Zone 2 rowing is long, easy rowing you could hold a conversation through: 18 to 22 strokes a minute, about 25 to 30 seconds per 500 m slower than your 2k pace, and 60 to 70% of your maximum heart rate. Rowers call it UT2. Pick your level for a session, and add a result for your own pace.
Sam Watson · Updated November 13, 2026No result? Skip this: every workout also says how hard it should feel and the stroke rate. Your pace calculator result works here too.
5 minutes building from very easy to the session's pace.
Your level is highlighted. The chart shows the shape of the session: the taller and darker a bar, the harder you row; grey is rest or easy rowing.
2 x 10 min, 2 min rest between
About 22 minutes
2 x 10 min at 18-22 strokes a minute, 2 min rest between. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
30 min
About 30 minutes
30 min at 18-22 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
60 min
About 60 minutes
Hold 20 strokes a minute if you can.
60 min at 18-22 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
3 minutes very easy, then stretch your hamstrings and hips.
Start slower than you think. Your heart rate takes a few minutes to settle.
Do the talk test: say a full sentence out loud. If you can't, slow your split by 5 seconds.
Check the basics: shoulders relaxed, legs first, the same stroke rate.
If your heart rate creeps up while the pace stays the same, slow down a little to stay in the zone.
Don't speed up to finish. The easy pace is the point.
You should feel you could do it again. If you're wiped out, it was too hard: slow down next time.
Keep it easy enough to talk in full sentences, and use the time to make every stroke the same.
Drifting too hard. If you can't talk in full sentences, slow the split and keep the stroke rate.
The same easy effort, three other ways, each at your level. Pick the one you're most likely to stick with.
Option 1 Steady
Row a distance instead of watching the clock: easier for some people to stick with, and simple to track week by week.
Good for: Endurance, Weight loss, Fitness
The workout · about 23 min
4,000 m
about 23 min at 18-22 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
The workout · about 40 min
8,000 m
about 40:30 at 18-22 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
The workout · about 54 min
12,000 m
about 54:30 at 18-22 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
Coach's note: Note your time and average heart rate. Over the weeks, the same distance at the same heart rate gets quicker.
Warm-up: 3 to 5 minutes building from very easy to the session's pace.
Cool-down: 3 minutes very easy.
Common mistake: Racing the distance. It's a zone 2 row: the time is a record, not a target.
Option 2 Steady
A long easy row cut into blocks with a short break. Good when 30 minutes straight feels like a lot.
Good for: Endurance, Weight loss, Fitness
The workout · about 26 min
3 x 8 min, 1 min rest between
3 x 8 min at 18-22 strokes a minute, 1 min rest between. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
The workout · about 38 min
3 x 12 min, 1 min rest between
3 x 12 min at 18-22 strokes a minute, 1 min rest between. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
The workout · about 62 min
3 x 20 min, 1 min rest between
3 x 20 min at 18-22 strokes a minute, 1 min rest between. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
Coach's note: Use each break to drink and reset your posture, then start the next block at the same split.
Warm-up: 3 to 5 minutes building from very easy to the session's pace.
Cool-down: 3 minutes very easy.
Common mistake: Starting each block faster to make up time. Every block at the same easy split.
Option 3 Steady
The same easy effort at three stroke rates. It breaks up a long row and teaches you to keep the push the same as the rate changes.
Good for: Endurance, Weight loss, Fitness
The workout · about 15 min
5 min, then 5 min, then 5 min
| Piece | Your split | Stroke rate |
|---|---|---|
| 5 min | Add a result | 18 |
| 5 min | Add a result | 20 |
| 5 min | Add a result | 22 |
5 min at 18-18 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way. 5 min at 20-20 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way. 5 min at 22-22 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
The workout · about 30 min
10 min, then 10 min, then 10 min
| Piece | Your split | Stroke rate |
|---|---|---|
| 10 min | Add a result | 18 |
| 10 min | Add a result | 20 |
| 10 min | Add a result | 22 |
10 min at 18-18 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way. 10 min at 20-20 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way. 10 min at 22-22 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
The workout · about 45 min
15 min, then 15 min, then 15 min
| Piece | Your split | Stroke rate |
|---|---|---|
| 15 min | Add a result | 18 |
| 15 min | Add a result | 20 |
| 15 min | Add a result | 22 |
15 min at 18-18 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way. 15 min at 20-20 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way. 15 min at 22-22 strokes a minute. Easy. You can hold a conversation the whole way.
Coach's note: As the rate goes up, keep the same easy push. The split drops a little; your breathing shouldn't change much.
Warm-up: 3 to 5 minutes building from very easy to the session's pace.
Cool-down: 3 minutes very easy.
Common mistake: Pushing harder at the higher rate. More strokes, same effort.
Zone 2 is 60 to 70% of your maximum heart rate. The usual estimate of your maximum is 220 minus your age, which Concept2 calls only a starting point: if you know your real maximum, use 60 to 70% of that instead.
| Age | Estimated maximum | Zone 2 heart rate |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 200 bpm | 120 to 140 bpm |
| 30 | 190 bpm | 114 to 133 bpm |
| 40 | 180 bpm | 108 to 126 bpm |
| 50 | 170 bpm | 102 to 119 bpm |
| 60 | 160 bpm | 96 to 112 bpm |
| 70 | 150 bpm | 90 to 105 bpm |
No heart rate monitor? Use the talk test instead: if you can say a full sentence without gasping, you're in zone 2.
Most of a rower's training should feel like this. A 2025 review of elite rowers found they spend more than half of their training at low intensity (Zhong and others, 2025). Easy rows build the endurance that the hard sessions sit on, and you have recovered from them by the next day.
The pace comes from Concept2's published zones, the stroke rate and the talk test from British Rowing ("can hold a conversation"), and the heart rate range from Concept2's heart rate guide, which calls 220 minus your age only a starting estimate of your maximum. Our pace calculator shows all five zones.
About 25 to 30 seconds per 500 m slower than your 2k pace. Add a result at the top of this page, or use the pace calculator, and you get your own range. On a machine with no reliable monitor, go by the talk test: you can hold a conversation the whole way.
18 to 22 strokes a minute, the low-intensity range in British Rowing's plans. Keep the rate low and the stroke long; going faster is not the point.
Start with two 10-minute pieces and build to 30 minutes without stopping. Concept2's coach suggests endurance rows of 30 to 45 minutes, and 60 minutes at 20 strokes a minute is one of its classic sessions.
Zone 2 and UT2 are the same easy band. "Steady state" is used loosely: on this site it means UT1, a little harder, at 22 to 26 strokes a minute, where you can still talk but in shorter sentences.
It helps, alongside diet. Research reviewed by the American College of Sports Medicine found that 150 to 250 minutes of moderate activity a week brings modest weight loss, more brings more, and either works better with a moderate change in diet (Donnelly and others, 2009). More in rowing for weight loss.
All 10, with filters for level, time and goal, are on our rowing machine workouts page. Want every day planned for you? Try the 30-day plan.
Don't have a rower yet? Our pick for most people is in the best rowing machines.
The paces and stroke rates come from our pace calculator.