How Hydrow Has Helped Moms Regain Their Strength and Confidence After Pregnancy

The moment you become a parent, everything shifts—including your workouts. Sleepless nights, unpredictable schedules, and the physical recovery after childbirth can make moving your body feel like the last thing on your to-do list.

But for many new parents, rowing has become a lifeline: a low-impact, accessible, and empowering way to rebuild strength, protect mental health, and reclaim a sense of self during their postpartum journey.

Below, Hydrow Members share their stories of how they made rowing fit into real life as a new mom—and how it’s helping them feel stronger, more confident, and more like themselves again.

Easing back into movement with confidence 

Many moms have used their rower as a low-impact, manageable way to rebuild their strength, mobility, and endurance after giving birth. Megan Blonde Collins paired her rowing routine with Hydrow’s Pilates and mobility workouts to ease back into movement, starting with 10-minute sessions and working her way up in time and intensity as she felt stronger. 

For Diana Zarillo Coleman, rowing became the perfect way to start moving again during the early months of postpartum recovery. 

“I bought a Hydrow after I had my son back in December so that I could ease my way back into working out with low-impact movement once I was cleared to exercise,” Diana said. “I felt too heavy and out of shape to even walk at that point, and too weak to lift. I needed something that was going to get me the exercise I needed but not make me feel discouraged or cause me unnecessary pain so that I couldn’t continue doing the work.”

Rowing, it turned out, is exactly what she needed: “I notice that my core is healing, and I’m down eight pounds!” she reported. Her experience echoes what many new moms have found: Starting small, listening to their bodies, and gradually building back strength pays off, both physically and mentally. 

For others, Hydrow has been a trusted companion through every stage—before, during, and after pregnancy. Patricia Wolf shared that she used her Hydrow to change up her exercise routine to get stronger before she was pregnant, then used it to stay as healthy as possible by rowing throughout her pregnancy until she was 36 weeks along. 

“It was one of the few times I felt like myself while pregnant,” Patricia said. “And postpartum, it was key to helping me get back to being able to feel like myself again and regain my strength, mobility, and endurance (which is really coming in handy with a toddler!).”

Workouts that fit real-life parenting schedules

“This swing lived in our home gym for a long time! — Megan Blonde Collins

Having a Hydrow at home also removed barriers like commuting to a gym, making it easier to fit workouts into unpredictable parenting schedules.

“My Hydrow was a way to remove friction from working out in my household,” Heather Harrington said. “After a long day of commuting and working, the idea of heading back out to work out after my child was in bed was not a welcome one. With having the Hydrow at home, the idea of working out is so much more appealing.” 

For many parents, the convenience wasn’t just about skipping the drive—it was about finding pockets of time to move, no matter how short or oddly timed. The ability to row during nap times, late at night, or early in the morning helped them stay consistent. According to Leah Brown, her Hydrow was quiet enough not to disturb her sleeping children as she rowed, and she appreciated that even just a 10-minute workout left her feeling accomplished. 

Jess Akers found a similar rhythm in those early postpartum months. “Since I was cleared to work out, I had a daily routine with my son where we would take our dog for a walk in the morning, then when he fell asleep, I would bring him upstairs and set his carrier next to the Hydrow while I got my workout in,” she said.

That adaptability extended well beyond the newborn phase, too. “My son has sat beside me watching or napping in our home gym many times while I rowed my way back to feeling human again,” Diana said. 

Related blog: Is Rowing Good for Postpartum? 

Finding sacred “me time” in the chaos

Rowing workouts carved out rare moments of “me time” in otherwise baby-focused days, offering new moms a chance to reconnect with themselves. 

“Rowing was critical to me postpartum with my twins, as it was the only time of the day I could focus completely on me and not be touched by small humans,” Claire Hollins said. “Being able to ease back in and fall in love with rowing again was crucial for my mental and physical health postpartum.” 

Those workouts became a form of therapy, delivering endorphins, mental clarity, and emotional resilience during some of the most challenging months of new parenthood.

“It helped calm me mentally and gave me a release from all the stress of being a new mom,” Diana said. “Hydrow has given me the endorphins I so desperately needed during the early postpartum days, and it was super encouraging that I could complete a workout and feel really good afterwards so that I was able to get back on for another workout the next day.” 

And sometimes, rowing was simply the quiet space they needed to breathe.

“I row late at night, when my toddler has gone to bed and the house is reset from the day,” Patricia said. “That has become a really sacred time for me, to be alone in the garage to process the day and work through stress (shout-out to Aquil for his Rage Rows!).” 

Making fitness a family affair 

For many Members, working out at home naturally became something the whole household shared. 

Their children often watched, napped nearby, or even mimicked the motion, making exercise a normal part of daily life. Rebecca Buhrman found that her Hydrow not only carried her through two postpartum periods but also inspired her son to join in. 

“I had two babies born in Guam, and the Hydrow saw me through both of those postpartum periods,” she said. “Now one of those babies is four years old and he absolutely loves to do his own rows.”

Others valued the chance to show their kids that fitness is for everyone, regardless of gender. Heather Harrington reported that because of Hydrow, her daughter has grown up seeing workouts as a normal part of life. 

“My daughter is growing up with the idea that working out (both men and women) is completely normal,” she said. “As a young kiddo, she loves watching and hopping on sometimes for her ‘workout’ with us.”

Related blog: Postpartum Strength Training: When and How to Start Safely

Finding pride in progress and resilience

Many Members celebrated the physical gains they’d made on their Hydrow, including faster split times, increased distances, and even surpassing pre-pregnancy fitness levels. For some, the milestones weren’t just about numbers, but about proving to themselves how far they’d come.

Mary Thomas’s journey back to rowing began months after her baby’s arrival in March 2023. “I took a very long (probably too long—oops!) break before jumping back on my Hydrow to get back to some measure of pre-baby health,” she said. “I made a goal last October to row to 500K meters before the end of the year. I didn’t make my goal, but I rowed over 200K meters in those three months. Going from not a lot of consistent rowing activity to that number was something I will be proud of for a long time to come.”

That consistency paid off: When her first assessment rolled around, she was faster than she’d been before pregnancy. “I know my Hydrow has been one of the key reasons I’ve become stronger than I was before my baby,” she said. 

Mary also found herself drawing on the endurance she’d built during childbirth to push through tough workouts. 

“Weirdly enough, my labor has also helped me row, too,” she said. “I was induced at 41 weeks. Whenever I’m doing a really hard row, I think to myself, ‘I labored unassisted on Pitocin for four hours, I can do this 90-second piece!’ It helps every time.”

From living-room rows to the open water

“Hydrow is what inspired me to start rowing on the water, so here I was at 30 weeks pregnant after bowing!” — Charlotte Rose

For some Members, what began as an at-home fitness solution evolved into a full-fledged passion for rowing on the water. Multiple women claimed that Hydrow didn’t just improve their fitness—it opened the door to local rowing clubs, regattas, and lasting friendships.

Jess first shared her Hydrow with her husband, which eventually led him to join a nearby rowing club. 

“He rowed there for the 2021–2022 season while I was pregnant with our son,” she said. “My son was born in May 2022, and almost exactly six weeks later, I attended a Row for a Day event and was absolutely hooked!” 

After signing up for a formal Learn to Row program with the Sammamish Rowing Association the following summer, Jess has now rowed in five different states and been to the San Diego Crew Classic, Head of the Charles, and U.S. Rowing regionals and nationals competitions with her team.

“I’ve cultivated friendships with amazing ladies at my rowing club, and I have a hobby that I absolutely love,” she said. 

Reclaiming strength and self again

The postpartum journey looks different for everyone, but these Members’ experiences show how finding the right form of movement can make all the difference. For some, Hydrow offered a gentle re-entry into fitness. For others, it was a source of mental clarity, a way to model healthy habits for their kids, or even the spark that launched a new passion for rowing on the water. No matter their path, each story reflects the same themes: resilience, adaptability, and pride in progress.

As Claire put it, “Getting a Hydrow before having kids changed my life for the better, but choosing to pick it back up after was one of the best decisions I could have made in that time!” 

For these moms, rowing wasn’t just about regaining strength—it was about reclaiming confidence, joy, and a sense of self. If you’re ready to start your own journey, explore what Hydrow can do for you.