We’ve all been there—sweating away on a rowing machine, while our fancy smartwatch just hangs out, looking a bit lost. It tracks steps and sleep like a champ, but when it comes to rowing, it gets confused.
Good news: we can actually link most smartwatches to a rowing machine to track workouts, heart rate, and even stroke rate.
If you’ve ever wondered if you’re using your smartwatch and rower together the right way, you’re not alone. With a little know-how, you can sync them up and let your gadgets do the heavy lifting, sending all that workout data straight to your fitness apps.
Honestly, it beats scribbling numbers on a sweaty post-it any day.
Let’s skip the tech jargon and figure out how to make your smartwatch actually helpful while you row. Less “confused robot,” more “fitness sidekick.”
Connecting Your Smartwatch to the Rowing Machine
If you want every sweaty second on the rower to count, you need your smartwatch and rowing machine to get along. Let’s focus on pairing them, picking the right sports mode, and making sure they’re compatible.
Pairing via Bluetooth
Bluetooth is the magic handshake that lets your smartwatch talk to the rowing machine. Most modern rowing machines, especially those with the PM5 monitor, offer Bluetooth support.
First, turn on Bluetooth on both the rowing machine and your watch. This might mean poking through your watch’s settings and tapping a few buttons.
On the rowing machine, look for a Bluetooth or connectivity menu. Some rowers have touchscreens, others just have buttons—either way, you’ll get there.
Once Bluetooth is active, open the exercise app on your smartwatch and search for available devices. Pick the rowing machine from the list.
If nothing shows up, maybe try restarting both devices. (Or mutter “connect, please” for moral support. Can’t hurt.)
You should see a confirmation on both screens if everything works. Now, your heart rate, workout time, and effort stats can sync right up.
Wearing a smartwatch on the rowing machine is awesome, but picking the wrong sports mode is like showing up to a soup party with a fork. Most smartwatches let you choose from walking, running, biking, and indoor rowing.
Pick indoor rowing or rowing machine mode to track strokes, split times, and get feedback that actually matters.
If your watch doesn’t list rowing, indoor cycling or generic cardio usually beats “freeform dance battle.” The right mode helps your watch and fitness apps log details much more accurately.
On Garmin and Apple Watch, you’ll tap the screen or use crown buttons to select the mode before starting. Other watches might have you swipe, scroll, or even talk to them.
Strap the watch snug—if it’s flopping around, the heart rate sensor won’t work well. Plus, no one wants dramatic arm-flailing at the gym.
Compatibility Considerations
Some smartwatches and rowing machines just don’t want to be friends. Certain rowing machines only play nice with specific brands or models.
For example, the Concept2’s PM5 display works well with Polar and Garmin devices, but older machines might skip Bluetooth altogether.
Check that both your smartwatch and rower claim to support heart rate and workout data syncing. Sometimes you’ll need a third-party app (like EXR or ErgData) to get them talking.
It’s a bit like matchmaking, except with more Bluetooth and less awkward small talk.
Double-check if your equipment uses the same Bluetooth standard—look for BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). If your watch is stubborn, try using a chest strap heart rate monitor that connects directly to the rower, like the Polar H7 or H10.
It’s not as sleek, but hey, at least it works.
If you’re stuck, a quick internet search or a peek at the user manual can save you from a lot of yelling at machines.
Tracking Your Rowing Workouts
We all need a little help making our rowing workouts count. Smartwatches track heart rate, calories burned, and workout time, so we don’t have to do math mid-sweat.
Heart Rate Monitoring in Action
When you row, your heart works just as hard as your arms. Smartwatches with built-in heart rate sensors can catch every beat.
Some watches even send real-time data to the rowing machine’s monitor, so you see stats right on the display.
Keeping an eye on heart rate helps you avoid overdoing it or slacking off. Devices like Garmin and Apple Watch show if you’re in your ideal workout zone.
If you’re training at a certain intensity (or just want bragging rights), this makes it easier.
Heart rate monitoring isn’t just for show. Watching your heart rate helps you train smarter and safer, especially if you have any health concerns.
The bonus? You look pretty professional, even if you’re gasping for air by minute ten. For more on using heart rate with rowers, check out this Concept2 forum discussion.
Measuring Calories Burned
Who doesn’t like seeing calories burned go up? Most fitness trackers estimate calories by using your age, weight, heart rate, and movement.
Rowing works your whole body, so calorie tracking on a smartwatch tends to be pretty accurate compared to other activities.
Some watches recognize the rowing motion automatically, but others want you to pick “indoor rower” or “rowing” mode. If your watch lets you, double-check this before you start.
Devices like the Fitbit Versa 2 require you to select a shortcut for rowing in the app settings, as explained in this Fitbit community post.
You can sync health data to your phone and compare workouts over time. It’s a nice way to track progress (and maybe justify an extra sandwich at lunch).
Using the Stopwatch and Timer
There’s something satisfying about a stopwatch telling you how long you’ve been rowing. A timer is even better—it lets you know when you can stop.
These simple tools on your smartwatch make it easy to follow your workout plan, whether you’re doing intervals or just trying not to fall off after five minutes.
The stopwatch tracks your time on the rower without you having to guess or yell, “Is anyone timing me?” across the gym.
The timer is perfect for intervals—just set it, and your watch will buzz when it’s time to switch. No more staring at the wall clock or counting in your head.
It’s almost like having a tiny personal trainer on your wrist, minus the yelling.
Analyzing Workout Data & Performance Metrics
After a rowing session, staring at your smartwatch feels a bit like checking the scoreboard after dodgeball. You hope for good numbers, but they never lie.
With today’s fitness tech, you can quickly peek at your exercise data, sync health stats, and try to make sense of words like “training load.”
Viewing Exercise Data on the Watch
Smartwatches aren’t just timers; they record a buffet of numbers every time you row.
It’s not only heart rate—they track calories burned, workout duration, and distance rowed.
You can check your step count, but rowing doesn’t really boost that number. Instead, focus on rowing-specific stats like strokes per minute, pace, and sometimes even VO2 max.
If your watch is fancy, it might offer feedback on stroke efficiency or show graphs to make you feel extra fit.
No matter the activity, watches let you compare your effort. Some models even offer all-day health monitoring so you can see how a quick row stacks up against the rest of your day.
Syncing Health Data with Companion Apps
It’s kind of great that syncing health data is almost effortless now. Smartwatches pair with companion apps like the VeryFit app, so all your stats live in one digital trophy case.
After rowing, your watch sends workout data straight to your phone. The app tracks trends over weeks or months, and stores sleep data, heart rate graphs, and training intensity stats.
You can share results or brag about a new personal best. If you use multiple devices or want all-day tracking, syncing keeps everything together—including your pride after a tough row.
For more on using smartwatches for exercise and syncing data, check out this helpful guide.
Understanding Training Load and Recovery
Tracking your training load isn’t just for pro athletes—it’s about avoiding mystery aches after reaching for snacks.
Your watch measures how tough each workout is and tells you if you’re pushing too hard (or maybe not hard enough).
With this info, you can adjust your intensity and plan recovery days. Some watches and apps show charts rating your recovery or readiness, while others give you reminders to rest—whether you listen or not.
Understanding health data, including VO2 max and heart rate variability, helps you see how your body handles stress. Hopefully, that means you’ll laugh, not groan, heading into your next rowing session.
If you want to know more about tracking intensity and recovery with wearables, check out this British Rowing guide.
Customizing the Smartwatch for Rowing
Before you start rowing like a champ, make sure your smartwatch is on your team. Customizing settings helps track your progress, and setting reminders cuts down on forgotten workout days (hey, it happens).
Adjusting Settings and Watch Face
Let’s be real—nobody wants to squint at a jam-packed screen while gasping for air. It’s way better to update the watch face so it shows stats that actually matter for rowing: heart rate, time, strokes per minute, and maybe calories burned. Those numbers count, right?
Most smartwatches let us pick or edit the data fields on the main screen. We should use that power to our advantage.
Some watches include a dedicated rowing mode in the settings. Dig through the menu and turn it on. This mode fine-tunes tracking for indoor or outdoor rowing and makes sure every stroke gets counted.
If possible, connect the watch to the rowing machine. For certain models, that means enabling Bluetooth or ANT+ and pairing sensors. Garmin users, for instance, can set up sensors to sync heart rate directly with the rower. Suddenly, we’re basically high-tech athletes.
Setting and Managing Workout Goals
Setting goals on a smartwatch keeps us accountable—or at least nags us when it’s time for that “rowing extravaganza.” We can track how much time or distance we want to hit on the rower with daily goal setting.
Creating event reminders and alerts turns our watch into that persistent coach we never really asked for. Most smartwatches let us customize reminders, so let’s set up nudges for warm-ups, cooldowns, or just a quick hydration break.
We can set personal bests, challenge ourselves with weekly milestones, or even set reminders for those “row because you said you would” days. If we’re feeling bold, we can link goals to other apps or share records with friends—public bragging might just help our form. Either way, the watch keeps us rowing, no excuses.
Maximizing Health Monitoring Features
Our smartwatches do more than count strokes and calories. With the right features, we can keep tabs on our vital signs and recovery, almost like amateur detectives.
Blood Oxygen and Stress Monitoring
When we’re rowing hard, blood oxygen levels show how well our lungs and heart are teaming up. Most decent smartwatches give us real-time blood oxygen saturation readings.
Checking these numbers helps us see if we’re getting enough oxygen. That’s especially useful if we suddenly feel more like a beached whale than an Olympic rower.
For stress, many watches track heart rate variability. Some even nudge us to chill out, try guided breath training, or take a break before we turn into rowing robots. Watching the stress graph spike can be a good reason to slow down—or maybe just promise to meditate after chasing that last split.
Here’s a quick look at what to watch:
Feature
What It Does
Blood oxygen
Measures oxygen saturation
Stress monitor
Checks heart rate variability
Breath training
Guided breathing exercises
Sleep and Recovery Tracking
Smartwatches really shine when they judge our sleep habits. They track snooze stats—hours spent drooling on the pillow, deep sleep time, and how often we wake up to check the clock.
After a tough rowing session, these stats show if we’re ready for another workout or if it’s time to hit snooze again. Recovery tracking uses heart rate, movement, and blood oxygen data to whisper advice about taking it easy for a day.
Getting enough rest isn’t just about feeling good. It helps prevent injuries and keeps our performance up during training. If our sleep tracker flashes red, maybe it’s smarter to nap than to jump into another 2k row.
Smart Features to Enhance Your Rowing Sessions
Before we get too deep, let’s remember our smartwatches aren’t just for counting heartbeats or timing workouts. They’re packed with clever features that make rowing smoother—and sometimes, a lot more fun.
Using Music and Calls on the Go
Rowing can get repetitive, so why not liven it up with some music? Our smartwatches let us shuffle playlists, adjust the volume, and skip cringe tracks right from our wrists.
Honestly, nothing kills the rowing vibe like pausing to fix music on a phone. With built-in controls, we can row and rock out at the same time.
Many watches let us answer or decline calls, check call history, or even send quick replies without missing a stroke. We can handle calls like secret agents—just press a button, say hello, and keep rowing.
Forget who just called? Checking call history takes a couple taps. Our row might get sweaty, but our social life doesn’t have to.
Activating Voice Assistant and Alexa
Why type when we can talk to our watch? A lot of smartwatches have built-in voice assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa.
We can ask for rowing stats, set reminders, or update our shopping list while working those arms. Need to text a friend or set a timer for intervals? Just say “Hey Alexa” or “OK Google” and it’s done.
The best part? We don’t have to stop rowing or risk dropping the phone in the river (again). Voice commands save time and keep our hands on the oars.
Some watches even read out messages or toss us rowing tips, so we never miss a beat. If only they could row for us, right?
Weather and World Clock Updates
About to row and not sure if you need sunglasses or a raincoat? Our smartwatch has our back. A quick look at the weather app gives us conditions right on the wrist.
Planning a virtual race with friends in another country? The world clock feature makes lining up sessions easy—no more time zone headaches.
These updates help us dodge surprise storms and awkward scheduling mess-ups. All the info’s right there, so we can focus on rowing, not the forecast. Need a reminder about practice or hydration? Set it in seconds.
Battery Life & Durability Considerations
We want our smartwatch to outlast our motivation—especially on tough days. At the same time, it shouldn’t quit after a splash or a sweaty row.
Water Resistance for Sweat and Splash
Rowing machines make us sweat. It gets everywhere—on us, the machine, and the smartwatch strapped to our wrist. That’s where water resistance comes in.
Most decent smartwatches have an IP rating or a depth rating in meters. For rowing, IP68 or 5 ATM is ideal. This keeps our device safe from sweat rivers and dramatic water bottle spills.
Touchscreens can get fussy if water gets trapped, so that’s something to watch out for. We also want buttons and bands that survive daily wipe-downs. A sticky, smelly strap after too many workouts? Hard pass.
Optimizing Battery Performance
Having a smartwatch die mid-workout is just embarrassing. We need a watch that lasts—days, not hours—since GPS, heart rate tracking, and bright screens drain battery fast.
Battery life can range from a single day to over two weeks, depending on use. Turning down screen brightness, cutting unnecessary notifications, and using “workout mode” instead of “full blast” can add hours.
Some watches offer low-power modes, too. For tips on stretching battery life, check out this battery guide from Consumer Reports.
Less charging, more rowing—that’s a win.
Comparing Rowing With Other Workout Modes
Not all workouts—or smartwatches—are built the same. Each activity brings something new, whether we’re sweating on a rowing machine or flailing through Zumba.
Smartwatch Support for Other Exercises
Most smartwatches come loaded with exercise modes, from running and cycling to swimming and cricket. We can jump into outdoor walking, elliptical, or HIIT whenever we want.
Some watches claim to offer 170+ sports modes, so we can track everything from dance battles to pilates. Tracking modes for sports like football, rugby, and soccer let us monitor stats, even when teammates trip us up.
If yoga or strength training is more our style, smartwatches use sensors to measure heart rate, calories, and sometimes even how long we pretend to meditate. Golf, hiking, swimming—they’re all covered. And there’s always classic free training mode for when we’re just winging it.
Switching Between Sports Modes
Switching sports modes on most smartwatches is usually just a couple taps. We can hop from rowing to indoor running or from core training to badminton without breaking a sweat before the workout even starts.
Some smartwatches have shortcuts, voice commands, or fancy double taps, letting us switch activities without fiddling with buttons mid-burpee.
Not every watch tracks every sport perfectly. Sometimes rowing stats won’t match running, but at least we tried—and our activity rings agree.
Advanced Tips and Fun Tricks
Let’s get creative with our smartwatch and rowing machine. Using smart features can make workouts more fun, convenient, and occasionally, a bit lazier.
Using Intelligent Exercise Recognition
Ever forget to press start before rowing? Intelligent exercise recognition often saves the day by picking up our frantic energy as rowing anyway.
Most smartwatches, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch, detect rowing sessions automatically. Once we start, it quietly logs our workout even if we forget.
Sometimes, the recognition gets a bit too eager and thinks we’re rowing when we’re making coffee. If that happens, just laugh and delete the extra workout. If the watch misses our moves, we can always set exercise mode manually.
Custom Alarms and Event Reminders
Worried about missing a meeting because the rowing machine hypnotized you? Setting custom alarms right on the smartwatch is a lifesaver.
We can set reminders to cool down or meet friends after. Smartwatches let us create multiple alarms for different days, so we remember to hydrate or stretch. It’s like having a tiny coach on our wrist—minus the whistle.
Event reminders go even further. Got a race or a training class? The device sends a gentle nudge so we stay on track. We all forget things, especially after a tough row.
Exploring the Control Center
Let’s be honest: we all love buttons. The smartwatch control center is where the magic happens.
With a quick swipe or tap, we can boost screen brightness, start or pause music to set the rowing mood, or turn on Do Not Disturb for that perfect “rowing zen.” Some watches even let us control nearby devices.
No need to walk across the room to turn off the lights—just manage it from the wrist. Who says we can’t be high-tech and a little lazy at the same time?
Surprising Uses: From Sedentary Alerts to Noise Monitoring
Rowing’s awesome, but let’s be honest—sometimes we need a reality check. Sedentary alerts pop up if we’ve been sitting too long, even after crushing a workout.
It’s like our wrist is nudging us, “Hey, get up and celebrate what you just did!” That’s a pretty clever way to keep us moving.
Noise monitoring is another feature I didn’t expect. If you’re rowing in a busy gym or a loud room, the smartwatch steps in and warns you if the noise level gets out of hand.
Now we’re not just tracking heart rate, but keeping tabs on our eardrums’ happiness too. You’ll even get alerts if the environment’s too loud, helping you dodge temporary hearing loss.
Honestly, the smartwatch isn’t just a workout partner—it’s kind of the mom we never asked for, but can’t help but appreciate.
Hi, my name is Garrett Jones, and I am a tech enthusiast. I enjoy researching the new tech that has been released, and have a vast knowledge of the best tech to purchase.
From a young age, I have always had a big interest in technology, and this blog is an extension of that interest. Through this blog, I hope to provide others with all of the information they need regarding tech options to consider, and things such as compatibility. Some of the different items I will be discussing include headphones, smartwatches, and how to fix common issues.
