How Hydrow Helped Me Rebuild After Heart Surgery

This blog is a guest post from Hydrow Member Ericka Simpson.

Six years ago, I walked into an urgent care clinic thinking my blood pressure was a little off. Within hours, I was in a hospital bed being told my heart was only pumping at 20% and that I needed emergency open-heart surgery. 

The experience was terrifying—and it wasn’t the last time I’d hear those words. Just last year, I needed a stent to address another blockage. Both times, recovery meant months of cardiac rehab to slowly build my endurance under the watchful eye of hospital staff. And both times, I made a promise to myself: When this is over, I’m going to take better care of my heart. 

That’s how I ended up with a Hydrow rowing machine.

Why I chose Hydrow 

After my first rehab, I bought an elliptical, but it gave me hip pain and didn’t feel like the machine I’d used in the hospital. Eventually, I upgraded to the commercial-grade mode I had used in rehab, which helped. But after my second heart issue, I knew I wanted something more: a rowing machine. 

I first tried rowing during cardiac rehab and managed to work my way up to hour-long sessions. It was the hardest machine in the room—and I loved that. I needed something that challenged me while still being low-impact and safe for my heart. 

I compared a few different rowers before settling on Hydrow. It felt the most similar to the rowing machine I used during rehab, with smooth resistance and a sleek, compact design that actually fit in my home. My company gives me an annual $500 stipend for fitness-related purchases, so I used that towards purchasing my rower (and encourage others to see if their employers offer something similar!).

What sealed the deal was how motivating the platform felt—the guided classes, the music, the badges. As someone who leads training and development for a living, I know the power of a well-structured program. Hydrow gives me that for my fitness. 

What success looks like now 

Right now, success doesn’t mean perfection. I’m not hitting the rower every day, and that’s okay. My husband and I moved shortly after I bought it, and life has been anything but routine. But I’ve learned that even if I have to start back with short sessions, just like in rehab, that’s still progress. 

My goals right now are simple: to lose weight, build endurance, row consistently (ideally every other day), and recover faster, both physically and mentally. 

I want to get to a point where working out isn’t painful after a couple days off and where movement is just a regular part of my day. I know what the alternative feels like—I’ve lived it—and I don’t want to go back there. 

Why I keep going 

This isn’t about looking a certain way or chasing a number on the scale. It’s about being here—really being here. I want to walk beside my husband without losing my breath. I want to fly to Hawaii next year and watch my nephew graduate from high school. And I want to feel proud of my body again, not because it’s perfect, but because it’s strong, and it carried me through tough times. 

I named my Hydrow profile “ROWalty”—a little reminder that I deserve to treat myself like I matter. Because I do. And rowing helps me prove that to myself, one session at a time.