Workout #5 in the Time to Sleigh series: Five Sprinty Minutes. Five 1-minute maximum effort sprints with 2 minutes complete rest between each one. Five minutes of pure speed!

This session includes a 5-minute warmup, but if you need more time to prepare, take it — these are HIGH intensity efforts.

🔔 WHAT YOU'LL DO:

✅ 5 minutes warmup (easy rowing, building intensity)

✅ 1 minute MAX SPRINT

✅ 2 minutes rest (complete recovery)

✅ 1 minute MAX SPRINT

✅ 2 minutes rest

✅ 1 minute MAX SPRINT

✅ 2 minutes rest

✅ 1 minute MAX SPRINT

✅ 2 minutes rest

✅ 1 minute MAX SPRINT

✅ 2 minute Cooldown

✅ Stretching (Optional)

The generous 2-minute rest periods ensure you can maintain quality across all five sprints. Each 1-minute effort should be ALL OUT — maximum power, maximum intensity, everything you've got.

Track your metres per sprint and AIM for consistency, even if you can't manage it. This builds explosive anaerobic power and VO2 max capacity.

This is Workout 5 of 12. Five minutes of pure speed! #RowingWorkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #SprintTraining #HIITRowing #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing

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Workout #4 in the Time to Sleigh series: Four Switching Sixes. Four low intensity, easy 6-minute blocks alternating between 18 strokes per minute and 20 strokes per minute.

Continuous rowing with no rest — 24 minutes of controlled power at two different stroke rates.

🎅 WHAT YOU'LL DO:

✅ 6 minutes @ 18spm (maximum power per stroke)

✅ 6 minutes @ 20spm (slightly faster turnover)

✅ 6 minutes @ 18spm (maximum power per stroke)

✅ 6 minutes @ 20spm (slightly faster turnover)

✅ Total: 24 minutes continuous

The 18spm blocks are about control — longer recovery between strokes means you can work on your rhythm and positions. The 20spm blocks increase turnover while maintaining strong force.

This is Workout 4 of 12. Warmup and cooldown separately.

Four sixes, two rates, one continuous effort!

#rowingworkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #PowerControl #RateSwitching #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing

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Workout #3 in the Time to Sleigh series: Three TABATAS. Three rounds of classic TABATA protocol. This is HIIT at its most effective. 🎁

Each round consists of 8 intervals of 20 seconds maximum effort followed by 10 seconds rest, with 2 minutes recovery between rounds.

🎁 WHAT YOU'LL DO:

✅ Round 1: 8 x (20sec MAX / 10sec rest)

✅ 2 minutes recovery

✅ Round 2: 8 x (20sec MAX / 10sec rest)

✅ 2 minutes recovery

✅ Round 3: 8 x (20sec MAX / 10sec rest)

✅ Total: 12 minutes of work Each 20-second sprint should be ALL OUT — maximum power, maximum intensity.

The 10-second rest is barely enough to catch your breath before the next effort. The TABATA protocol is scientifically proven to build both aerobic and anaerobic capacity simultaneously. By round three, maintaining that intensity becomes a mental battle.

This is Workout 3 of 12. Warmup and cooldown separately. Three TABATAs, three times the burn!

#RowingWorkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #TABATA #HIITRowing #IntervalTraining #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing

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Workout #2 in the Time to Sleigh Rowing Workouts series: Two Easy Twelves.

Two 12-minute blocks at 20 strokes per minute, both at low intensity (5/10 RPE). This is active recovery and aerobic base building — intentionally easy rowing positioned between yesterday's time trial and tomorrow's intense session.

🎄 WHAT YOU'LL DO:

✅ 12 minutes @ 20spm (Low Intensity - 5/10 RPE / conversational pace)

✅ 1 minute rest (grab a drink, reset)

✅ 12 minutes @ 20spm (Low Intensity - 5/10 RPE / conversational pace)

✅ Total: 24 minutes of steady work

This should feel EASY — you could hold a conversation at this pace. Focus on smooth, controlled strokes with good technique. Don't push the pace. The goal is to accumulate time on the erg while giving your body a chance to recover from yesterday's maximum effort. Your legs might feel heavy initially — that's normal. Just keep the rhythm steady and let the aerobic work happen naturally.

This is Workout 2 of 12. Warmup and cooldown separately. Two steady blocks, smart recovery!

#RowingWorkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #SteadyState #ActiveRecovery #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing"

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Welcome to Time to Sleigh — a 12-workout Christmas rowing series!

Workout #1: One Rate Capped Time Trial sets your power benchmark for the series. After a 4-minute warm-up, you'll complete 4 minutes at 20 strokes per minute with MAXIMUM POWER on every stroke. This isn't steady state — this is controlled mince pie burning...

🎅 WHAT YOU'LL DO:

✅ 4 minutes warm-up (easy rowing, building intensity)

✅ 4 minutes @ 20spm (MAXIMUM POWER - all out effort)

✅ Total: 8 minutes

⚠️ IMPORTANT WARMUP ADVICE: This is a high-intensity time trial. I strongly recommend doing one of my "5K Every Day" videos first to properly warm up your body before attempting this maximum effort. Your muscles need to be warm and ready before unleashing full power. Keep your stroke rate locked at 20spm — watch your monitor. Focus on explosive leg drive, strong back engagement, and powerful finishes.

This is about watts per stroke, not speed. Set your benchmark — you'll see how your power develops throughout the series. This is Workout 1 of 12 in the Time to Sleigh series. Cooldown separately after completing. Let's sleigh this festive season! #RowingWorkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #TimeTrial #PowerTest #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing #ChristmasWorkout

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Christmas Eve brings us to Episode 11

What to Expect This Episode: A reflective Christmas Eve conversation about finding your niche, maintaining personal touch, and whether bigger is always better. After 11 episodes, we've settled into about 500 regular viewers, and honestly? I love that I can reply to YouTube comments and Facebook posts from the same people every day. Would I want to be 10x bigger if it meant losing that? Not sure.

Today's Topics:

• ErgData Real Time Loop: social rowing feature, free app, Concept2 only (requires PM5)
• Concept2 Holiday Challenge: aiming for ~150k meters (Steve hit 550k!)
• Channel growth thoughts: pasty Scotsman vs energized guys
• The personal touch: daily messages from Mike, Peter, and the regulars
• Quick technique: handle away, up tilt, bend knees, push with feet
• Body check: heel still hurting, tried running - got 5 steps in and noped out
• Amsterdam Hyrox race in doubt if heel doesn't improve
• Christmas Eve prep work: cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes (the secret!), carrots, broccoli
• Why you should parboil and pre-roast potatoes the day before
• Recording Time to Sleigh episode 3 later today
• Training schedule: morning 5K + afternoon Time to Slay + bike/ski + evening weights (if time)
• Natural pace improvement: 208-210 down to 201-205 over 11 workouts
• Same perceived exertion, just more efficient through consistency

The Consistency Effect: This episode demonstrates the power of just showing up. My pace has naturally improved by 4-5 seconds per 500m over 11 workouts without trying harder - just from 5K daily building muscle flow, rhythm, and efficiency. When I concentrate on timing at the catch, it drops even more to 201-202. Simple repetition works.

Christmas plans: Attempting to row on Christmas Day too, but depends on the kids demanding present opening!

Stats: 20 strokes/min, 201 pace finish - proof that consistency beats intensity for sustainable improvement.

Perfect for: Anyone questioning whether small consistent efforts matter, people maintaining routines through holidays, or those who value community over massive growth.

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Christmas Eve Eve brings us to Episode 10, rowing on the stunning ImmersUrow app along the Tideway course. This episode gets real about body composition, aesthetic goals, and why vanity is actually a perfectly valid motivator - as long as you're taking healthy steps to change what you see in the mirror.

What to Expect This Episode: A surprisingly honest conversation about struggling to bulk at 178cm/79kg, why middle-aged men store fat at their sides, and how yesterday's training stack (morning 5K + Time to Slay recording + 34min bike at 400w average + 10min ski erg + first weights session in 2 weeks) is all about trying to burn calories and tidy up aesthetically.

Today's Topics:

• ImmersUrow app: Beautiful graphics, completely different engine, full review coming
• Barefoot shoes for 100m challenge - does foam rob you of watts?
• The different ways people use these workouts: wake-up exercise, cardio between sets, Hyrox warm-up
• Shoe choice: comfort matters more than watts unless you're at performance limits
• Butt scoot prevention: timing at the catch
• Yesterday's training: 5K + Time to Slay + bike + ski erg + evening weights
• First resistance training in 2 weeks since Hyrox race
• Body composition reality: 178cm, 79kg, can't bulk without gaining fat
• Vanity as motivator: came back from Spain in July 4kg too heavy
• Stopped snacking, stopped alcohol, lots of cardio/resistance/walking
• Live posture demonstration: Rolled back vs sit-up-and-tilt-forward
• How proper posture made me 34 seconds per 500m faster with NO extra effort
• Why power goes through posterior chain vs lower back
• Heel lift difference with poor vs good posture
• Concept2 Holiday Challenge: ~140k meters, won't hit 200k but earned charity dollar

The Technical Revelation: The end of this episode features a live demonstration you can hear in my voice - rowing rolled back vs sitting up and tilting forward. Same effort, dramatically different pace (245 split vs faster). This is pure technique efficiency showing why posture matters more than shoe choice. Check out the YouTube video of today's episode to see this in action.

Christmas plans: Might row on Christmas Day if the kids don't demand present opening immediately!

Perfect for: Anyone struggling with body composition, people who think vanity isn't a valid reason to exercise, or anyone who wants to understand why sitting up and tilting forward makes such a massive difference.

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December 22nd brings us into week 2 of the series, and I'm still digesting last night's feast. If you don't know what a Kilmarnock pie is, imagine a small bowl made of thick pastry filled with delicious tangy minced meat - now imagine eating that plus cauliflower cheese, sweet potato mash, and a full selection of Christmas baking. I'm basically still full.

What to Expect This Episode: A Monday morning conversation about holiday gluttony, returning to proper training after a week of taking it easy, and a surprisingly detailed technique discussion about wrist position at the finish. Plus the revelation that every time Julie and I watch "The Intern" with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, we feel a bit sick from the memory of that one Indian takeaway banquet.

Today's Topics:

• The Interns movie = our shorthand for eating too much
• Last night's feast: kili pie, cauliflower cheese, sweet potato mash, Tiffin, Muppets Christmas Carol
• Still getting over the cold - ready to ramp up training this week
• Week ahead: morning 5Ks + afternoon weights + evening cardio + recording Time to Slay series
• Hyrox Amsterdam race January 23rd (only 4.5 weeks away!)
• Still not running due to heel problem
• Trying to upload consistently: daily 5K + daily shorts
• 100m-in-3-strokes challenge: trying different techniques (hands closer together?)
• The vanilla ice cream vs chocolate / beer vs Guinness analogy for trying new things
• Detailed technique: wrist position, elbow placement, avoiding the wrist flick
• Cameron Buchanan's wrist flick despite being a proper rower
• Why efficiency matters more than speed
• Sunday's EXR group row was on RowAlong Live channel (not this one)

The Technical Deep Dive: This episode gets specific about hand and wrist position at the finish. That little wrist flick some rowers do (especially on-water rowers) robs you of power in the last few inches of the stroke. Elbows should have a slight outward flare (not chicken wings) to keep wrists flat and maintain power transfer.

Stats: 20 strokes/min, 138bpm average heart rate (bit high for zone 2), 204.1 pace - warming up nicely for another 100m challenge attempt!

Perfect for: Anyone recovering from holiday eating, returning to training after time off, or anyone who's been told their wrist position needs work but doesn't understand why.

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December 19th wraps up the week with a Friday morning row in new shoes (well, different shoes - Saucony, which I've apparently been mispronouncing for years). First time I've strapped in all week, and I immediately regret it because these running shoes are too wide for the heel cup.

What to Expect This Episode: A surprisingly wide-ranging conversation that touches on everything from footwear choices to the harsh reality that diet matters more than exercise for weight loss. I'm working through creating the Premium 2K plan, which means watching 27 of my old workout videos and realizing I talk about the same technique points over and over in slightly different ways.

Today's Topics:

• Shoe comfort: Why these Saucony shoes don't work for rowing
• Best rowing shoes: Converse Chuck Taylors with flat soles
• The cushioning myth: losing half a watt to foam compression doesn't matter
• Technique focus: Sit bones, up-and-tilt, arms-tilt-knees sequencing
• Creating the Premium 2K plan - analyzing 27 videos of myself
• Why consistency beats performance: daily easy 5Ks vs skipped hard workouts
• Evening training: 37 minutes on Zwift climbing Bealach na Bà, 10 minutes ski erg
• Taking a break from strength training (CNS recovery after months of lifting)
• The 100m challenge viral moment: 300 views to 1,300 overnight
• Friday tradition: Spaghetti bolognese every week since 2001
• The fridge door rule: diet > exercise for weight loss
• Weekend plans: MyRow Saturday, XR Sunday 9am, half marathon January 2nd
• 
  

The Honesty Bit: I'm about to blow my diet with Mexican deviled eggs at Alessio's and will have spag bol tonight - but I'll make up for it on the ski erg later. This is real life, not Instagram perfection.

Stats: 21 minutes for 5K today - wrapping up the week strong.

Perfect for: Anyone wondering about rowing shoes, people struggling with consistency vs intensity, or those who need permission to enjoy Friday night traditions while still training.

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December 18th brings the Thursday mental wall - that point in the week where the doubts creep in and you start questioning whether you really need to do another morning session. Kids running late for school, emails piling up, time slipping away... all the excuses line up perfectly to derail today's workout. But we push through anyway.

What to Expect This Episode: This is an honest conversation about the mental side of consistency. I talk through recognizing those thoughts of wanting to skip, acknowledging them, and choosing to show up anyway. Then we dive into professional jealousy - something I deal with both in my TV editing career and on YouTube when I compare myself to creators getting 10x my views.

Today's Topics:

• Why Thursday is always the hardest day in a daily routine
• Kids running late and how life tries to derail your plans
• The importance of having your kit laid out (removes one more barrier)
• Technique breakdown: handle away, sit up, hinge forward, knees bend
• Arms straight and forward tilt at the catch - checking in a mirror
• Professional jealousy: TV editing awards and YouTube comparisons
• Why I'm 1/10th the size of Dark Horse and Training Tall (and why that's okay)
• Recognizing negative thoughts so you can dismiss them or use them
• Finding a real gym space to film MyRow workouts (green screen won't work)
• Viewing figures settling down to core consistent viewers
• 
  

The Mental Game: This episode is less about physical rowing and more about the psychology of showing up when you don't feel like it. Whether it's skipping a workout, comparing yourself to others, or dealing with professional jealousy - recognizing the feeling is the first step to managing it.

Performance note: 19 strokes/min average, 204.5 pace - my fastest of the week, despite it being the day I least wanted to row. Funny how that works.

Perfect for: Anyone struggling with consistency, dealing with comparison to others, or needing permission to acknowledge difficult feelings while still getting the work done.

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