Friday morning, running late but feeling great. These Tuesday through Friday sessions are playlist-only, so if you're here, you know the drill.

Over the past couple of months, people have been sending me videos of CrossFit athletes rowing 500 meters by sitting at the back of the machine doing bicep curls with the handle. Ian sent me another one yesterday, and I finally took the hint and tried it myself.

On technique, I cover handle height and why sternum is the target, along with chain height and how that varies depending on your torso length. The key point is about fluid rhythm versus pausing at the back of the stroke. Your handle should always be moving, not stopping and holding at the finish.

Gavin asked about healthy eating and avoiding snacking, which isn't really my area but I do have a nutrition certification. The basics are protein-heavy snacks keep you fuller longer, portion control matters more than food quality sometimes, variety in your diet is important, and hunger is often thirst in disguise. Drink water first, wait ten minutes, then decide if you still need that snack.

I spend some time talking about the RowAlong Accountability Board and how it's meant to be motivating, not demotivating. The danger with streak systems is what happened to me with Duolingo and Wordle: built up a massive streak, lost it, then stopped completely. I don't want that to happen here. The board has daily streaks, weekly streaks, and total weeks completed, so you're always building toward something even if life gets in the way.

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Thursday morning on the erg, properly frosty outside for April 2nd. These Tuesday through Friday sessions are just for playlist subscribers, so if you're here, you know the drill.

Peter and a few others have been asking how to actually quantify low intensity training. I talk about keeping these rows easy, but what does that mean in practical terms? Today I cover different ways to gauge your intensity: RPE, heart rate zones, 2K pace training, FTP zones, and lactate threshold measurements. They're all slightly different frameworks, but they're all trying to describe the same thing.

On the technique side, yesterday's leg session has really activated my lats today, which led to talking about posterior chain engagement and keeping arms straight with forward tilt. The recovery sequence is arms, tilt, knees - getting your body positioned before you bend your knees.

I've been mentoring Lester, a PR3 adaptive rower with Parkinson's who's attempting world and British records. His main issue was aiming the handle down at the front then opening his shoulders too early. Simple fix, but it'll squeeze more pace out.

Yesterday's training was treadmill hill sprints because of the rain (1 minute at 13.5K, inclines of 4, 5, and 6), then leg weights at night: squats, deadlifts, lunges, calf raises, leg presses.

My goals are straightforward: British Rowing Indoor Champs in December. That's eight months to improve my 2K time, get back to lightweight (currently 77.8kg, need to be under 75kg), and work on the mental side of racing. Not just physical training but also being comfortable at that intensity again after the hand injury knocked my racing mindset sideways during COVID.

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Too much coffee this morning. Hat on the head. April 1st, but no fooling.

Someone asked yesterday: "How do I get faster? I want to do 10x500m at 1:55 pace but I'm at 215." Here's the answer nobody wants to hear — you get fast by working on it. You can't just sit down and decide to be an Olympian. You need technique, power generation, base fitness, and the ability to hold that fast pace through anaerobic tolerance.

And here's the thing about these daily easy rows: they're building massive base aerobic fitness. Low intensity, not pushing pace, but consistent. That's the foundation everything else sits on. Want to go faster in intervals? Build your base first.

Today's technique deep-dive: recovery rhythm. I'm not someone who says pause at the back. The handle should always be moving. But watch the rhythm — I'm not throwing it away from me, not lurching my body weight. Arms relax, sit up, tilt forwards, smooth. If you were on a boat, you wouldn't fight that last moment of acceleration from the drive. You'd be fluid.

Recovery doesn't matter for the power you just put in. What it does is set you up to hit the catch consistently for every stroke. Relaxed, fluid movement to the front is efficient and mechanically safe.

Into the front: arms straight, push the machine away with your feet. Hold that forward tilt for three quarters of the stroke. Only at the back do you finally pull to finish. It's not about thinking "pull" — push harder with your legs, you go faster. Legs are bigger, more powerful, fitter than arms.

Also: RowAlong leaderboard launched at rowalong.com/join. Register with username and location, get your unique link, tap it after workouts. No email, no password. Just accountability. Save that link properly — bookmark it, don't rely on Facebook browser.

Hill sprints at lunchtime today. 5K in 21 minutes this morning, then 1K cooldown.

Whatever your body wants to do — that's how you row.

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