would still recommend 'aiming for a mix.' Why? To allow for plenty of recovery time on higher intensity days, to maintain variety in your routine, and to reap allllll the health benefits of both styles. 'You can't do the fast moves all the time," he notes. But if you have only been doing traditional, slower-paced strength training, you can also benefit from high-intensity interval training (HIIT), he adds. "It can be very time efficient, and a good next step if you've already been doing strength training.' You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals
