I Rowed 10,000 Meters Every Day For 1 Month and Damn, Are Those My Shoulders?

To ensure I got that workout in every day, I set my alarm for 4:40 a.m (I know, so early!), snoozed until about 5:00 a.m, got dressed then rowed from 5:20 to 6:20 a.m., so I’d have about 10 minutes to stretch before waking the kids up.

To ensure it happened every morning, I set my laptop up on a little chair next to the rower, so I could choose a YouTube video to entertain me. I was really loving shows about tiny house living, minimalism, whole-food, plant-based cooking, and The Moth stories.

I also made sure my sneakers were next to the rower, my Apple watch was charging (so I could track my workout and heart rate), and my clothes were in the bathroom. In the morning, I just had to get dressed, brush my teeth, head downstairs and row!

One benefit that happened pretty quickly was improved strength. After week two, I felt like my entire body was stronger than it ever felt from running or from CrossFit. And maybe that’s because I didn’t have any low-key aches or pains. Rowing is so low-impact that I could do it for an extended period of time without my joints suffering. If I ran every day, my knees would ache, and lifting weights aggravated my old shoulder injury.

My butt, legs, abs, and upper body were sore the first few days, but I didn’t experience any soreness after that, unless I really pushed my pace and did sprint intervals, and definitely no pain. It felt amazing to walk around feeling strong and pain-free, because isn’t that the point of exercise? To make you feel better, not worse?

Another benefit I noticed was improved speed. When I rowed my first 10K, it took me over 60 minutes. But every day as the strength in my entire body increased, I could row faster. I was able to slowly increase my overall pace, which gradually decreased my overall time. On the last day of the challenge, on Day 28, I rowed 10,000 meters in under 49 minutes – my butt was definitely sore the next day! But I was so proud to improve so much in just four weeks.

On Wednesdays and Saturdays, since I didn’t have to work, I would row 60 minutes and see how many meters I could get (it was usually about 11,500 meters). But on Thanksgiving Day, I actually did 15,000 meters, which meant that I had built up the endurance to row over an hour and twenty minutes! And I felt like I could have kept going! Maybe my next goal will be to row for 90 minutes.

While strength and endurance were awesome benefits, the most impactful benefit of rowing an hour every morning was how it affected my mental health. Getting that time to myself every morning to breathe deeply, to enjoy the meditative repetition of movement, to watch inspiring YouTube videos, and to not have anything or anyone to worry about was priceless. I felt happier, less stressed, and just more grateful. Waking up at 5 a.m. every day was worth it for this benefit alone.

But rowing every day also improved my sleep. It helped me feel tired at bedtime, and I’m on a rhythm now where I go to bed and wake up at the same time. I’m having really vivid dreams, yet I’m waking up fewer times in the night, and I wake up feeling rested and excited to row!

I didn’t lose any weight in regards to the scale (I know people will ask!), and actually rowing this much increased my hunger, so I was eating more. I did notice fat loss in my face, my waist, and my upper body. There’s more definition in my arms and upper back – when I look in the mirror, I love how strong my shoulders look! My legs look leaner, yet my butt feels firmer, and overall, I’ve noticed I look stronger.

Since getting the rower from Ergatta, I have done 52 workouts total, and over half of them have been 10,000 meters or more. I love looking at this dashboard screen with my daily workouts all laid out, and seeing that I’ve rowed over 477,000 meters total. Of course, my new goal is to make to 500,000, which I should reach in three workouts.

Another goal of mine is to row these 10,000 meters without stopping, in under 50 minutes. This past month, I stop two to five times during the workout to take a break after fast-paced intervals. I love having these goals to inspire me!

With all these benefits I’ve experienced, there hasn’t been one negative – seriously! I’m enjoying this workout so much that it never feels like a chore. When my alarm goes off, I’m actually excited to get out of bed even though it feels it’s like the middle of the night. That’s actually the magic of it; that everyone else is asleep and I know I won’t be bothered.

So yes, I plan to keep going, and I just started my fifth week. Wahoo! Rowing every morning has just become my daily routine, something that makes me feel strong emotionally, which is so important during this unique time of stress and anxiety. I’m excited to see what other benefits will come out of it.