Looking for a simple daily workout habit? Here's the truth: you don't need complicated programs or expensive apps. Follow along with me in this indoor rowing workout on my Concept2, and get 20-21 minutes of movement into your day. That's it. Come back every day to stick to your routine.

It's Friday - whether you hit 5000 meters, get to 5500 meters, or stop wherever you are, it really doesn't matter. What matters is spending those 21 minutes rowing, thinking about how you're rowing, and just enjoying your time on the machine. I'm rowing 5K daily throughout 2026 - and you can join me. This easy Friday follow-along is about you getting your workout done, not matching my distance.

The workout:

21 minutes of rowing at an easy, conversational pace

Around 18-20 strokes per minute

Keep rowing while I keep talking if you need more time for your 5K

Perfect warm-up intensity (zone 2)

What you'll get:

✅ Easy cardio on your rowing machine - no pressure, just company

✅ Technique reminders: drag factor between 115 and 140, foot straps across balls of feet (lower is better)

✅ Real talk about compression, timing, and the "butt scoot" problem

✅ Chat about why heels up isn't bad if your posture is good

✅ My Van Halen crocs experiment to fix over-compression

Today's chat covers: Why I'm rowing in crocs today to work on over-compression issues, the truth about heels coming up (it's okay as long as posture is good and you get them down quickly), working on timing versus sliding too far forward, why I won't do topless rowing videos (Shane and Austin look amazing, I'm a "skinny wee freak"), teasing a sports kilt rowing video with a Vegas story, plans for a 90-minute half marathon row later today, weekend plans including Sunday's EXR group row at 5PM GMT, and the importance of doing something that makes you happy.

The philosophy: "Whether you make 5,000 metres, whether you get up to 5,500 metres, it's really up to you. And it really doesn't matter either. What's most important here is that you spend those 21 minutes rowing and thinking about how you're rowing and just kind of enjoying your time on the machine. I'm going to do my best to make you enjoy that time by chatting away to you."

Row at your own pace - you might finish your 5K before me or after me. The point is just to get 21-22 minutes of rowing in your body. If you finish early, cool down. If you need more time, I prattle on for a couple of minutes at the end.

Pro tip: Start rowing during my intro if you need more time to complete your 5K!

Follow along with me for stroke rate and technique cues. You should be able to talk most of the way through - I sure could

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CONNECT WITH ME:

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But seriously - just keep watching, that's all I ask! And of course, please leave a review!.

🔴 DISCLAIMER 🔴

Consult your healthcare provider before starting any new fitness program to ensure it's appropriate for you. Do not begin this workout if advised against by your healthcare professional. Participation in any exercises or information provided on this channel is at your own risk. John at RowAlong will not be held liable for any harm, injury, or damage resulting from use of this content.

#rowing #concept2 #homefitness #5Keveryday #rowingmachine #cardioworkout

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Just 20 minutes rowing every day WILL make a difference. Follow along with me in this indoor rowing workout on my Concept2 - and get those fitness benefits for yourself. Come back every day to stick to your routine.

But here's what really matters: don't stress about hitting 5000 meters at my pace. I'm rowing around 21 minutes - you might finish before me, you might take longer. The point is to get 20-21 minutes of rowing in your body. I'm rowing 5K daily throughout 2026 - and you can join me. This easy Thursday follow-along is about YOUR journey, not matching mine.

The workout:

21 minutes of rowing at an easy, conversational pace

Around 19-20 strokes per minute

Keep rowing while I keep talking if you need more time for your 5K

Perfect foundation building / Fitness Boosting intensity (zone 2)

What you'll get:

✅ Easy cardio on your rowing machine - no pressure, just company

✅ Technique reminders: drag factor setup to your preference, foot plate height for vertical shins, lower is often better than higher

✅ Real talk about why you shouldn't compare your pace to mine

✅ Chat about the Concept2 logbook and January's virtual team challenge

✅ The metric that actually matters: are you better than yesterday?

Today's chat covers: Green screen paint drama (expensive CSO green turned out limey yellow!), three important housekeeping points about keeping these rows low intensity, why my fitness background means his pace isn't your target, the fair comparison being today versus yesterday not you versus me, zone 2 training benefits for fitness improvement, the Concept2 logbook virtual team challenge (join RowAlong team! at log.concept2.com/teams), and a rushed morning with boiler repair people coming.

The philosophy: Don't worry about my pace... I've spent most of my life doing intense sport. I'm not saying I'm anywhere near the top anymore, but I am fit. Maybe you're new to rowing, maybe you're 20 years older than me, maybe you don't have the fitness background. So it's not fair to compare paces. What is fair is that you compare today to yesterday. Do you feel as fit as you were yesterday? Do you feel better, stronger, faster? That's what really matters here. I'm just here to keep your company... it's about what you do.

Row at your own pace - you might finish your 5K before me or after me. The point is just to get 21-22 minutes of rowing in your body. If you finish early, cool down. If you need more time, I prattle on for a couple of minutes at the end.

Pro tip: Start rowing during my intro if you need more time to complete your 5K!

Follow along with me for stroke rate and technique cues. You should be able to talk most of the way through - I sure could!

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Welcome: It's About Time, Not Distance

01:20 - Machine Setup & Let's Get Rowing

02:30 - Green Screen Paint Disaster Story

03:10 - Housekeeping: Keep It Low Intensity

04:15 - Don't Compare Your Pace to Mine

08:00 - Zone 2 Training Benefits

14:30 - Technique Focus & Fitness Improvement

21:00 - Concept2 Logbook & Team Challenge

24:30 - Boiler Repairs & Wrap Up

#rowing #concept2 #homefitness #5Keveryday #rowingmachine #cardioworkout

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Just 20 minutes rowing every day WILL make a difference. Follow along with me in this indoor rowing workout on my Concept2 - and get those fitness benefits for yourself. Come back every day to stick to your routine.

But here's the truth: some days you'll wake up bleary-eyed with bedhead showing. That's exactly when these rows matter most. I'm rowing 5K daily throughout 2026 - and you can join me. This easy Wednesday RowAlong workout is here for those mornings when you just need to move - no pressure, just rowing.

The workout:

21 minutes of rowing at an easy, conversational pace

Around 19-20 strokes per minute

Keep rowing while I keep talking (for another 7 minutes!) if you need more time for your 5K

Perfect warm-up intensity (zone 2)

What you'll get:

✅ Easy cardio on your rowing machine - no pressure, just company

✅ Technique reminders: drag factor setup, foot straps covering balls of feet, shins vertical at the catch

✅ Real talk about using morning exercise to set your intentions for the day

✅ A look at the ErgData app's community rowing feature on the real-time loop

✅ Chat about training zones and avoiding the "black hole" of mid-intensity training

Today's chat covers: Waking up bleary and chittering in the cold (minus one!), why these maintenance workouts help you choose movement over sitting at lunch, the free ErgData app with its virtual river community rowing, how starting your day with movement makes you "a person who moves," the dangers of training in that mid-zone where it's not easy enough and not hard enough, and my brilliant scam call responses using Back to the Future and Fast & Furious plots.

The philosophy: "If you could just get 20 minutes of exercise as a way to start your day, then it's almost like by setting the best of intentions and going right, I'm a person who moves. Then when it comes to your lunch time workout, where you've got a choice of exercise or going to see Steve for a sandwich or just sitting there watching YouTube, then hopefully because of this buy-in on your day, you're more likely to pick movement."

Row at your own pace - you might finish your 5K before me or after me. The point is just to get 21-22 minutes of rowing in your body. If you finish early, cool down. If you need more time, I prattle on for a couple of minutes at the end.

Pro tip: Start rowing during my intro if you need more time to complete your 5K!

Follow-along with me for stroke rate and technique cues. You should be able to talk most of the way through - I sure could!

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Just 20 minutes rowing every day WILL make a difference. Follow along with me in this indoor rowing workout on my Concept2 - and get those fitness benefits for yourself. Come back every day to stick to your routine.

But here's the truth: missing one day doesn't mean you've failed. I'm rowing 5K daily throughout 2026 - and you can join me. This easy Tuesday follow-along workout is here whenever you're ready to show up again - no judgment, just rowing.

The workout:

• 21 minutes of rowing at an easy, conversational pace
• Around 19-20 strokes per minute
• Keep rowing while I keep talking if you need more time for your 5K.
• Perfect warm-up intensity (zone 2)

What you'll get:

✅ Easy cardio on your rowing machine - no pressure, just company

✅ Technique reminders: handle to sternum height, hands-posture-tilt sequence, pushing with straight arms

✅ Real talk about why missing one workout shouldn't derail your entire plan

✅ A peek at the ImmersUrow app running on my iPad (mountain lake views!)

✅ The story of how I met my wife 30 years ago - and love at first sight

Today's chat covers: The ImmersUrow app and its immersive mountain lake view, why "New Year, New You" is a cliché worth embracing as a springboard, but looking out for the the real danger of giving up when you miss a day of a fitness plan, why these daily rows exist for my own accountability as much as yours, and the sweet story of meeting my wife in a nightclub 30 years ago when her first words were "it took you long enough..."

The philosophy: "The important thing is that just because something has got in the way it doesn't derail you... the most dangerous thing is when you commit to a plan and you get a couple of weeks into it and something gets in the way. Then because you missed a day there is a tendency to just go 'oh well that's it, that failed' and then you stop." Part of the reason I'm making these is to hold myself accountable to a similar routine - and when you see them pop up in your feed, maybe they'll remind you: "oh yeah, that's what I meant to be doing."

Pro tip for technique lovers: I waited until the end to talk about technique today (not like me!). Skip to [TIMESTAMP] if you want a quick technique refresher before you start rowing.

Row at your own pace - you might finish your 5K before me or after me. The point is just to get 21-22 minutes of rowing in your body. If you finish early, cool down. If you need more time, I prattle on for a couple of minutes at the end.

Pro tip: Start rowing during my intro if you need more time to complete your 5K!

Follow along with me for stroke rate and technique cues. You should be able to talk most of the way through - I sure could!

#rowing #concept2 #homefitness #5Keveryday #rowingmachine #cardioworkout

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Struggling with fitness motivation? Can you commit to 20 minutes indoor rowing every day? I'm rowing 5K daily throughout 2026 - and you can join me. This easy Monday morning follow-along workout proves showing up consistently beats pushing yourself to exhaustion.

The workout:

Row for 21minutes at an easy, conversational pace

Around 19-20 strokes per minute

Perfect warm-up intensity (zone 2)

What you'll get:

✅ Easy cardio on your rowing machine - no pressure, just company

✅ Technique reminders: posture reset, handle away sequence, pushing with your legs

✅ Real talk about New Year fitness advertising and why you don't need expensive apps

✅ Chat about upcoming workouts, training philosophy, and why consistency matters more than intensity

Today's chat covers: The first 5K Every Day row of 2026 after the Christmas break, technique focus on sitting up and pushing the machine away with straight arms, why time in the saddle builds your fitness more than fancy programs, my upcoming "12th Day of Christmas" workout (a spicy intervals session), and an honest rant about fitness apps trying to grab your money in January when free coaching is right here.

The philosophy: You don't need to pay for faceless apps. Time on the rowing machine, focusing on power from your legs, and understanding technique - that's what improves your rowing. I'm a product of training, nothing more. I'm not an elite rower anymore, but I'm proof that consistent work gets results.

Row at your own pace - you might finish your 5K before me or after me. The point is just to get 21-22 minutes of rowing in your body. If you finish early, cool down. If you need more time, I prattle on for a couple of minutes at the end.

Pro tip: Start rowing during my intro if you need more time to complete your 5K!

Follow along with me for stroke rate and technique cues. You should be able to talk most of the way through - I sure could!

#rowing #concept2 #homefitness #5Keveryday #newyearfitness

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Workout #12 in the Time to Sleigh series: Twelve Months Sprinting — the grand finale! Twelve maximum effort sprints, one for each month of the upcoming year. Each sprint duration matches the number of days in that month.

This is the most meaningful way to finish the series!

🎄 THE TWELVE MONTHS:

✅ January: 31 seconds MAX / 29 seconds rest

✅ February: 28 seconds MAX / 32 seconds rest

✅ March: 31 seconds MAX / 29 seconds rest

✅ April: 30 seconds MAX / 30 seconds rest

✅ May: 31 seconds MAX / 29 seconds rest

✅ June: 30 seconds MAX / 30 seconds rest

✅ July: 31 seconds MAX / 29 seconds rest

✅ August: 31 seconds MAX / 29 seconds rest

✅ September: 30 seconds MAX / 30 seconds rest

✅ October: 31 seconds MAX / 29 seconds rest

✅ November: 30 seconds MAX / 30 seconds rest

✅ December: 31 seconds MAX / 29 seconds rest

✅ Total: Exactly 12 minutes

Each sprint should be ALL OUT for that month's duration. You're literally sprinting through every day of each month — 31 days of January, 28 days of February, and so on. As you complete each sprint, you're claiming that entire month ahead. This is forward-looking fitness. This is your commitment to the year to come.

This is Workout 12 of 12. Series complete! Warmup and cooldown separately.

Twelve months, every single day — you've sleighed the entire year!

#RowingWorkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #SeriesFinale #SprintTraining #NewYear #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing #ChristmasComplete

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Workout #11 in the Time to Sleigh series: 11's to Recover. Two 11-minute blocks of easy rowing with 30 seconds rest between. This is active recovery after yesterday's half marathon — movement without intensity, flushing fatigue without adding more.

🎅 WHAT YOU'LL DO:

✅ 11 minutes @ 18spm, RPE 4 (very easy, roughly 2K+20-22 pace)

✅ 30 seconds rest

✅ 11 minutes @ 20spm, RPE 5 (easy, roughly 2K+18-20 pace)

✅ Total: 22.5 minutes

The pace guidance (2K+20-22, 2K+18-20) is just a rough reference if you want structure. But honestly? This is about how you FEEL, not what the monitor says. Keep it conversational. Keep it controlled. Your muscles need movement after yesterday's effort — this provides gentle blood flow and active recovery without digging a deeper hole. If you feel good, great.

If you feel heavy, that's fine too. Just move.

This is Workout 11 of 12. Warmup and cooldown separately. Two elevens for recovery! #RowingWorkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #ActiveRecovery #RecoveryRow #EasyRowing #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing

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Workout #10 in the Time to Sleigh series: Ten Minutes Halfing. Row up to a half marathon (21,097 meters) with a simple mental strategy - only think about the next 10 minutes. You don't have to do the whole thing - but row for longer that you have before. Break the distance into manageable chunks rather than being overwhelmed by the full effort ahead.

🎄 WHAT YOU'LL DO:

✅ If you want to row a half marathon, set your monitor to 21,097m

✅ Otherwise enter your preferred time / distance - or a 'Just Row'

✅ Start rowing at YOUR pace

✅ Watch the timer - track 10-minute blocks

✅ After each 10 minutes: reassess, sip water if needed, shake off, then commit to the next block

✅ Repeat until you hit your target (hopefully 21,097m)

There's no prescribed pace or stroke rate for this one. Row at whatever intensity feels right for YOU to complete your row. The key is the mental approach: don't think about the full distance ahead. Just focus on completing the next 10 minutes. Then the next. Then the next. Build enough 10-minute chunks and you'll complete the half marathon. This is about mental management as much as physical endurance.

⚠️ NOTE: You'll be rowing distance, so your monitor won't show time-based splits, but your timer will count up. Just mentally track each 10-minute block. My intention was to row for 90 minutes and then talk for 30, to make up 2 hours. But I ended up with such bad 'aftermath cramp' that I could only talk for 15 minutes. So, I took the original row up to 90 minutes, and then tagged on an old live row to make it to two hours. I hope that makes sense?

This is Workout 10 of 12. Warmup and cooldown separately. Ten minutes at a time!

#rowingworkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #HalfMarathon #21K #DistanceRowing #MentalStrategy #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing

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Workout #9 in the Time to Sleigh series: 9 Threes a Grinding. Three complete cycles through low stroke rates with NO REST. You'll grind through 18spm, 20spm, and 22spm three times for 27 minutes of continuous rowing. This is great as an active recovery with power development at controlled rates.

🎁 THE PATTERN (repeats 3 times):

✅ 3 minutes @ 18spm (grinding power)

✅ 3 minutes @ 20spm (slightly faster)

✅ 3 minutes @ 22spm (building rhythm)

✅ No rest, immediately reset to 18spm

✅ Total: 27 minutes continuous

The low stroke rates keep this from being cardiovascularly demanding — instead, you're focusing on power per stroke and sustained grinding work.

After yesterday's 2K intervals, this is intentionally easier while still accumulating quality time on the erg. Each 3-minute block should feel controlled and sustainable. The rate increases are subtle but noticeable. This builds strength endurance and technical consistency.

This is Workout 9 of 12. Nine blocks of grinding work!

#rowingworkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #ContinuousRowing #LowRate #PowerGrinding #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing

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Workout #8 in the Time to Sleigh series: 8 Twos at 2K. Eight 2-minute intervals at your 2K race pace with 2 minutes of complete rest between each one.

This is classic high-intensity threshold training — one of the most effective and demanding workouts in rowing.

🔔 WHAT YOU'LL DO:

✅ 2 minutes at 2K pace

✅ 2 minutes rest (complete recovery)

✅ Repeat 8 times

✅ Total: 16 minutes of work

2K pace is HARD — it's the pace you could sustain for a 2000m race (roughly 6-8 minutes of maximum sustainable effort). If you don't know your 2K split, aim for an intensity where you're working very hard but can just complete all eight intervals without blowing up. Each interval should feel challenging from the start and brutal by the end. The 2-minute rest is just enough to prepare for the next effort, but fatigue will accumulate.

This is Workout 8 of 12. Warmup and cooldown separately. Eight intervals, zero excuses!

#RowingWorkout #ChristmasRowing #TimeToSleigh #2KPace #ThresholdTraining #IntervalTraining #RowAlong #Concept2 #IndoorRowing

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