How to choose an indoor rowing coach

If you're new to indoor rowing, you might be wondering how to choose an indoor rowing coach for your needs — and personality. Coach preferences are highly personal and depend on multiple factors, and trying a bunch of different coaching styles can be beneficial. Whatever you're looking for, we've got something to help you work out and improve your rowing technique.

ASENSEI works with a team of amazing coaches, ranging from Olympic athletes, to boutique and home studio coaches, and international rowers and rowing team coaches.

Read on to find out more about each of our ASENSEI coaches, their styles, and the programs they teach in the ASENSEI rowing app.

Eric Murray

Eric Murray is an eight-time Olympian, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and indoor rowing world record breaker from New Zealand. Having started rowing as a way to keep fit in the rugby off-season, Eric has gone from strength to strength as both a competing athlete and a coach, breaking multiple Concept2 world records alongside his Olympic wins. He is also author of The Kiwi Pair, the gripping story of Eric and Hamish Bond's unique and unbeaten rowing partnership.

Eric's impressive experience as a two-time Olympic gold medalist, with an unbeaten record as part of the Kiwi Pair, means he has both a broad and deep understanding of how to move a boat, row an erg, and ultimately, how to go fast. From machine set-up and technical basics to training programs and racing psychology, Eric has an incredible knowledge that he loves to share with the wider rowing community.

As an ASENSEI coach, Eric not only coaches in-app, but also the weekly livestream workouts, available on the ASENSEI YouTube channel. To help figure out how to choose an indoor rowing coach, in terms of style, Eric is a storyteller who likes to go into detail about technical aspects of the rowing stroke. His workouts are rich in useful information, although if you want to skip through to the rowing, that can easily be done in the app. The workouts often involve detailed explanations of why Eric is programming a particular workout, what aspects of your fitness or technique it will help you with, and demonstrations of particular technical aspects of the rowing stroke, but made easily understandable for all levels!

You can read our interview with Eric here.

You can watch our video interview with Eric here.

Which programs does Eric coach?

• (RE)COMMIT
  • 6-week program, 3 workouts per week
  • Suitable for beginners, intermediate and advanced rowers
  • Goal: 2k distance
• (RE)COMMIT PLUS
  • Extended version of (RE)COMMIT
  • 7-week program, 4 workouts per week
• (RE)FOCUS
  • 12-week program, 5 workouts per week
  • Suitable for intermediate/advanced rowers with an existing fitness base
  • Goal: 6km/5km distance
• (RE)LIVE
  • Collection of workouts recorded as livestreams, but with added ASENSEI tracking and goal setting in the app
  • Insights, tips, and Q&A sessions from Eric
• ERIC MURRAY ABOVE AND BEYOND
  • Testing standalone workouts for supplementing other programs

Find out more about our rowing programs here

Did you know?

Eric competed on New Zealand's Dancing With The Stars in 2022!

Johan Quie

Johan Quie, popular for his dynamic coaching style and exciting, technique-focused workouts, is one of ASENSEI's first coaches. Johan trained with the US Olympic team for the 2012 Olympics, and competed at Royal Henley, a number of Red Bull events, and races all over the world. He has taught thousands of San Francisco locals at boutique rowing and fitness studios, RowClub and Tribe Fitness, making him an experienced and highly knowledgeable coach. As an ASENSEI coach, Johan teaches a variety of programs, from beginner to advanced levels and is a great choice if you are trying to figure out how to choose an indoor rowing coach.

Johan's programs are very varied, with different themes, drills, and exercises to keep you engaged and make sure you never get bored. Johan also knows that people don't always row to compete: motivations can range from improving mental health to supporting training in another sport. For those athletes, Johan has workouts that mix up the rates and speeds, setting challenges throughout, and blending rowing with core and conditioning work off-erg.

Johan is ideally placed to guide you through workouts for a variety of levels and goals.

You can read our interview with Johan here.

Which programs does Johan coach?

• TRAINING DAY
  • Take your fitness to the next level.
  • Get fitter faster
  • Something for everyone, whether you're focusing on technique, building endurance, or pushing your limits with intense workouts.
• QUICKIES
  • Series of short 30-minute (or less) workouts
  • Goal: increase your aerobic capacity and improve drive progression
• LEGS, BODY, ARMS
  • 7-workout program
  • Suitable for all abilities and fitness levels
  • Lots of variety!
• SWEAT, SMILE, SCULPT
  • Workouts themed around endurance, speed, and strength and technique
  • Suitable for all abilities
• SWEAT FACTORY
  • High-intensity workouts
  • Ideal for those seeking to lose weight and condition the key rowing muscles
  • Created for those short on time but keen to burn calories

Find out more about our rowing programs here and decide how to choose an indoor rowing coach. 

Did you know?

Johan actually studied to be a sports journalist, and picked up rowing while at college!

Clare Holman (British Rowing)

Clare Holman is a performance development coach helping to identify future Olympians and former assistant coach to the British Paralympic squad. Having started rowing at school and university, Clare coached after graduating, with a Paralympic quad training camp prior to racing at Gavirate in May 2022. She features in many of the British Rowing Go Row Indoor videos, and helped bring a couple of structured programs to the ASENSEI rowing platform. She is a British Rowing Indoor Master Trainer, and Indoor Rowing Lead for the Invictus Games.

If you are trying to figure out how to choose an indoor rowing coach, Clare is hugely experienced, with a focus on technique. Her programs with ASENSEI are designed for beginners, using her considerable expertise to help you develop skills, strength, and stamina.

Which programs does Clare coach?

• MASTER THE BASICS
  • 8-week program
  • Designed for beginners, but suitable for more advanced rowers who can benefit from drills and challenges that will adapt to their abilities
  • Goal: build skills, strength, and stamina, to make indoor rowing part of your fitness journey
• BRIC ONLINE TRAINING PLAN
  • 6-week guided training program
  • Goal: get in shape for the British Indoor Rowing Championships, aimed at either 2km or 500m competitors
  • Less coach input, but all the usual tracking, goal setting, and guidance

Tom George and Saskia Budgett

The MASTER THE BASICS workouts also feature audio and video tips and insights from GB Rowing team member Saskia Budgett, and Olympian Tom George. Tom won a bronze medal in the men's eight at the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, with recent World Championship successes, and not long ago broke the British 2km record. Saskia is a regular member of the British Rowing team, competing in the World Cup and World Championships.

They are both exciting and dynamic rowers, and the MASTER THE BASICS program benefits from their expertise and insights. 

Find out more about our rowing programs here

Did you know?

Outside of rowing, Saskia is a medical student, and rows alongside her partner, Kyra Edwards.

Tom studied at both Cambridge and Princeton Universities.

Shane Farmer (Dark Horse Rowing)

Shane Farmer is the creator of Dark Horse Rowing, which was born out of Shane's passion for helping others in their quest for personal evolution on and off the rowing machine. Shane is an internationally renowned indoor rowing coach, and has led thousands of people in their journey of improving their physical and mental approach to the sport.

Shane says rowing changed his life. Before he found rowing, he felt unmotivated, unhappy, and stuck, but once he started rowing, he found himself within a community of friends and teammates who helped him gain self-confidence and discipline. This has inspired Shane's expertise in the psychological aspect of rowing, as well as the physical side.

This spirit of companionship led to the founding of Dark Horse, placing you as an athlete within a community of others who help you become the best you can be. The focus on community and accountability is just one of the reasons why we love what he does.

To help decide how to choose an indoor rowing coach it's useful to know Shane is driven by working on both physiological and psychological capacity for exercise, setting him apart from many others.  His program, BE A DARK HORSE, focuses on mindset, blending on- and off-machine drills (although you can also choose one or the other if you prefer). The ASENSEI rowing app is the only place where you can focus on the on-erg or off-erg aspects.

Which programs does Shane coach?

• BE A DARK HORSE
  • 8-week program, 5 workouts per week
  • Lots of variety in theme!
  • Goal: help build your mind and body and help you become a Dark Horse!
  • Each week includes two rowing and three off-erg strength and mobility sessions
• DARK HORSE ROWING ABOVE AND BEYOND
  • An additional collection of workouts from the Dark Horse team, designed to supplement other programs and training

Find out more about our rowing programs here

Did you know?

Shane loves rowing so much he's taken a rowing machine to some pretty wild places — how about the top of a mountain?!

ASENSEI

When you row with ASENSEI, you benefit not only from the wisdom, knowledge, and experience of our human coaches, but also from the watching eye of ASENSEI itself. Using cutting-edge motion capture technology, ASENSEI is able to track and correct your form and technique, ensuring your coaching is personalized to you. By catching mistakes before they become ingrained, ASENSEI makes sure you develop as a safe and effective athlete, all through your phone or tablet. When deciding how to choose an indoor rowing coach it's a great idea to start with ASENSEI.