"Rowing burns 10 percent to 12 percent more than running and 15 percent to 20 percent more than cycling." In rowing, you catch, accelerate, decelerate, and change direction twice each stroke. You are constantly overcoming inertia. So you are constantly overcoming inertia. So you burn a lot more energy than in an efficient gliding activity like skiing or cycling."  
—Fritz Hagerman, Ph.D., Professor, Ohio State University, Exercise Physiology

There are several reasons why rowing can be a very effective calorie-burning exercise.

Involvement of many muscle groups:
Rowing uses upper body, lower body and core muscle groups, thereby creating a large demand for calories. In addition, muscles continue to burn extra calories for a while after you finish exercising. The more muscles you use in your exercise, the more muscles will continue to burn these extra calories. Click on the image to the right to see which muscle groups are used while rowing.

Strength as well as cardiovascular exercise:
In addition to being a terrific cardiovascular exercise, rowing will also build your strength. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the better off you will be in terms of calorie-burning.

Smooth, impact-free exercise:
The smooth rhythmic nature of the rowing motion, and the lack of pounding and impact, make rowing the kind of exercise that you can do for the rest of your life. If you have old injuries, or joint problems, rowing is an excellent choice of exercise. You can also do longer workouts with rowing than with some other forms of exercise which are harder on the body. The longer you work out at any given level of exertion, the more calories you will burn.