# How Do I Prevent Becoming Bored of My Home Rower?

**By Lena Desmond · Published May 29, 2022 · Updated March 31, 2023**

Rowing is one of the best full-body, no-impact, calorie-burning workouts available — but repeating the same motion over and over can get stale. Here are proven strategies to keep your home rowing workouts fresh and engaging.

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## Set Goals and Track Progress

If working out for the sake of working out isn't enough motivation, explore what drives you. Some rowers find working towards a speed or pace goal rewarding. Others aspire to push their distance or row for a longer duration.

Whatever gets your engine firing, it's always gratifying to see your progress. Aviron tracks your rows on the Metrics Monitor, which shows how fast and strong you've become over time. Aviron also posts challenges to keep you pushing the envelope and help you stay motivated — with the opportunity to win prizes.

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## Race to the Finish

When you win a competition, your brain's reward center switches on and the pleasure center (the hypothalamus) is flooded with dopamine. Whether rowing against yourself for a new personal best or against another rower, competition adds fuel to your daily row.

Aviron's leaderboards show how your row stacks up next to other rowers. You can take on elite athletes like skier Karl Kuss and other Olympians in pre-recorded sessions, or challenge friends to a race directly.

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## Save the World (the Virtual One)

Gamified workouts bring a new dimension to exercise. Studies show that gamification improves not only attitudes towards and enjoyment of exercise but also shapes behavior in terms of increased exercise activity.

On Aviron, you can row through game scenarios including battling zombies, surviving bug onslaughts, and navigating a robot apocalypse — all while getting a full-body workout.

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## Make It a Team Effort

Science shows that the company you keep during exercise matters significantly. Research findings include:

- Mood and energy levels are altered when exercising with others.
- 95% of those who started an exercise program with friends completed the program, compared to 76% who tackled it alone.
- Study participants who worked out with a partner had double the workout time compared to those who exercised alone.

The Aviron community includes a Facebook group and a Discord group. Members can join live workouts 24/7 in the group workout lobby.

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## Stream Your Favorite Shows

Sometimes the solution isn't making rowing more fun — it's multitasking. Aviron allows you to stream Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, and Hulu during your workout, making it easier to hit big distance goals while enjoying your favorite content.

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## Make It a HIIT Session

Turning your row into a High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout keeps things varied. HIIT involves periods of hard work followed by short rest periods. Ways to structure a rowing HIIT session include:

- **Timed sprints:** Row hard for 60 seconds, rest for 30 seconds, repeat for 15 minutes.
- **Distance sprints:** Row 500m, rest for one minute, repeat five times.
- **Mixed training:** Combine rowing intervals with non-rowing movements such as pike-to-planks, lunges, bicep curls, or reverse crunches. Aviron rowers have access to coached programs by Training Tall covering core work, strength training, and mobility.
- **Aviron Guided Programs:** Designed by pro trainers and athletes, Guided Programs take you on and off the machine for a full-body workout — no pre-planning required.

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## Summary

A workout is only a good workout if you've had fun doing it. If your home rower is getting boring, set some goals, watch your favorite show, race a friend, track your progress, try HIIT intervals, or dive into a gamified workout to keep things exciting.

**Tags:** Aviron, Health & Fitness

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