RowAlong - Indoor Rowing Workouts

Bedhead hair, Expedition EXR route in the background, and a 5K row with a 1K cool-down to follow.Today is one of those episodes where I don't have a plan, so I pick up the RowAlong story where I left it. I talk through how the channel started — a hand injury, then Covid, then a gap I spotted to offer something a bit calmer and more companionable than the shouty fitness content that was everywhere at the time. I cover how it went through a couple of name changes before landing on RowAlong, what those first lockdown summers looked like filming in the garden, and how throwing myself into Hyrox training from 2022 onwards was brilliant for my overall fitness but quietly let my 2K pace slide while I wasn't paying attention.There's also a bit on why matching my stroke rate won't give you my split, how heart rate varies wildly between people (and why mine sitting at 34 resting isn't a cause for alarm, apparently), what my honest current training situation looks like — 5K in 21:50 when I said I was going easy — and what I actually need to do to get back under seven minutes for the British Rowing Indoor Champs in December.Oh, and I might have won something on Premium Bonds. Could be £25, could be a million. We'll see.

52 resets a year. Here's one.Coming back from injury? Life got in the way? Kids took over? Just had an indulgent weekend? This is your reset.Easter weekend: 10 family members, farmhouse in Penrith, chocolate eggs everywhere, 7% dark ale. Park run Saturday (equaled PB), then zero training thoughts. Felt awful Sunday, couldn't sleep. Delayed filming until lunchtime because forcing it would've hurt more than helped.The reset philosophy: Plans are great, but they're not prison sentences. Don't let accountability systems become the tail that wags the dog. I lost my Duolingo streak after a year and stopped completely. People who won't run if they forgot their Strava watch. The accountability board tracks daily, weekly, AND total weeks so one missed day doesn't derail everything.Technique covered: Back of stroke sets up the next power phase. Handle bounces off chest using muscle tension, relaxes and drops, balloon imagery brings it back to neutral. Hands-sit-tilt-knees. First half of drive is legs only, arms straight, core braced.Reset whenever you need it. rowalong.com/joinPodcast link in bio.#rowing #reset #freshstart #comeback #accountability #rowalong

Friday morning, running late but feeling great. These Tuesday through Friday sessions are playlist-only, so if you're here, you know the drill.Over the past couple of months, people have been sending me videos of CrossFit athletes rowing 500 meters by sitting at the back of the machine doing bicep curls with the handle. Ian sent me another one yesterday, and I finally took the hint and tried it myself. On technique, I cover handle height and why sternum is the target, along with chain height and how that varies depending on your torso length. The key point is about fluid rhythm versus pausing at the back of the stroke. Your handle should always be moving, not stopping and holding at the finish.Gavin asked about healthy eating and avoiding snacking, which isn't really my area but I do have a nutrition certification. The basics are protein-heavy snacks keep you fuller longer, portion control matters more than food quality sometimes, variety in your diet is important, and hunger is often thirst in disguise. Drink water first, wait ten minutes, then decide if you still need that snack.I spend some time talking about the RowAlong Accountability Board and how it's meant to be motivating, not demotivating. The danger with streak systems is what happened to me with Duolingo and Wordle: built up a massive streak, lost it, then stopped completely. I don't want that to happen here. The board has daily streaks, weekly streaks, and total weeks completed, so you're always building toward something even if life gets in the way.

Thursday morning on the erg, properly frosty outside for April 2nd. These Tuesday through Friday sessions are just for playlist subscribers, so if you're here, you know the drill.Peter and a few others have been asking how to actually quantify low intensity training. I talk about keeping these rows easy, but what does that mean in practical terms? Today I cover different ways to gauge your intensity: RPE, heart rate zones, 2K pace training, FTP zones, and lactate threshold measurements. They're all slightly different frameworks, but they're all trying to describe the same thing.On the technique side, yesterday's leg session has really activated my lats today, which led to talking about posterior chain engagement and keeping arms straight with forward tilt. The recovery sequence is arms, tilt, knees - getting your body positioned before you bend your knees.I've been mentoring Lester, a PR3 adaptive rower with Parkinson's who's attempting world and British records. His main issue was aiming the handle down at the front then opening his shoulders too early. Simple fix, but it'll squeeze more pace out.Yesterday's training was treadmill hill sprints because of the rain (1 minute at 13.5K, inclines of 4, 5, and 6), then leg weights at night: squats, deadlifts, lunges, calf raises, leg presses.My goals are straightforward: British Rowing Indoor Champs in December. That's eight months to improve my 2K time, get back to lightweight (currently 77.8kg, need to be under 75kg), and work on the mental side of racing. Not just physical training but also being comfortable at that intensity again after the hand injury knocked my racing mindset sideways during COVID.RowAlong Accountability Tracker:rowalong.com/joinSUPPORT:☕ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rowalong🔔 https://www.youtube.com/@rowalong?sub_confirmation=1🔴 DISCLAIMER 🔴Consult your healthcare provider before starting any fitness program. Participation is at your own risk.#rowing #lowintensitytraining #zone2training #rowingtechnique #posteriorchain #2ktraining #britishrowingchamps #adaptiveroweir #pr3rowing #rowalong #concept2 #indoorrowing

Too much coffee this morning. Hat on the head. April 1st, but no fooling.Someone asked yesterday: "How do I get faster? I want to do 10x500m at 1:55 pace but I'm at 215." Here's the answer nobody wants to hear — you get fast by working on it. You can't just sit down and decide to be an Olympian. You need technique, power generation, base fitness, and the ability to hold that fast pace through anaerobic tolerance.And here's the thing about these daily easy rows: they're building massive base aerobic fitness. Low intensity, not pushing pace, but consistent. That's the foundation everything else sits on. Want to go faster in intervals? Build your base first.Today's technique deep-dive: recovery rhythm. I'm not someone who says pause at the back. The handle should always be moving. But watch the rhythm — I'm not throwing it away from me, not lurching my body weight. Arms relax, sit up, tilt forwards, smooth. If you were on a boat, you wouldn't fight that last moment of acceleration from the drive. You'd be fluid.Recovery doesn't matter for the power you just put in. What it does is set you up to hit the catch consistently for every stroke. Relaxed, fluid movement to the front is efficient and mechanically safe.Into the front: arms straight, push the machine away with your feet. Hold that forward tilt for three quarters of the stroke. Only at the back do you finally pull to finish. It's not about thinking "pull" — push harder with your legs, you go faster. Legs are bigger, more powerful, fitter than arms.Also: RowAlong leaderboard launched at rowalong.com/join. Register with username and location, get your unique link, tap it after workouts. No email, no password. Just accountability. Save that link properly — bookmark it, don't rely on Facebook browser.Hill sprints at lunchtime today. 5K in 21 minutes this morning, then 1K cooldown. Whatever your body wants to do — that's how you row.

Back on the Concept2 this morning. Smooth, fluid, Rolls Royce. After a couple days on the Merach, the difference is instant — your body remembers what rowing feels like, and this machine just glides.But today's really about technique. Spent my lunch yesterday watching a Decent Rowing video on catch connection, and it clicked something loose. Shoulder elongation — not arm length, shoulder reach. You're hanging off the tendons and muscles, getting an extra couple of inches before you even think about pulling. Your knees open slightly into your armpits, staying inside the box your arms create. You wouldn't squat with your knees together. Same principle here.And here's the thing: your leg drive controls everything. Not your arms. Not your back swing. Your legs. Push harder with your legs, you go faster. It's that simple, and that efficient. I spent half this row talking through the mechanics because once you feel that floating sensation as you drive away from the front — that braced, connected feeling all the way to the finish — it changes how you row.Also: big news. Launched the RowAlong leaderboard at rowalong.com/join. Enter your name, get a unique link, tap it after each workout. Tracks your streak, your totals, your five-day weeks. No email, no password, just accountability. 40 people signed up already. Day two of building this thing, still refining it, but the idea's simple — same reason I make these videos every morning. Accountability keeps you showing up.Interestingly, I'd left EXR's pace calculation to EXR Split, rather than Rower Data. So if you pay attention to the distance I'm at on EXR when I say I've completed 5000m and 6000m - you'll see that EXR has me a little slower. A video is coming, to explain what's happening there.6K total today (5K + 1K tagged on), 21 minutes for the 5K. Low intensity because I've got more training later. Whatever your body wants to do today — that's how you row. Stretches included. See you tomorrow.

A 25-minute low intensity rowing workout to start your week — no performance targets, no pressure, just consistent easy effort that actually builds fitness. Zone 2 rowing at around 60–70% of your max heart rate is one of the most effective things you can do five days a week, and today I make the case for why, backed by what happened at parkrun on Saturday.Today's session is on the Merach R50 — a budget-friendly alternative to the Concept2, and something I give an honest, warts-and-all assessment of during the stretches. If you're curious about whether it's worth buying, I've got a full review linked below and a 15% discount code for UK and EU shoppers.There's also a thread running through the row about pacing under pressure — drawn from my 1K world record training, Saturday's parkrun PB (a 17-second improvement), and what happens mentally when the data tells you you're going faster than you've ever gone before. Do you trust it, or do you slow down?Merach R50 rowing machine:👀 Full review: https://youtu.be/3629bcR_AQA🇬🇧 UK: https://uk.merachfit.com/?ref=JOHNSTEVENTON — 15% off with code JOHN15🇪🇺 EU: https://merachfit.eu/?ref=JOHNSTEVENTON — 15% off with code JOHN15(Discount code not available on the US site, sorry!)Please consult your doctor or healthcare professional before beginning any new exercise programme, particularly if you have any existing health conditions or injuries. Listen to your body and work at a pace that's right for you.

It's Friday — last one of the week for me, whenever you happen to be watching this. Today I'm rowing the whole session with my feet out of the straps, which is a lot more revealing than it sounds. We get into why strapless rowing is such a useful technique tool, what it actually forces your body to do, and what it exposes when your stroke has gremlins hiding in it.There's a proper technique thread running through the row today — sequencing legs and back, why doing both at once is less efficient than you'd think, how to use these low-intensity sessions to hardwire good habits so they show up automatically when you're going flat out.And then there's the story. Today the backstory arc arrives at the moment RowAlong actually became RowAlong — the name, the team, and a pattern I've started to notice about myself and the friendships that come and go around the chapters of my life. It's an honest one.Finishing up with a full stretch routine and a heads-up: I'm live on the EXR app Sunday morning at 9am GMT — remember the clocks change.Please consult your doctor or healthcare professional before beginning any new exercise programme, particularly if you have any existing health conditions or injuries. Listen to your body and work at a pace that's right for you.