RowingRelated

Updated 2026 — with links to our full Rowing Machine Reviews . The rowing machine (or ergometer) has evolved significantly over decades, but its core purpose remains unchanged: bringing the comprehensive full-body training experience from water to land. Today, with immersive workout experiences available through streaming platforms and integrated displays, the gap between indoor rowing and on-water training has narrowed substantially. Of course, it's never going to be a 1:1 feeling from the dock to the boat, and rowers (typically with not-great ergs) are apt to point out that "ergs don't float." But the value of rowing machines for fitness enthusiasts, athletes, and beginners alike is undeniable. Table of Contents: Essential Rowing Machine Benefits Lesser-Known Rowing Machine Benefits How to Incorporate Rowing Into Your Fitness Routine Best Rowing Machines for Home Use (2026) Rowing Machine Workouts by Fitness Level Frequently Asked Ques...

The American Club Rowing Experience (Photo: Lauren Schumer) The following is the first in a new series on the experience of post-collegiate club rowing in the United States, one of the more under-appreciated—and yet perhaps the most historically significant—forms of American rowing. The series will examine a number of different factors, from balancing 'real life' with a rowing career, to building intra-club and inter-club culture, to preparing for international competition—that is, Henley Royal Regatta . Below is the first installment, thanks to Peter Clements of Potomac Boat Club in Washington, D.C. Welcome to the Club: A Modern Club Rower's Manifesto Erging became cool at some point between June 2nd, 2015 and March 2nd, 2016. Between Colin McCabe’s 5:39.4 making it to YouTube , and the creation of the (ironic..... or is it?) Fat Ergos Instagram . That has had an effect on masters rowing as well. For example: Maybe you were rowing at a nominally ...

JDS in his element (Photo © Tristan Shipsides) Before he decided to pursue a world record off the water, Australian Josh Dunkley-Smith had already earned two Olympic silver medals in one of the slickest crews to grace the rowing course, the Australian men's four—really, an institution in our sport. It's not as though he didn't know he had an engine, but, as he says below, it wasn't until recently that the pursuit of his own physical limits made the idea of a new 2k world record seem within reach. And recently, that potential came to fruition. 1. With two Olympic medals already to your name, it would be easy to say that you had nothing to prove—what was it that drove you to want to break this record? JDS: "The fact that it was held by a Kiwi. [Laughs] Nah, I think mainly just the self improvement aspect really—challenging yourself and seeing how far you can really push things. You follow that all the way through, and I was lucky enough that I sort of found...

Princeton heavyweights on training camp (Photo: Princeton Rowing/Facebook ) This week's featured video post comes to us thanks to former Princeton lightweight head coach, and current Tiger heavyweight head coach Greg Hughes . It's a short but illustrative clip of the Italian lightweight men's eight from the 1980s—a formidable crew that won every world championship title from 1985-1991. "I watched that video hundreds and hundreds of times. I still share it with my team." The length, control, and run per stroke are remarkable with this crew. "This was the first rowing video I ever watched back in the late '80s when I was learning to row and I somehow got a VHS copy of this," Hughes says. "I watched that video hundreds and hundreds of times. I still share it with my team." And, speaking of the Princeton lightweights, they've just released a new winter training video that's pretty strong—or, as the kids say these days, ...

Painfully played-out: Why are we constantly harping on the negative? It seems like every few months, there is a new article or video published about how difficult rowing is. We're treated to another round of metaphors about abysses of pain, and needles being driven into legs, etc., etc., and for what? This isn't the first time we've discussed the topic here on RR, and it likely won’t be the last. And that's because 'rowing is pain' stories are not good for the sport. Here's why. 1. It's counterproductive Talking about how what you're doing is very hard in no way helps you achieve your goal, and in fact limits your ability to succeed. Acknowledging the realities of a situation is different from focusing on its difficulty. Focusing on the negative only serves to distract you from what’s important, rather than help you or those around you excel. This much seems self-evident. 2. It's self-indulgent Part of the reason that the rowing commun...

The Aussie men's four on the water (Screen capture) This week's featured rowing video comes to us from Down Under, where the very quick Australian men's four is putting in the miles for Rio.

Indoor rowing, the Internet, and the future of our sport (Photo: E. Dronkert/Flickr ) Op-Ed: The discussion about publicly sharing erg scores and test data has been taking off in the rowing world. So, what does it all mean for the future of our sport?

UVa men's squad training on Rivanna Reservoir (Photo courtesy of Frank Biller) The second post in our second season of #BestRowingDrills takes a closer look at determining, and improving, effective stroke length on land, and on the water.

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning training on the ergo (Screen capture) This week's featured video comes to us from the ergo dungeon at Caversham, and takes a look at what the machine means to the rowers and coaches on the British national team.

Crate Digging with #RowingRelated It's that time of year again. That's right, it's time to kick the erg tires and light the indoor rowing fires, and we think these tunes might just help you accomplish both of those things.

It's that time of year again (Photo by Eigenberg Fotografie/Flickr ) Given that we cover a water sport, it has been an impressive year on dry land.

C2 monitor from OUBC test, via  @OUBCsquad (Screen capture) The answer, it would appear, is yes. (And we should have seen this coming.)

The issues facing refugees across Europe are staggering. Political unrest and war have driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, seeking safety for themselves and for their families. That's why this small group of student rowers at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany is trying to make a big difference.

The above video documents a little of the University of Victoria's winter training, in preparation for the Brown Cup and the spring racing season in 2015. Below, we offer you an official press release from the University of British Columbia , in preparation for this weekend's competition (including preliminary rosters for the UBC men and women), renewing the rivalry with UVic for the 24th time. The UBC and UVic women raced to a very close finish at Crew Classic last weekend, placing third and fifth, respectively, but separated by only 1.6 seconds. What will this weekend hold?

The calm before the storm at Agganis Arena, Boston (Photo: A. Gutierrez) While the there was no shortage of drama in the men's open final at the 2015 Crash-B Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championship, the deepest field, and most impressive performances overall, came from the junior women. I hesitate to say junior, because, as has seemingly become the norm at Crash-Bs, there was nothing 'junior' about these performances. And while there was one result that absolutely topped them all—the phenomenal 6:30.2 from Greece's Sophia Asoumanaki  (roughly 13 seconds faster than open women's champion  Kaisa Pajusalu of Estonia, who won Crash-Bs for the third time on Sunday)—the field was the deepest in Boston as well, with no fewer than seven women under seven minutes. (Not that we need to let any NCAA recruiters know that stat.)

Best of RR, 2014 Edition We're mere minutes away from the beginning of a new year, and we can't wait to find out what the 2015 rowing season holds. However, there's never a better time to look back on the previous 12 months than New Year's Eve, and that's just what we're up to this evening. And so, without further ado, here are our top 10 posts (according to you) from 2014. 1. Stop Seat Racing: The Future of Crew Selection Virginia Men's Rowing head coach Frank Biller's take on how best to select your crew, given the increasing level of data available to coaches and athletes. 2. Head of the Charles Banter: Can We Talk about how Badass This Year's 'Great Eights' Are? Apparently, we weren't the only ones excited about the increased number (and level of badassedness) of the men's and women's Great Eights at the Head of the Charles in 2014. 3. So, are Naked Rowing Calendars a Thing Now? If the level of success that this p...

Remember when cassette tapes weren't just iPhone cases? After how much you said you liked year's fall rowing erg(o) mixtape , well, we felt like maybe we should make it a tradition—not that we're getting too serious or anything. It's on the electronic side, but it's also got a little dose of hip hop, and a mix of rhythm and bass that ought to get you through a long session of intervals, a 30-minute test, or just your everyday 10k (the playlist clocks in at approximately 45 mins). And, like we said last year, while we can discuss the problems and benefits of having music during training (having trained with coaches on both sides of that fence), we hope you enjoy it, and use it (or not) as you see fit. -RR

If you were in Boston over the weekend, you enjoyed quite a show. The 2014 Crash-B Sprints featured one of the deepest men's open fields in recent memory in terms of raw power, and there were equally impressive performances on the women's side.

As 2013 draws to a close, the records continue to fall as the best rowers in the world push themselves to new heights. If there were any remaining questions about whether or not Eric Murray's 60-minute record, set on a dynamic erg in December of 2011 , meant something, then those questions have officially been put to rest.  In the above video, posted yesterday to the Kiwi Pair's YouTube Channel , Eric Murray set a new world record for the half marathon distance (21,097 meters) on a stationary erg, with a time of 1:07:58.1. The split? 1:36.6. Not to be outdone, his pair partner, Hamish Bond , also cranked out a new world record on the stationary erg, this time for a 60-minute piece, with a 1:37.5—a split that Bond (at 6'2" and roughly 200 lbs) maintained at a rate of 26 strokes per minute. Pumped out a Half Marathon/21097m test on the @concept2 this morning. Set a World Record in the progress ;) pic.twitter.com/iwFHaZTStX — KIWIPAIR (@kiwipair) December 23, 2013 ...

The records have already started to fall early in this 2013-2014 indoor rowing season. Just a few weeks ago, California Rowing Club's Kate Bertko broke her own world record for 6k, recording a 21:45.3 having weighed in a 129.6 pounds  (smashing her previous record of 22:06.3 also set this year). And now, the 26-year-old Olympian  Roel Braas has continued to add to what has already been an outstanding year with a new Dutch record , posting a 5:43.7 after an all-out battle with the young  Stef Broenink (just 23 years of age), who finished close behind in 5:45.3.  Braas announced his candidacy for the podium at the world level with a victory over defending Olympic champion Mahé Drysdale at the 2013 Holland Beker , and backed up that performance with a fifth-place finish in Chungju in a hotly contested final, which saw all six scullers finish within 11 seconds of one another (Braas' time was roughly seven seconds short of world champion Ondrej Synek , and three sec...