Firefighter fitness: why virtual indoor rowing at home beats the gym
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For firefighters and dads like Jeroen, life rarely runs on a tidy schedule. Work piles up, alarms ring in the middle of the night, and family time is sacred. Finding a sport that’s fun, has a sense of team spirit, and still bends to that kind of everyday chaos is a big challenge. That’s where indoor rowing, and especially the EXR app, changed everything for him. Read his story and find out how indoor rowing helps him save lives.
I’m Jeroen, 39 years young, married to Sophie and proud dad of two awesome and sporty boys: Lars (10) and Tibe (8). I work as a kitchen and custom furniture installer. On top of that, I’m also a volunteer firefighter and a municipal council member in our rural village of Ledegem, a small town of about ten thousand inhabitants in Belgium. That combination naturally makes for a pretty busy schedule, but it doesn’t stop me from staying fit, both for myself and as an example for my sons.
As a firefighter, you’re obviously expected to stay in shape. Every year, we have to pass a fitness test to prove that we’re still strong to work with compressed air. Every two years, there’s also the PPME (Periodic Preventive Medical Examination). It’s a test that simulates real interventions: putting on gear, placing a ladder, rolling out hoses, breaking down a door... and the cherry on top: a tough stair climb test in full firefighting gear, with breathing apparatus and a fire hose on your shoulder!
The best thing about being a firefighter? It’s not just the interventions themselves, but the strong friendships you build along the way. I used to go running regularly with a fellow firefighter to stay active, though to be honest, it was more about maintaining that legendary six-pack you supposedly see in every firefighter calendar. But truthfully? Most of us, myself included, don’t exactly have a body carved like marble. Between work, family, hobbies, training, and call outs, there’s not much time left for intense workouts.
“Between work, family, hobbies, training, and callouts, there’s not much time left for intense workouts.”
I kept running and playing basketball for a while, but eventually, my back and knees started giving me trouble. It became too hard on my body. However, I felt too young and too full of energy to just sit on the couch every evening. So I started looking for an alternative and answer the question of how to stay fit as a firefighter and dad.
I had done a bit of fitness before, but the nearest gym is about a 15-minute drive away which is not ideal for a volunteer firefighter, since I prefer staying close to the station in case of emergency. While looking for a new sport to try, I came across indoor rowing. Seeing Belgian world champion Ward Lemmelijn on TV caught my attention and made me genuinely curious to give it a try.
I was amazed by how many muscle groups indoor rowing activates! It’s perfect for strength, endurance and fat burning while being gentle on your spine and joints. After a bit of convincing, my wife Sophie agreed that I could get a rowing machine. I ended up choosing the Concept2. It was a bit pricey, but of excellent quality and built to last. Honestly, I’d never even heard of it before! When I first started rowing, I thought: What is this? So hard!
I had no clue about technique, pace, or resistance. But step by step, I realized I’d bought more than just a rowing machine. A whole new world opened up: logbooks, challenges, training plans, certificates… The only thing missing was workout motivation. Surely there had to be an app to make rowing more fun?
In 2021, I tried out a few training options: from rowing along to YouTube videos to completing simple 2D laps. Then one day, I saw an ad for EXR, a digital rowing simulator that lets you row in virtual worlds at your own pace. That was a real revelation!
After the trial period, I immediately got a yearly subscription. And yes, it’s still active since May 3rd, 2021 (no, I don’t remember that date by heart… I had to look it up; my wife would kill me since I always manage to forget her and the kids’ birthdays). I normally never pay for apps, but EXR is the exception. It motivates me to row just a bit longer or faster, to earn new badges and take on challenges. And compared to a gym membership? EXR is a bargain! Plus, I can train from home and still be available for my family and the fire department – jackpot!
EXR motivates me to row just a bit longer or faster, to earn new badges and take on challenges.
After a while, I started recognizing regulars on the virtual water. That’s how I met my first online rowing friend: Charlie Simpson. With his tips, I made real progress and got completely hooked! We decided to row together every Saturday at 4 PM CET, and that grew into the now world-famous Community Rows. EXR noticed it and helped develop the idea further. These days, “Saturday 4 PM” is marked in the calendars of rowers all around the world (or am I just the only one)?
This is actually one of the great strengths of the app: the developers stay close to their community and really listen to user feedback. You can even report bugs directly so they can look into solutions. Another key part of the experience is the EXR Discord Community. There, we share training tips, help each other out, have a lot of laughs, and really get to know one another. I’ve made so many friends there; people I would never have met otherwise. Thorsten, Rob, John, Jaap, … all amazing people!
There’s even a funny challenge going around about “popping my inflatable boat” by overtaking me. I have to admit, I’ve worked up quite a sweat and rowed plenty of extra kilometers because of that! And then there’s the legendary goat story... but you’ll have to join EXR’s Discord yourself to discover that one!
The EXR app keeps evolving too. They recently launched a challenging 42.2 km marathon route, and through qualification rounds, you could even earn a spot to row at the EXR Invitational, a 5K live race featured at the British Rowing Indoor Championship 2025. Thanks to people like John Steventon, the creator of RowAlong, the community is also growing rapidly. John rows live on EXR almost every Sunday and shares fantastic tips on the correct indoor rowing technique, breathing, and heart rate zones which you can follow live or rewatch on his YouTube channel. It’s really worth checking out!
In short: rowing and EXR have kept me fit, motivated, and connected to an amazing community.
You may wonder what’s next? Reaching the 10,000 km milestone, tackling a 50 km “century row,” taking on even more EXR challenges… or who knows, maybe setting up a firefighter challenge: a 2 km race in full gear!
Finally, I want to thank everyone who’s in some way connected to EXR or rowing, whether through the app, Discord, or Strava. Each of us is a small link that keeps the rowing chain moving. By supporting and motivating each other with thumbs-ups and kudos, we keep it going strong!
See you on the water! Goat is out!
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