I don’t want RowAlong to be something I NEED to do. I don’t ever want to get to the point that a casual message or email becomes a bombardment of emails from me asking you to sign up to a plan, or for every answer I give on forums to be followed with a “Why not join my 30 day trial on the website” etc. 

Because I’m here to RowAlong with you.  Not to make money out of you.  

Do I want RowAlong to be big? Heck yes.  My dream is that I can stop my day job and just focus on RowAlong, making new rows, reviews and technique videos full time instead of needing to edit TV programmes.  But if that never happens, that’s ok. 

The day job means I don’t NEED to do RowAlong.  And that means I don’t NEED to chase every comment and query like a dog on heat.   I’d much rather spend my time making content for people who have found me than spend time chasing people who don’t need me.

Hopefully the title is explanatory enough, but the big change here is that I’m thinking about people who maybe don’t care about their 2000m time, or even don’t want to be particularly good at rowing – they just want to get fitter by using the rowing machine.

As such, for this series, I’m focussing more on Heart Rate Zone training than 2K pace based training.  I’m still giving 2K paces for those who are used to training that way – but for those who want to row how their body responds to exertion, HR Zone training is a perfect way to do it.

And this has also given me a moment to bring back “The Chillis” – the little characters who will let you know the intensity of a row just by looking at the thumbnail.  Green means low, Orange means Hard, and Red means MAX!  It’s nice to have them back again…

I’m also using this series as a way to show the Water Rowers some love.  Lots of the RowAlong audience have let me know over the years that apparently there are rowing machines other than Concept2 – so I have added a Water Rower and the fantastic Smart Row add-on to my studio, and alternate machines as I film this series.  

I’ll do a proper review of the Water Rower soon, and the Smart Row app.  Spoiler alert – I like them both.  It’s like the difference between a Lamborghini and a Ferrari when you compare the C2 and the WR  - they both do the same job, it just feels a little different when you’re sitting there!

And even though this is often the off-season for indoor rowing as lots of rowers lock up the ergs and head out to the wet stuff (no thanks) thoughts for the season ahead can still be a great motivator.  Setting goals is incredibly important.  Just remember to set short term goals as well as long term goals.  Get those ‘quick wins’ every now and then to keep you motivated.

And if there’s anything I can help with when it comes to goals you’re setting, training plans, technique or even just a question you can’t ask anyone else, do get in touch (info@rowalong.com) as often this is how I get inspiration to make new videos.

Because the truth is, I know full well why my channel isn’t as successful as the others.  By continuing to create long workout videos with no adverts in the middle, I’m not an attractive prospect for YouTube to suggest to people.  I can clearly see this when I make a much shorter app review or technique tip video.  Because the viewer watches a few short clips in one go and watch more adverts, suddenly YouTube likes me again, more views, more suggested ‘next up’ videos!

So am I going to stop making RowAlong workouts and concentrate on short form click-bait videos? Of course not.  RowAlong will always be two things. 

1) About creating and providing workout videos for you to Row Along to – and
2) Free on YouTube.

As long as YouTube doesn’t charge to watch, RowAlong will always be free.  Sure, I have a Patreon page if you want to donate to support RowAlong, but I’m not asking you to pay to watch.

ErgZone now requires a subscription to view rows older than 30 days (entirely for the support and development of their app, nothing goes to me) and Kinomap requires a subscription – but you don’t NEED to use them.  The rows will always be free to access on YouTube.

Because, as I said,  I just want to RowAlong with you.  Back to the day job it is then…

Until I see you in the next video, row well and be well,

John.