20 Minute Rowing Workout for Beginners and Returning Rowers

Are you new to rowing, or coming back from injury? This 20 minute RowAlong will help build up your fitness as part of my Build Me Up series.

🚣2 Minute warmup / 20 minute Row / 2:08 cool down. 🚣‍♀️

➔Guide = Row 3 minutes at 20spm (row light / row hard / row light) then 1 mins at 24spm and 1 minutes at 28spm - do this four times.
➔Effort = 6/10, 8/10, 6/10, 7/10, 8/10 on the /10 effort scale
➔Speech = Comfortable - may be a little tougher for the 28's.

❗ This Build Me Up series of indoor rowing workouts is all about increasing the amount of time you can manage to row for. So make sure to put in enough effort that you know you're getting a workout - but not so much that you're left gasping for air, lying on the floor, and too sore to come back the next day ❗

The addition to this row is the middle 20spm chunk. You row the first 20spm minute at a normal 6/10 effort. Then the next one, I want you to hold the stroke rate, but really increase the power from your legs. Then, back to 6/10 for the next minute, before then increasing to 24 and 28spm.

And remember, if you're unsure about holding stroke rates, just follow me. Drive when I drive, recover when I recover.

This Build Me Up Rowing Series has built from 5 minutes up to 20 minutes over a series of rows. You can do more than 1 a day if you like, you can even skip one and go to a longer duration if your strength is coming on quickly.

00:00 Introduction
00:55 Warmup
04:06 Main Session
25:34 Cool Down
27:56 Stretching

At the end of the row, while I say goodbye, I've put up the basic stretches that I do when I've finished rowing.

🔵🔵🔵 SHOWING SUPPORT FOR ROWALONG 🔵🔵🔵

More views lead to more views - and I'm really just interested in getting more people on board to RowAlong with. (Make sure to click the notification bell to be alerted when I upload new workouts)

That said, I know that there are some people who want to show their support financially, and as much as I've shied away from giving out links to this before - I've been advised to at least provide the links - to stop someone spoofing me!! So....

But seriously - just keep watching, that's all I ask!!

🔵🔵🔵

This workout is provided as usual WITHOUT MUSIC. If you want music, why not load up another YouTube tab, or maybe Soundcloud and pick your own tunes. As always, follow me for stroke rate. And I'll keep you company for the row with training tips, technique tips, and my usual general waffle.

See you in the next video.

ℹℹℹℹℹℹ - 2K training paces are based on your current best performance to row 2000m. Set your monitor to 2000m and row it as fast as you can. When you're finished either look at the memory screen for that row, and note the Average /500m pace - or just divide your time by 4 to find that out.

For instance - if you rowed your 2000m in 8:20 - the average pace for 500m is 2:05. It doesn't matter if you started at 1:50 and then slowed down to 2:20 by the end - your average across the whole row is 2:05.

So when I give a pace guide saying "2K + 18 seconds" - that means that you take your 2K time, and add 18 seconds to it (in the above example, 2:05 + 18 = 2:23 pace.) Just be sure to set your monitor so it displays your /500m pace so you can stay on target.

Every time you think you're getting faster, rather than just arbitrarily changing the pace guide - do another 2000m test to find your current 2K average time - and then work from that. ℹℹℹℹℹℹ

==================What I use==================

(Affilliate Links):

***Rowing***

#hiit #indoorrowing #rowingmachine #burncalories
*for info, RowAlong used to be PDP - but the name was changed to RowAlong in 2020.

[JenniferWales-tbhm]

I can’t tell you how helpful this series has been! I got Covid in January 2022 and have been long hauling now for 15 months. There have been many times I’ve tried to do a beginner row and all I did was the warm-up, or maybe the warm-up plus the cool down. I tried several times to do the five minute row and was psyched when I could get through the first minute or two. In January 2023, one year since developing Covid, I finally felt that I might be able to do a 2K time trial to get my split pace. Since then I’ve been going through this series with a couple of repeats at each interval. I cannot believe I just completed the 20 minute row and I am not feeling completely annihilated! John, it’s very hard for me to back off and take it easy and you, as a professional athlete, constantly reminding me that the best way I can honor my body is to listen to it was so incredibly helpful when I felt discouraged and frustrated. Today is an important day because our lake has just iced out and I am going to celebrate my success by putting my Aldon rolling shell into the water, and join the loons and the Eagles as spring arrives. Don’t worry, however – I’ll come back to my basement and you on rainy days! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me through the worst of long Covid.

[biosimilarz]

Belated thanks for all of your videos. You are quite literally keeping me sane while I’m job hunting. Please, please, please keep up the excellent work!

[carolynsimpson]

Thank you for creating these videos. I just got a rower yesterday. Reading and hashing over info. Your videos made it easy to row. I have osteoarthritis in my knees. They told me to stay of the treadmill. Husband purchased the rower for me. I also spend time on the bike. I had a PT tell me that do enough exercise to take care of myself and housework. Felt sorry for myself because I was wanting to get back to kayaking. Well, I picked myself up and brush myself off. I am not sitting to watch life pass me by. Again Thank you, looking forward to enjoying more videos of yours.

[StanDawn]

Returned to this session after a back injury. Thanks 🙏

[jacquessaintpierre]

I'm new at rowing. I find the friendly voice and pertinent comments superbly mixed. It makes for a very interesting session. Thanks

[stormranger]

Great workout! Completed in 4327 meters in 24:20!

[petermorrison]

Great finale to the b-m-u series. Ready to move onto greater things with you John. Many thanks for this series

[ccraigconti]

Had a nice virtual visit with the doc this morning and she said the rowing has me a week ahead of the average for the surgery recovery, so I went to the 20 min and feel good. Thanks for this series

[martinjones]

Thank you so much!! I just did 20 minutes. It's great seeing how far I've come from barely doing 5 minutes.

[sammysingleton]

This is a good stand alone when short on time. Thank you for all you do.

[dennisspence]

20 minutes recovery row after a Christmas sinker of a cold has helped my recovery well.
Thanks 😊

[nmacog]

Good to be back after a year off - really enjoyed this !

[geeza]

Just want to thank you for this series John. I recently got a Concept2 (with no previous experience) and after arm surgery and Covid, I needed to get fit for a big upcoming sailing adventure. Your 20min build me up has become part of my daily routine for the last 4 weeks, and, feeling fitter and more confident, I'm now ready to up the workrate! Thank you 🙏

[juniorbeasthawk]

Thanks John! Really loved this workout. The variety made it go by as quickly as promised! And liked the variety at the 20 rate too! D

[alrightdave]

Great first workout after covid. Cheers

[CBDB]

And me again, doing this series again after Covid No III! But it’s so great to have this series handy. It felt good to go through the 6 workouts!

Thank you!

[johndignam]

Thanks for putting these workouts together. Awesome work 👍

[asrazojas]

Really didn’t want to row today but this got me through that inertia. Feeling so much better now. Thx!

[petermorrison]

I fell out of routine for about 3 weeks and I find now my cardio fitness wanes quickly. But it comes back in 5 days if I keep at this 20 mins row till I get my average pace up a bit and then get onto the 30 min rows. Thanks for this John. Please always keep your build- me- up series on here.

[ScottBurrow]

He's Back, Thanks John for the twenty minute row and see yah on the next row.