How virtual rowing inspires a community from Olympians to at-home rowers

British Rowing is the national governing body for rowing in Great Britain and boasts a global membership of over 30,000. In a bid to promote indoor rowing and increase participation together, British Rowing and EXR continually seek innovative ways to make the sport more accessible. In this interview, Fergus Mainland, a seasoned athlete representing the new wave of rowers, shares his view of the latest trends in the rowing world through his work with British Rowing.

Q: Fergus, you were the Newcastle University Boat Club president and rowed a lot yourself. Consequently, indoor rowing has been a big part of your daily routine. How do you feel about using the erg for your training?

The erg is such a powerful training tool that is incredibly beneficial for anyone. Whether you use it as part of your gym routine or you’re training for the Olympic Games, anyone can reap its fitness and health benefits. I think one of the big misunderstandings about indoor rowing is that you have to use the rowing machine for a long period of time to notice any improvements, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Q: You’re managing Inside Indoor, the indoor rowing platform of British Rowing. The portal is a database filled with workout advice, training schedules and information for rowers of all skill levels. What’s the best advice or training tip you learned from it?

Inside Indoor is a great online tool with downloadable content for anyone interested in rowing on the ergometer. Regarding the best advice: I believe that regardless of your fitness level, recovery is key. Without recovering properly you’ll never be able to live up to your own expectations. Inside Indoor covers all the bases when it comes to recuperation, so I recommend checking it out!

Q: One topic you recently discussed on The End of The Island Podcast from Junior Rowing News was the “outdated masochistic approach of pain over pleasure and deprivation over stimulation”. What’s your opinion on the mindset that indoor rowing must not and cannot be fun?

I think hating on what you’re doing is a dreadful way of approaching any sport! I’ve always loved sport and from a very young age, it’s played a big part in my life. As I get older and time becomes more precious, I think you should do what you love and what makes you happy.

Just like on-water rowing, indoor rowing is great in many ways: it keeps you fit, releases stress, and has a fantastic community of people involved with it, too. I couldn’t recommend erging enough to folk.

Q: Every year, British Rowing and EXR meet at the British Rowing Indoor Championships (BRIC) and regularly organize online rowing events together, consistently attracting an increasing number of participants. Where do you think this growing interest originates?

I think people love to test themselves and be part of something bigger than themselves. Both, the British Rowing Indoor Championships and the online rows in EXR offer this opportunity. BRIC is a fantastic event that sees fitness fanatics go head-to-head with Olympians and CrossFit stars while at the same time, it’s the perfect place to set a new personal best.

Moreover, I believe in the power that sport has to bring people together and transform lives. I’ve done lots of sports so far and I’m very grateful that each of them has given me some of my closest friends. The group rows in the EXR app allow rowers to be connected across the globe and make new friends while staying active and even spending more time on the rowing machine than expected!

Q: Lastly, what do you think about the potential of indoor rowing developing into a mainstream sport like indoor cycling, for example?

In my view, indoor rowing, especially enhanced by technology such as EXR, will play an important and exciting role in the future world of fitness, exergaming, and rowing. Hopefully, one avenue for this is participation in the E-Sports Olympics, opening up the sport to a whole new audience. More broadly though, I think more and more people are discovering the benefits of indoor rowing and seeing it as an alternative to some of the equally accessible mainstream sports like cycling. For example, despite living in lockdowns during the global pandemic, online challenges in combination with exercise helped to connect the public in ways we never used to see.

In general, the indoor rowing community has been building some fantastic foundations for the last 20 years. With rowing machines being found in every gym and lots of homes worldwide, indoor rowing has left its image as a niche sport behind and I’m excited to see it grow further both online and offline.

Join the virtual rowing community now!