From Rowing Skeptic to Gold Medalist: My Hydrow Journey

This blog is a guest post from Hydrow member Matt Peachey (aka bigsox).

Like many people, I bought my Hydrow during the COVID-19 lockdown. My wife Nicole (aka sparrowlegs), has always been a fan of rowing machines, but I used to avoid them at the gym because they seemed like they were boring and too much work. But when I was diagnosed with medial compartment arthritis in both my knees, I was advised to turn to lower-impact exercise to strengthen my legs and maximize flexibility. My consultant suggested swimming, elliptical/cross-trainer, or rowing, so I bit the bullet, bought my Hydrow—and very quickly got hooked, both on and off the water. 

Here is the story of how I transformed from a skeptic to an indoor rowing champion obsessed with the sport and everything about it, including improving my health, fitness, focus, being outdoors more (in all weather!), making new friends, and challenging myself beyond my wildest dreams. 

Becoming an “erg monkey” with Hydrow

Since I bought my Hydrow in August 2021, I have clocked over 4 million meters (and counting!). I went from avoiding rowing machines at all costs to getting withdrawal symptoms if I missed a day. 

Hydrow’s immersive experience of working hard while being virtually transported around the world and being taught the technical aspects of rowing caught me by surprise. The training felt real, and soon I was on the Hydrow almost daily, doing all sorts of workouts, including stretching and strength and conditioning to complement my rowing. 

I also started seeing health benefits of my growing obsession start to emerge. I am fitter than at any point in my life, even losing more than two stone (>28lbs) from my heaviest point during lockdown. I’m eating better, sleeping better, and feeling better, with many of the aches and pains in my knees reducing significantly. It turns out that weighing less, being more flexible, and having stronger quads, glutes and more flexible hamstrings makes a huge difference with knee problems! The benefits of buying the Hydrow have been amazing—even life-changing.

As I progressively got fitter and stronger, I started competing in virtual races on my Hydrow, which sparked my competitive side. When I participated in my first virtual Head of the Charles race on the Hydrow in 2021 and came in 29th place worldwide out of around 9,000 participants, I realized I was actually quite good at this and wanted to push myself to compete in more virtual challenges and learn to row on the water. 

Joining my local rowing community 

After living in the Henley-on-Thames area for over 20 years, I had barely spent any time near or on the river, and would certainly never have imagined myself sculling. Nicole and I signed up for a “Learn to Row” course at the Henley Rowing Club (HRC) in January 2022, and we both quickly adapted thanks to the comprehensive coaching from Hydrow. 

Rowing on the water has its own challenges, and I now fully appreciate the reality of the technical side of rowing and adapting to varied rowing conditions, after only experiencing smooth virtual waters. We were learning something new every time we boated, gaining confidence, making new friends, and being positively challenged on so many different levels every week. 

On a personal level, I was also loving the technical and analytical nature of rowing (I now fully appreciate why a Junior Girl in a single scull can simply “glide” past a quad full of burly men!). Our obsession deepened further, and our rowing journey was now taking a totally different path. 

Rowing my way to gold

In February 2023, I met our new HRC Masters coach Holly Nixon, a former team GB rower and World and European medalist). One day, when rowing on the water wasn’t possible, I found myself in the gym with her and a fellow Learn to Row graduate, Alex Scott. Holly decided to “have some fun” and asked us to both do an impromptu 2K on a rowing machine. Less than six minutes and 40 seconds later, we were both finished, and Holly was twisting our arms to enter the 2023 British Indoor Rowing Championships (BRIC). 

I had no idea about BRIC, but after some research, I concluded it would be an honor to represent my club, Henley Rowing Club, and also challenge myself personally. Participating wound up being one of my proudest moments. After a very committed period of training, I ended up winning a gold medal in my age category, which was an incredible achievement. Furthermore, I also achieved a new personal best at 6:34, with an average 500 meter split of 1:38.6 (taking over five seconds off my previous PB).

After the win, Holly then suggested I should consider competing in the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Prague (in February 2024), which was a daunting but exhilarating experience. I finished sixth worldwide in my age category with a new personal best time (6:31.2), racing against world champions, world record holders, and former Olympians. I was also the fastest GBR Athlete. It was a spine-tingling moment, and I felt incredibly proud to even have the opportunity to be there. 

Competition on the water

While I am still very much an “Erg Monkey” at heart and the off-the-water training is as important as on it, I am now an active competitor on the water, too. I have competed in nine regattas and head races over the past couple of years, winning at Staines Regatta in a quad in July 2023 and more recently at Hammersmith Regatta in a double in April 2024. 

The highlight this year was being selected by my club for the British Rowing Masters Championship in June 2024 with my double partner Ken Fitzgibbon, where we came second in a category with 13 other doubles. Competing at BMRC is the pinnacle of Masters rowing in the UK, so I was thrilled to be there and represent my club. 

My next upcoming regattas are Henley Town & Visitors and Oxford City Regatta, with my new double (2x) partner, Shaun Paice. We are actually putting down some impressive times in training right now, so fingers crossed there will be more success to celebrate before the end of the season!

I have also had the great pleasure of meeting a few of the Hydrow Athletes at Henley Women's Regatta, including Aisyah and Mac, and met Aquil, who is Steward at HenleyRoyal Regatta. I’d love to meet a few more of the Hydrow crew! So, either Hydrow needs to come to the UK and shoot on location at Henley (we’ll happily host you at HRC!) or I need to come to Boston, which would actually help me to tick another rowing bucket list item: rowing in the Head of Charles Regatta (HOCR). 

My advice for rowing beginners

For anyone considering buying a rowing machine or wanting to start rowing, my advice is to believe in yourself, commit, and stay disciplined—you will be amazed at what you can achieve. Learn proper rowing techniques to avoid injury and improve efficiency. Mix up your workouts with stretching and varied strength and conditioning training, and most importantly, have fun with it. Rowing can be a transformative experience, both virtually and on the water.

I am still very new to rowing and learning every day, but I've become obsessive about helping people to row better, as I see too many people rowing (on and off the water) with poor technique and therefore risking injury. This is especially true in gyms for most people who just jump on the erg for a workout. You often see far too much upper-body and back in the stroke, plus poor separation is also a common mistake. 

Be curious, listen to your coach (or Hydrow Athlete!), and apply this to your training. It will make you a better rower, more efficient, and you'll use the right muscles correctly—the net effect is that your splits will drop. Overall, remember that rowing isn't just about brute strength; it's all about technique and efficiency. 

Rowing has brought so much joy, fitness, and pain relief into my life. It’s an activity I highly recommend, whether you start on a machine or dive straight into the water.