Smarter Training for Better Results

Every gym has a machine most people walk straight past. The rower sits in the corner, mistaken for a warm-up, while the queue forms at the squat rack. And every week you make the same call at the door: cardio today or strength today. There’s rarely time for both.

Row Club exists to settle that argument. It’s coached indoor rowing: instructor-led classes on the Concept2 RowErg, backed by Rowing Australia. One session trains cardio and strength together, whatever level you arrive at, and the Row Nation app tracks every stroke live from the erg’s monitor. Here’s why one machine can do both jobs, and what to do with that on your next session.

Real Results, No Matter Where You’re Starting From

A rowing stroke is a sequence, not a single pull. Your legs drive first. Your core carries that power through your trunk, and only at the end do your arms finish the movement. That’s why so much of your body works in one stroke: rowing is often cited as engaging around 86% of your muscles, a widely repeated figure rather than a precise lab measurement, but the direction holds up. Very few muscle groups get to sit a session out. See the full muscle breakdown →

So try this on your next row. Before you think about pace, think about order: legs, then body, then arms. Get the sequence right and the machine rewards it straight away.

Why It Works: The Row Nation Edge

A full-body session only counts if you can see it adding up. That’s the app’s job. Row Nation connects live to your Concept2’s PM5 monitor, so the work you just did becomes a number you can beat next time.

• Programmes designed by sports scientists, national coaches, and current elite rowers
• Live connection to your Concept2 rower via the PM5 monitor
• Distance, splits, watts and calories, tracked automatically
• Built-in progression, so you always know your next step

Pick one number this week. Watts is a good one: it’s the honest measure of the work you’re putting in, stroke after stroke.

One Workout That Does It All

Row Club sessions deliver cardio and strength together, without the joint stress of running. That’s not a programming trick. It’s how the RowErg’s air resistance works: push harder and the flywheel pushes back harder, so the same stroke that builds your engine also loads your legs, back and core.

Which means the rower doesn’t care what your main game is. Lifting heavy, chasing a 10K, playing weekend sport, rehabbing an injury, or easing back in after time away: a coached rowing session slots in beside any of it. Low-impact on the way in. Full-body on the way through.

Train Smarter with Row Club

A coach in the room changes how fast all of this lands. Row Club classes are instructor-led and open to every level, with sessions running at:

• UTS Row Club (Haberfield, NSW)
• ERGfit (Footscray, VIC)
• Red Shed Row Club (Acton, ACT)

That machine in the corner was never a warm-up. Sit down, strap in, and feel the shift from your first stroke.

Find your nearest Row Club and book in →