A Day in the Life: Filming Hydrow Workouts on Lake Annecy
When you settle in for a Hydrow workout on Lake Annecy, you might catch the sun coming over the French Alps or a castle passing behind your Athlete. What you won’t see? The alarm that went off hours earlier, the crew setting up cameras in the dark, or the late-night reading that helped bring your workout to life.
For our Athletes and production crew, filming in France meant early starts, full days on the water, and plenty of inspiration between rows. Everyone stayed together in a house right on the lake, with their boats and equipment just outside. Their commute to work was a walk into the backyard.
No two days followed exactly the same plan, and Athletes rotated through filming blocks. But from the first alarm to the last look at tomorrow’s notes, here’s how a day came together—with a few favorite moments from across the trip.
4:00 a.m. — Wake up
For an Athlete with an early call, the day starts well before the view is visible. Dani’s routine includes hair, makeup, wardrobe, and getting her workout notes and boat ready. Outside, it’s still dark enough that a charged phone flashlight is part of the preparation.
Mac gives herself about an hour and a half to get ready. Some of her alarms were set as early as 3:30 a.m. Then it’s downstairs for coffee, where the little espresso maker became a shared favorite.
James starts around 5 a.m., getting some food and coffee before reviewing his workout and preparing his boat. By the time the sun reaches the mountains, there’s already been a lot of activity at the house.
5:30 a.m. — Gear up and go
Down at the dock, headlamps are on and equipment cases are coming out. John, the crew’s technical director, loads gear, sets up cameras, and checks audio. The Athletes get microphones fitted and cameras attached to their rowing boats.
Andrea leads the operation on the water, coordinating where the team goes, how shots are set up, and how to move safely around lake traffic. Sometimes, getting the right view means loading a rowing shell onto the filming boat and transporting it to another part of the lake, ready to capture a castle at sunrise.
All that preparation adds up. As John explains, a block with around 45 minutes of workout filming can take roughly four hours once setup and travel between locations are included.
7 a.m. — First filming block
The reward for the early start: the sun climbing over the Alps and, on the best mornings, beautifully flat water. Athletes film two or three workouts back to back. Mac filmed nine workouts in three days, with her schedule concentrated toward the beginning of the trip.
The coaching you hear is built around a carefully planned workout, but it isn’t a memorized script. Mac uses talking points and color-coded notes to keep track of intensity changes. A countdown clock on the filming boat helps her follow the intervals while she rows, steers, and talks you through the effort.
Workouts are filmed in one continuous take, so the Athlete is doing the work right along with you. The crew can help call attention to something behind the Athlete that’s visible on camera. And when the boat comes back, teammates help with equipment and getting the next rower onto the water. James often came down to help even when he wasn’t filming.
12:30 p.m. — Lunch break
Once everyone is back, the team gathers around the table. A local cook prepares French meals at the house, often with four courses: soup or salad, a main, cheese and bread, and dessert. There’s a view of the mountains from the yard, and nobody has to figure out where to go for lunch.
One of Dani’s favorite meals was the very first lunch: a regional dish with sausage, leeks, potatoes, and carrots. She’d noticed the cook arriving two days beforehand and later learned she was already preparing that particular meal.
Having food taken care of made a difference beyond the table. Dani found that fewer trips between the house, the water, and restaurants left more energy for researching and delivering her workouts.
2:00 p.m. — Take a breather
With early mornings and evening filming, the middle of the day is a chance to recharge. For Dani, that might mean a nap or a swim. Mac uses the time to rest and work on notes for her next rows.
On an afternoon when she wasn’t filming, Buffy rented a bike with plans to ride around the lake. A closed section of the path sent her off course and into the mountains. That outing, along with the hiking, wakeboarding, and meals she observed, helped inspire an Amazing Race–style workout with five tasks to complete.
For digital media manager Andrew, the break between filming blocks often means another kind of work. He collects the footage from John, checks that it recorded properly, and backs it up. His makeshift office sits beside the kitchen, so the next meal is taking shape within earshot while he works.
5:30 p.m. — Second filming block
The team heads back out as the evening light shifts across the lake. Andrea rotates Athletes through the schedule so everyone gets an opportunity to film in the best light. By this point, though, the lake can be a much busier place. Wakeboarders and powerboats leave waves behind, and the crew has to work with the conditions in front of them.
One evening, Dani’s block came with an unexpected delay: the filming boat’s motor wouldn’t start. A mechanic came out on another boat and got it running again in about half an hour. Dani still filmed, finishing as daylight faded.
She joked that the turtleneck tank top she was wearing might be cursed: an earlier block in the same shirt had been canceled because of conditions. This time, the team got the workout done.
8:00 p.m. — Dinner
Back at the house, boats and oars are put away, equipment comes inside, and everyone gets cleaned up for dinner. The shared meals became one of the trip’s favorite rituals. Mac remembers enjoying a dish so much that the table wanted to know what it was. The answer: ratatouille. In France, of course.
There’s time to swap stories and play High, Low, Buffalo, sharing the best part of the day, the hardest part, and something unexpected. Away from the table, a ping-pong round robin has people running around to keep the volley going.
Living and eating together also gives teammates more chances to talk through ideas. Those conversations sometimes make their way into the workouts.
The house’s outdoor cat, Horus, also became part of the evening routine, appearing outside the dining room window as everyone checked that someone had fed him.
9:30 p.m. — Find tomorrow’s inspiration
After dinner, the notes come back out. One evening, a conversation about French books and movies reminded Mac of “The Little Prince,” a book her French teacher had once encouraged her to read. She liked the idea so much that she stayed up reading the entire book and developed a workout around its themes.
Dani’s research took her into local folklore. For a 20-minute Breathe, she brought together three legends from the area and a fourth story she invented about the house. Talking with local people who recognized the legends made it even more exciting to share them with members.
Meanwhile, Andrea checks the weather and wind to help decide where to head the next morning, and Andrew backs up the evening’s footage. The boats may be off the water, but there’s still work happening around the house.
11:00 p.m. — Lights out. Do it again.
One last review of the workout structure. One last check of tomorrow’s plan. Then it’s time to get some sleep before the next alarm.
When you press play, you get to join the best part: rowing through Lake Annecy with an Athlete who’s there with you, sharing the effort and the view. And now, you know a little more about the day that brought that workout home.
