Just how fast was Steve Redgrave rowing? 

It's been 25 years, but the word "erg test" still brings a shiver down me spine.

Good work! Pleasure chatting with you and an impressive improvement over a couple of weeks. Definitely can get faster than 620, I'm confident that you could even do under 6 minutes but that would be another video!

As a rower, I am both cringing because I know exactly how you feel after finishing, but at the same time gleefully smiling because I know exactly how you feel after finishing

"Slightly above average." Man you have biceps bigger than my head, you are almost 2 meters tall and you got advanced level time after not rowing for probably longer that I have been on this world. Huge respect from me.

Having been a professional rowing coach for over 20 years I can say that there is at least 10 seconds which you can take off at least on just improving your skills. And yes, it's hard once you get really tired to maintain your form, it's even more important on the water though. With your build and specific training you should be able to beat Sir Steve's worst time quite handsomely. His best time would take a lifetime of training though. On the other hand, winning your age group at the British indoor or even CRASH-B (worlds) would be a realistic goal.

6:24 is an incredible time!! There is really nothing like the feeling of almost blacking out after a 2K test. It feels like all the effort of a 5k run distilled into 7 minutes, absolutely brutal.

As a former rower in an elite high school program I think you are a natural for this sport. I'm certain that if you did rowing specific training with high level coaching you could get your number under 6 mins. Outstanding effort. (and yeah...watching you go down into the fetal position does bring back lots of unpleasant feelings)

Holy crap! I've never really tried the rowing machine. Watched this video and thought, "that can't be that hard". Went to the gym and jumped on the rowing machine. Started with a furious tempo and felt really good. "Hey, what's the big deal here?". Reached 500m and from nowhere... I died. Pushed myself to finish the whole 2k in just about 8 minutes. And now I feel like shit. I hate you for making me do this ;)

You've proven that these guys are incredible....Also that even at 6'6" people still revert to the fetal position 😂

6:24 at almost 50, I didn't even get that when I was 30. Seriously crazy performance that if you ever head down to a rowing club will see you in many a first VIII for Henley. Nice to see that over time, that familiar position on the floor at the end of a 2k remains unchanged ever since its inception. Pretty awesome video... long overdue 👌

Hey Mark, I used to be handy on the rower before as an international lightweight rower (6:11 @

It seems like as you get more comfortable with these videos your humor has gotten even better. Your attitude and Clarkson-esque dry sardonic quips is what for me really sets your channel apart from a sea of fitness tubers that all sound like trite and vapid motivational posters. Showing (and laughing about) the suffering that it takes to feel real exaltation feels honest, and somehow reassuring. Thanks and please keep it up.

6.23.6 was my fastest time at the age of 44. I’d trained for 14 months for it, so you did an amazing job with limited training. I’m 61 now with a metal hip and rowing 50k a week and training callisthenics. The C2 a rower is a fantastic piece of kit and it’s sad to say I could not do without it in my life. Loving the content 👏

Hi Mark, I don't comment very often on YT videos but I'd like to say that your videos are really entertaining. Most videos I click off within the first few minutes just because I get bored (ADHD maybe?), but you somehow keep my interest through entire videos. I'm sure it's the same for many others too, so thank you and keep on keeping on :)

Fascinating video, Steve Redgrave was a semi mythical figure to me growing up, still remember staying up watching him win 5th gold in Sydney

Being a 2m tall guy who's struggling with staying below 100 kgs, I'm thoroughly enjoying your videos. Your struggles, methods and ways to motivate yourself are inspiring and make me think about possible challenges I would like to face in the near future. Keep doing what you're doing, I hope you know how much of an inspiration you are for so many strangers around the globe.

Omg - your first (!) 2k was already better than my PB after 5yrs of Crossfit! 🤯😂🤩 And 6:24 is insanely fast! Congrats indeed! Motivates me to go for a 6:45 during the next year (44, 89,189). Hats off to you - and obviously you are not just "a bit above average" 😉

Solid work, Mark!

Congratulations Mark. You wiped the floor with these guys. 😂 I love the tips from coaches and pointing me to new follows on YT. The gear updates on your website are great.

Great effort Mark! Really enjoyed the video and Cam's tip is just what I needed. Much appreciated. Thanks!

Amazing how you managed to pull a 6.26 even when you waste literal seconds waiting at the end of the stroke. Great work!

Just discovered your videos Mark, and really enjoying them. I'm a bit older than you (61) but can relate to a lot of the stuff that you talk about. Indoor Rowing is the one sport that I've been more consistent with over the years since I gave up running as seriously as I could around 40, due to injuries. This particular video reminded me of the first British Championships that I took part in. It's just an open race, anyone that enters rows in one 2k event for their age group, and since I am around the same age I was in the same event as Steve Regrave. I was thrilled when I found out. It was probably round about 2000, so Steve wasn't at his fastest, but I probably was, however I was still about a minute behind him. I think I just missed 7 minutes. most of my long distance running pals were quite impressed, but failed to realise that in this event a minute is a lifetime.

This one was TOUGH 😂 if you want to check out your time against others use the website I did: rowinglevel.com/

Whoa. 6:24 at a 28 stroke rate with (probably) a super high drag factor? I'm not sure the other comments about how you could smash 6:15 do it justice. I think with a little bit of rowing-specific training - to keep your form up at later parts of the race, proper pacing throughout the 2k, and a bit of practice feeling the different sections as lactic acid builds up - you could break 6:00. 6:24 is already a phenomenal achievement. Lowering the drag factor and increasing the stroke rate will shift a lot of the burden from your muscles to your cardiovascular system, which will let you go fast for a lot longer before it really starts to hurt. I think a standard drag factor for openweight men is around 130 - you can display this in the settings and then adjust the damper to dial it in, since different ergs can have dramatically different drag factors even at the same damper setting - but usually the damper is set somewhere between 4 and 6. Stroke rate varies somewhat by preference, but usually between 32-38 depending on how much you can push your cardio. I'd love to see a follow up if you continue rowing!

Great effort!! It brought all the pain back to me, thanks hahahaha!! At 55 as a Lwt I set the age group WR at a 1.38.6 ave split,,... 6.38.1 held it for 12 years, it hurt a lot. Well done again.

These lightbulb moments with the technique are awesome, thank you for sharing! Since the Kipchoge video, the advice in that video has completely changed how I run for the better. And I am sure this video will be the same story for rowing.

The rolling onto the ground bit is so relateable. I did rowing in high school and it felt like a warzone after 2ks with everyone collapsing or vomiting. I remember one time wobbling out of the building after one and forgetting there was a 3" stepdown and my knees just buckled. Knowing a 2k was coming up made me dread the days leading up to it. Rowing on the water was amazing, though. Have a lot of great memories rowing out in calm weather and having to come back with choppy waves, people 'catching crabs,' oars popping out of oarlocks in the last warmups before a race, and taking little nap breaks with everyone leaned back on each other waiting for races to start. Good shit but the hardest workout I've ever done.

Your videos are awesome! Love your humor and drive! Definitely an inspiration for me as I strive for the best me possible. Thanks!!!

oh man. This was the one i was hoping for. That time is so far above average at any age let alone 50. Full marks for humility. I managed to break 7min last year. I've recently watched a youtube video with Polly Swan talking about how, at 700m to go, she was looking at the boat in the lead thinking, 'You have no f*&^ing idea what is coming'. I'm trying to use that mentality to break 6.50...Seems ridiculous after watching you saying 6.24 is 'above average' haha. Love the content and as a Yamsquad member, great that you reached out to Cam.

This is an excellent video, Mark! Really inspiring, so thank you. Just as GHWMR commented below, I fully agree with what he said. Also as a former rowing coach myself you can definitely take at least 10 seconds off that time. Cam gave you some excellent advice, but you could certainly do better as you're still overcompressing your legs as well as crushing your lungs at the catch. Another thing that would help enormously would be to get hold of a senior or elite level rower to actually be by your side while you're doing the 2k. I'm not sure if you heard the comment from Jenna (about not being on target) while you were doing the test, but no experienced rower would say that. They will talk to you and give you encouragement, knowing what to say and when, to maintain your technique, motivate you through the pain and keep your mind off it and focussed, especially as your mind starts to cloud over in the last 1000m. I very much hope you revisit this. Thanks again!

Loved the supportive pace notes from your dearest! Years ago, in the pomp of British rowing with the likes of Redgrave, Pinsent et al, there was a BBC documentary filming them during the Olympic selection process for which boat they would be going in or in some cases no boat at all and the training sessions on these rowers were brutal and they literally fell off them at the end, no unclipping feet, just a roll and collapsed to one side!

Having had no training in rowing, your details on the catch was so valuable. Thank you!

Hey Mark, I had the same issue as you with the overreach. What helped me was to tie a bicycle innertube on the beam at just the right spot so the seat WONT slide forward past where my shins were vertical. After a month of learning not to let the seat roller hit the rubber I was able to take it off and was 'retrained' so to speak. Entertaining video - wish Zwift had rowing!

Absolutely impressive! It is a tough motion to get used to with applying power. You are a beast! Your times are exceptional. You are an incredibly gifted athlete and the one thing with rowing is you can get very far simply with heart and training.

As a former collegiate rower this video was superbly entertaining! Bravo for the effort and for sharing the journey!

Really great to watch and congratulations that was still an amazing time!

I remember watching Pinsent and Redgrave rowing in one of the heats of the coxless pair competition at Henley Royal Regatta. Pinsent and Redgrave were in their pomp. Their competition was one of the best club crews in the country - a pair that would show a clean pair of heels to almost anyone else. P&R went off hard from the start to the Barrier (the first timing mark, about 2 mins into the course). At that point, they stopped rowing for Redgrave to take his top off. The other crew didn't even catch them when they were stationary. They were told off for it - it was seen as being disrespectful. They really were at another level.

Hey nice job I love seeing these challenges. I know you were analyzing your form throughout the video. One thing I noticed though that really helped me on rowing is making sure you don’t pull with the arms until you finish pulling with the legs. From the start of a stroke keep a straight upper body, drive through the heels, and then pull with the arms. I’m sure you discussed this with Cameron. However making sure you hit each point greatly improves efficiency. It also allows you to maintain a consistent amount of power through each stroke. You can actually see this on a concept 2 rower by changing the display. If you go to the graph displaying your watts over each stroke you can see it dip if you arms bend early. Second thing that help me is actually decreasing the strokes/min. This is more of a training technique and when you are sprinting it is obviously a different beast, but making sure you are putting as much power into each stroke is better then just pulling as fast as you can. Again it’s more about the consistent wattage over time. I used to be able to out pace people in my gym doing 20-25 strokes/min while people would well above 30 (I am tall like you though so there was an advantage). I’m no expert by any means so take what I say with a grain of salt but I have spent a decent amount of time on concept 2 rower and these things helped me a lot.

Love the topics, contents and humour in these videos. Subscribed!

Dude, I never get tired of the movie clips you drop in. That Fast and Furious reference had me cracking up! As always, awesome video, thanks for sharing.

I'm gonna go row because of this video! You're proper fit, mate. I managed a 1K time of 3:56 as a baseline (without training). This video has inspired me to better my rowing time. Hopefully I can get a 7 minute 2k. But I'm far shorter than you, 5'6, and much lighter as well so it'll be tough. Wish me luck!

In my 20s (30 years ago) I did 1500m (our rowing club's test piece) on a 1:36 split @78 kg. In my 50s now, it is a struggle to commit to 2000m (or any test piece) the way you did. Got to say you did it properly. Nobody rowing at their potential ends up in anything other than a fetal position. My concept2 has been sitting unused for almost a year - need to get back into it.

love the rower, its a real torture machine, the burn really is something else.!! Good effort!

I loved this!!!!!! Thank u for pure honesty. In 6'2 and 85kg so will see what I can do....I'll throw a blanket down now to comfort the rolling!

Amazing time especially considering how little rowing you had done. My best was 6:28 in my mid-20's and I only did it when the radio in the gym played two Prodigy songs back to back. Give it a try and you'll crack 6:15 in no time.

Great vid, love the subtle humour and the humility. I’m 60 and addicted to my Concept2. I’ve finally found a discipline that I’m ok at. Tried cycling but I’m too heavy at 82kg, can’t run because of arthritis in my spine but rowing is perfect. I find longer distances almost like meditating. 41.07 for 10k.

So glad I found your channel. I am a 48 year old Welshman who.. Like yourself has ridden the roller-coaster life trying to fit in work family and Olympic dreams 😂 So good to find a real world view of this. We are all guilty of aiming unrealistic goals and suffering the injury and misery that follows. It has taken me years to realise that health, wellbeing and Enjoyment are what really matter. Really enjoying my recent binge on your videos. Keep up the awesome work mate.

This is great content, its cool to see this stuff it really points out how amazing the peak performers are!

As a rower, watching this video was really awesome. Fun challenge and showing a lot of respect for the sport. And seeing that youre really paying attention to getting better technique. Technique is a lot less important on the erg than on the water, so often fitness people throw technique out the window.

WR- 5:35.5 set by Josh Dunkley Smith. Split of 1:23.9.

I really enjoy this series where you try different things!

All your videos are great. Entertaining and informative. Some good LOL moments in there.

LOVE your humour! And one more thing: After pulling backwards, push your hands forward fast right away, then you can leave your hands low (i.e. relax more) and don't have to lift them over your knees. (rowing a boat you actually have to do that or you'll plunge your oars in the water -- not good for your speed)

Remember to hold the knees and really hold them down until the hands come out of the finish. This will help you use your bodyweight more effectively and help you go faster.

What a great great channel! Always been amazed by the level from average Joe to good athlete to elite Olympian. Really good blend of facts figures and funny’s. Keep up the good work sir! Subbed!

Seeing those rowing machines brought it all back. I need to go lie down in a dark room for a moment. Great video!

Jesus, 6:24 is seriously rapid without significant training. I trained for a few months to get under 7 minutes! I had mates that were part of the GB rowing setup and they said the best training for a 2k was 8 x 500m with the same rest between sets as you took. Ie Row 500m at 1:45, rest for 1:45. If you're doing a 6:24 now, I reckon Redgraves 6:15 is definitely within reach!

Great content as ever! How about the 1994 Tour de France prologue by chris boardman.

Great video, I’m 44 and I recently started using the rower at my gym and my best 2k is just under 8 mins but feel I have a bit left in the tank so will be aiming for 7m 30s as my next target. Great advice on the form which I’ll take into the gym. Sir Steve was unbelievable to watch to maintain that rate for that amount of time is mind blowing. As for rowing machines they’re the most unforgiving things ever created 😅

Love this, it's my first exposure to your stuff - I'm a fan!! Totally wrecked 👏👏👏👏👏👏

Let’s put your 6:24 into context. At the 2022 World Rowing Virtual Indoor Championships held in February, your 6:24 would have resulted in a ninth place finish in the 40-49 age category, and a fifth place finish in the 50-54 age category. This makes you not just above-average or elite but world class! You’re an adult rowing prodigy, and it would be interesting to see how far you can take that.

Mark, you’re simply amazing in these attempts to “compete” with the elite athletes. But 2k under 6:25 is freakishly fast. 🎉

Came across this video Mark and used to love rowing in the gym. That is an awesome time 💪 Dug out an old FB post and best I managed was 7m flat @ 5'10" 75Kg @ 40 yrs old. Bang on what you said about all-round body workout. Hope can get a C2 in the near future 🤞

I only found this channel recently and I love it! I love a donut or 4 myself, so very much more akin to the "before" you in your videos 😂 but the stuff you put out is both hilarious and inspiring, so you never know....

Is it time for a swimming challenge now? Something around 42+min on the IM distance, how long can you hold this pace?

my Pr is 6:50 back when I was a volleyball player so not exactly good cardio but tons of strength. all I remember was me on the ground shaking for 20 min on the ground wile my wife was laughing at me..

Great effort, man!

Excellent video, great time! I’m struggling to hit 7:30, you’ve motivated me to do better and cam is such a pro in the sport and as a human being!

First lol

Just did 3 hours on my turbo and your videos made the time fly by…well for the first couple of hours at least. I burst out laughing a few times. Brilliant content. Inspirational bloke. Keep up the good work mate. And thank you.

Super informative, inspiring, and comedy gold. A+

Absolutely stupendous effort. I look forward to hopefully getting a 2k time like yours someday, I'm still struggling to get sub 7 without puking. Cheers!

I've just started on my fitness journey having lost a ton of weight due to Covid and it causing me some serious issues. Figured I might as well try live a better lifestyle while trying to gain that weight back etc but I've always been into sports and watching Sir Steve do what he did in the Olympics was always incredibly impressive. The man is a machine and is definitely up there as one of the all time greats in sport history I think.

That segue into the advert was smooooth! Respects. Oh yes, and for the rowing 🙂

Great time! Love the rolling around on the floor, one of us, one of us!

Thanks I learned about today, and its awesome you got close to the level of an olypian on his worst day! I wouldnt dream of doing that.

Great video Mark. Good effort on such few ergs.

No idea how I stumbled across this video but it was great. Great presentation style and really interesting video. Subscribed!

Brilliant video .. once again .. i spent 18 months rowing after a shin and cruciate injury from running .. and it was amongst the hardest things ive ever done .. including almost forty years of karate, half-marathons and triathlon .. awesome performance

Well, considering your very limited experience and lack of form this result is actually quite amazing. Technique matters so much, hence the value of experience. Very motivating to see a guy your age perform the way you do. Inspiring.

Mark what a great effort - really impressive. As others have said there is more there from technique and race tactics point of view.

I am a beginner rower so starting to experiment with some of these distances and I know that barfy feeling. Way to go for it!!

Thank you for posting this. some of my greatest passions are rowing and finding a good (non fancy) Donut.

Really enjoyed this video. Thanks Mark.

This is the first video of yours I've come across. This is a fantastic video, I'm looking forward to watching more of your content. P.s. I thought I was pretty good in the rower with a 18:45 5k and a sub 40 minute 10k time. I don't think I could pull off what you've done here.

OH MY BUDDHA that's an incredible effort! I had my sights set on 1:45 /500! You smashed my effort by miles! Awesome work, great inspiration. I hope to get this record before I turn 61 in September.

great video. happily subscribed. look forward to watching more content

Good Work. As someone who attempted to continue (Club) competitive rowing into his 40’s, that was a good time. Last 2k I ever did was a 6.30 (43, 6’1” and 92kg). It convinced me to stop…. Well done for finishing!

So insightful and helpful. Thanks!

I enjoyed your pain greatly. That time is excellent - especially in view of a lack of rowing training and technique. Really good.

love the videos, keep them coming. you've inspired me to dust off my rower that is only being used to hang dry clothes on. w/ a few small tweaks, I can see you pulling some good times.

Why does your torture provide such quality entertainment? Im not sure but please continue to do this as I enjoy watching

Brilliant video. Loved it.

Outstanding rowing ! 2k is such a tough test - I’m 53 on got a 7.36 a couple of years ago which I was really pleased with

Great entertainment Mark, keep them coming! 👌🏼

Cracking work! love this series! Having spent the last few years letting my fitness melt away, you've inspired to get back into shape! cheers :)

What an effort, within touching distance of Wiggins. Brilliant sequence of videos that really demonstrate the different physical qualities needed to compete at the highest level. You are clearly a very above average rower, well done and thanks again.

I mean you could be a worldclass rower looking at your times, well done!

Nice work/effort. Insane actually. Great reminder on form....so bloody key to efficiency. I try to focus on a brief period [when my legs are driving from the catch] where my arms relax into tension and full extension. This keeps me from pulling too soon. The "...dresses in the dark..." comment was $

Great work. Being a cyclist normally I took up some gym rowing whilst injured once and I can tell you that your time is bloody good 👍