Rowing machine workouts
From an all-out 500 m to half an hour of steady rowing. Every workout works in every world, and each comes with a short note on how to row it.
Races
A set distance against three pacers: one starts fast, one rows an even pace and one finishes strong. Your best row on each comes back as a ghost boat.
- 500 m sprintAll out, about a minute and a half.
- Get the boat moving with a few short, quick strokes, then lengthen out. Hold on through the middle and empty the tank over the last 150 m.
- 1,000 mHard start, hold on through the middle.
- Go out hard for the first 15 to 20 strokes, then settle to a pace you can hold. The third 250 m is where it hurts; lift for the last 250 m.
- 2,000 mThe classic test piece.
- The standard rowing test. Think of it as four 500 m: a quick start, two steady middle quarters as even as you can make them, and everything left for the last.
- 5,000 mLong, steady and honest.
- Pick a pace you could almost talk at and keep your splits even. Let the rate sit low, in the low twenties, and save a push for the final kilometre.
Against the clock
Row for a set time and see how far you get. These and the races have leaderboards, if you sign in and choose to join them.
- 10 minutesSee how far you get.
- A hard, steady effort. Start a touch slower than you think and build every few minutes.
- 20 minutesA solid aerobic row.
- Steady and controlled: a pace you could hold for longer. A good everyday piece.
- 30 minutesSettle in and find a rhythm.
- Long and easy enough to keep good technique all the way. Watch your stroke rate and keep it even.
Intervals
Hard pieces with rests between. During each rest, the screen counts down and shows how the last piece went and what comes next.
- 8 × 250 mShort sprints with 45 s rest.
- Fast and sharp. Keep the last four as quick as the first four rather than going out too hard.
- 5 × 500 mRace pace, 1:30 rest between.
- Aim for the pace you’d hold in a 2,000 m race, or a little faster, and make every 500 m the same.
- 4 × 4 minutesThreshold work, 2 min rest.
- Hard but controlled, about the pace you could hold for 20 to 30 minutes. The last piece should feel hard, not impossible.
- Pyramid250, 500, 750, 500 and 250 m with 1 min rest.
- Shorter pieces faster, the 750 m steadiest. Pace the way up so there’s something left for the way down.
- Rate ladder4 × 4 min at 18, 20, 22 and 24 strokes a minute.
- Each piece has a target stroke rate, shown as a zone on screen. Stay in it and let the extra rate, not harder pulling, make you faster.
No target
Just you and the water.
- Just rowNo target. Stop whenever you like.
- Warm up, cool down, or simply row. Stop whenever you like.
New to rowing? Start with Just row or 10 minutes to find a pace, then try the 2,000 m once you know it.