RowingCoach Reviews

by B7172C172

When it works, it’s pretty good. But when using with the Apple Watch, when hitting “stop” after a workout, it only gives the option to save the workout about half the time. So in addition to not saving the watch remains in workout mode indefinitely, chewing up battery life and making it impossible to switch away from RowingCoach for more than a few minutes.

I tried reaching the developer on the web site and, like others here, never heard back.

I can’t recommend RowingCoach with such basic functionality not working properly.

by TedPKat

Unlike reliable rowing apps that accurately measure on-water performance in a way that is useful, the Apple Watch version of this product does not compute distance rowed in real time (aft rowing steady state for 30 mins, the watch odometer stubbornly remained stuck on 212m, then 5 mins into my next piece jumped to 1.2k m and remained stuck on that distance until the end of my workout) and announced splits in seemingly random time/distance intervals, instead of the time/500m split that is the rowing standard. Was RowingCoach even beta tested with actual rowers?

by Double M Mike Murphy

This would be a great app if there weren’t so many bugs, particularly for the Apple Watch. For example, the SPM often doesn’t show up, rendering that feature useless, and after stopping and starting a new piece, the display will be stuck on the previous workout’s data.

Another very big issue is the GPS seems to be way off and will show you rowing large segments in a straight line that weren’t done. This throws off all the stats for you workout.

There doesn’t seem to be any way to contact the developer on their website, so hopefully they see this post and take note of the issues with the Apple Watch app.

by Jmb0730

I really like the look and feel of RowingCoach . The mirroring feature using Apple Watch is great in theory. Unfortunately I paused the workout after my first 2K meters and that caused some problems. After resuming, the distance switched from metric to imperial. And when I saved my workout, it only saved 1200 yards when it should have been closer to 3000 meters. Also, it randomly quit showing SPM during the workout but the saved workout showed an average.

Overall, it definitely needs some bug fixes but it has potential.

by Mattbroad0115

This is a comment and a question. I have an Apple Watch 3 and really like RowingCoach for both rowing and kayaking (surfski). My only issue is for long paddles it eats up my watch battery. Today I did a 3 hour training session and my battery was 13% when I was done. I turned off all other apps, turned off background refresh, dimmed the screen, and everything else I could think of . Any suggestions from the developer would be appreciated!

Lowering rating from 4 to 3 for two reasons. First I asked a simple question about battery life that was never answered. Second, RowingCoach randomly does not track and produce a map of my workout.

by EH60

I installed RowingCoach on my Apple Watch and it does a good job of tracking activity. However, the feature for in-app purchases seems to be disabled. I often get the message ‘no valid subscription’ on my watch and I will be unable to use RowingCoach . I must then delete all workouts.

I would like to try a subscription but cannot make a purchase.

by Aasgrbl

I was under the impression that RowingCoach would save the estimated indoor rowing distance to my Activity app, but it didn’t. At the end of my test workout, the this app app on my Apple Watch showed 1.6 miles. Great! I thought. I saved the workout but, alas, only time and calories were saved ... distance wasn’t. I always try to achieve the monthly goals that my watch sets for me, and often these goals are based on achieving a certain number of miles. That’s why I wanted my estimated mileage recorded. I’ll have to go back to using the meter on my Waterrower, not wearing the watch while I’m rowing, and then manually recording time, calories and distance thru the Apple Health app. Alas this won’t be an accurate calorie count!

by FreshFromJosh

A newer app in need of maturing. Good ideas presented in a cluttered manner with few context clues. No watts calculator (or if there is, I can’t tell). Several options in settings don’t appear to work. Oddly, the “Add to Siri” button in Settings will only create a Siri shortcut for outdoor rows only, which is a very odd limitation. Why can’t I use Siri to start an indoor row?

by TheArhold

I love RowingCoach ! Works really well with measuring heart rate and kilometers for my rowing workouts.

However, the calorie counter seems really off. For example, I rowed 20k yesterday in an 8+ for about 1,5 hours. RowingCoach counted 550 kcal, which is really unrealistic. I believe this is an inherent flaw with the Apple Health implementation of the ‘Rower’ workout. Is there a way around it?

by JoelBubeck

I love RowingCoach with my Apple Watch integration so far! Mirror mode allows me to effectively ignore the display on my rowing machine. Only problem is the last couple of rows, my stroke rate only displays as zero; all my other stats display correctly. I tried to contact the developer through the support web site but the Contact function is broken. Hoping the developer sees this :). Apart from this minor issue, I love RowingCoach .

by Shane49

this app fills a real need for those of us wanting to log indoor rowing sessions via Apple HealthKit, especially when using an older machine lacking network or even Bluetooth connectivity. The key is taking full advantage of the Apple Watch, in detecting strokes and monitoring HR, and then integrating that with a mirrored display on the iPhone, to better monitor session parameters in real time and enable pausing as needed. Mark0Mark is correct that full, long strokes will optimize the accurate counting of strokes and hence stroke rate, although this may mean that variations in stroke rate, implemented by shorter strokes, may be harder to track accurately. Data output to HealthKit includes HR, active calories, and time duration, allowing compilation with other activities such as cycling, running, walking, etc. Session history includes rowing-specific parameters such as stroke count, pace and estimate of distance traveled. Let me add too that the developer is amazingly responsive to questions and suggestions, a real plus.

by DCTRDR

Works great with an iPhone + Apple Watch 6 + basic indoor rower. Simple to use, and tracks indoor rowing well. I’ve measured it against my rowers stroke count as well as rowing videos and it was either exact or w/i a stroke. Maybe add a constant or variable rowing stroke goal with a bell when to start each stroke.

by Sagitaro7

I use the Apple Watch (series 2) version of RowingCoach to record sweep rowing practices. It does a good job of calculating SPM and split times, and integrates nicely with Apple Health.

I wear the watch on my left hand and row both starboard and port. I also enjoy seeing the course plotted on the map (how straight of a line the coxswain can take).

by DesertTime

I have a fairly basic magnetic rower that, because of physical problems I have, doesn’t properly engage the integrated monitor. RowingCoach more than adequately fills the gap, providing accurate measures for strokes, SPM and time. As an added benefit, it integrates seamlessly with Apple’s Health and Activity apps.

by Nikjoelator

RowingCoach is fantastic, the data is incredibly useful and it's ease of use is fantastic.
My one issue is the estimated rate per 500 m. On my phone it will say my split is a 1:50, then when I go to check out the individual splits per 500 Meters the splits are 2:05 and up. Is there a different way average split is calculated that I don't know about?

by Level Headed Realist

Used to love it, but most recent update of Watch OS wrecked it. GPS split, distance and track no longer works.
Developer used to be readily accessible, but he has not responded to 3 mails about the problem.
Would have given it 5 stars, but it is pretty useless now so I kindly give it 2.

by NUFan1

Extremely happy with RowingCoach. I use it for indoor rowing on my Waterrower. I place my phone on a stand on the water tank. Start my session on my Apple Watch and get a great readout of my time, heart rate and SPM. Works even better when I use my Polar chest strap, but I usually just let my watch do the heart rate recording. I don’t row outdoors, but looks like it would be perfect for those that do. Stable app so far with no glitches or crashes.

by LongRower

I’m using this on a nearly daily basis for tracking my rowing workouts. Integration with the health center apps really helps me monitor how much effort I’m putting in.
My only issue is that it doesn’t start automatically! I’m forever forgetting to start it before launching off. Operator error, hah!
Suggest providing an easy to access key to the color coding on the map track for heart rate, spm, and speed

by Jbredmo

I found RowingCoach has generally improved since I downloaded it 18 months ago. It really gives good feedback and helps a lot with keeping accurate records and motivation. You need to make sure your Apple Watch is correctly registering heart rate, and earlier versions of RowingCoach seemed not to pick up the pulse, but lately that hasn’t been a common problem.

by Mark0Mark

Just got this, and took it to the gym to test against the Concept 2 PM5. At first strokes per minute were way off - 5 to 8 strokes lower than C2. Then realized I was not using good form while playing with the readouts. Short-stroke, and readings are off, lean full forward @ start, and lean back, with handle tight to mid section @ end with a “stop/rest” for a split second, and S/M were identical. Did have it hang on start a few times, will see if that continues. App seems to have been recently updated- now no longer works other than the timer

by BrocanteRachel

I have used RowingCoach for rowing on the Intracoastal in FL for about a year. It has been a real help to me to keep track of my rows. I use it on my Apple Watch while on the water. My only “complaint” is that the screen on my watch goes dark until I raise my wrist making it hard to glance at the data, but I believe that’s an Apple thing. Thanks!