Rowing on the reformer: arm work that fixes your posture
If your shoulders spend the day rounded over a screen, the rowing series is the exercise family your upper back has been waiting for.
What it is
Sitting tall on the carriage, you hold a strap in each hand, springs behind you. From there the rowing series moves through a set of pulling and pressing shapes: drawing the elbows back, opening the arms wide, pressing forward and sweeping overhead. Each movement pulls against the springs, and, as always on the machine, resists them home again.
Why posture lives here
Modern life trains the front of the body relentlessly: everything we do happens forwards, hunched slightly over something. The muscles between the shoulder blades, the ones that hold you open and upright, mostly just come along for the ride. Rowing puts them in charge. Weeks of it change how you sit and stand without you thinking about it, which is why upper-back work is behind so many of the posture changes people notice first.
What it works
- Upper back and rear shoulders, the anti-slouch muscles.
- Arms, biceps and triceps both, through pull and press.
- A tall, working core: sitting unsupported while springs pull at you is core training in disguise.
Scaling it
Lighter springs are the beginner setting here, and progress adds spring, range and tempo. The elegant part is how visible progress feels: the first week you wobble; a month later you sit like royalty with springs trying to fold you and failing. Coaches also use rowing to balance students who press all week, in the gym or at a desk, with the pulling their bodies are missing.
Common mistakes
- Shrugging. Shoulders stay away from the ears; the blades slide, they do not lift.
- Leading with the hands. The movement starts between the shoulder blades and travels outward.
- Collapsing the waist. Tall spine first; if sitting tall is the hardest part, that is information.
Undo the desk
The rowing series is a fixture in classes at Casa Reformer, opening at Calle Angustias 28 in Nerja after the summer of 2026. Founding members book first, rounded shoulders especially welcome.
Be first through the door
Free to join, no strings attached. Just first access, opening offers and every update on the way to opening day.