08/22/2026
💙 COACH'S CORNER
🚣 WHY DOES THE SAME ROW FEEL HARDER IN THE HEAT?
Have you ever been halfway through a rowing workout and thought:
“I'm holding my normal split…so why is my heart rate higher?”
Or maybe the pace that normally feels manageable suddenly feels MUCH harder.
Before you assume you've lost fitness, there's something important to understand:
🔥 THE HEAT CHANGES THE WORK YOUR BODY HAS TO DO.
This is especially important for those of us training in Florida, where heat and humidity can place additional demands on the body.
❤️ YOUR BODY IS DOING TWO JOBS
When you're rowing, your working muscles need blood and oxygen.
When you're hot, your body also needs to send more blood toward the skin to help release heat and keep your internal temperature under control.
Your cardiovascular system is now trying to accomplish both jobs at the same time.
The result?
Your heart may have to beat faster to maintain the same workload.
Over the course of a workout, you may notice your heart rate gradually climbing even though your split hasn't changed.
There's actually a name for this:
CARDIOVASCULAR DRIFT.
As your body heats up and you lose fluid through sweat, the amount of blood pumped with each heartbeat can decrease. Your heart compensates by beating faster.
So you could be rowing the same split at the same stroke rate, yet your heart rate is higher and your perceived effort has increased.
That doesn't necessarily mean you're suddenly less fit.
Your body may simply be working harder to manage the heat.
🚣 SO WHICH NUMBER SHOULD YOU FOLLOW?
This is where smart training comes into play.
❤️ If you're training by HEART RATE:
You may need to slow your pace to remain within your intended heart-rate zone.
⏱️ If you're training by SPLIT/PACE:
You may need to accept that your heart rate could be higher than usual.
On a particularly hot day, expecting your pace AND heart rate to behave exactly as they do under cooler conditions may simply be unrealistic.
Adjusting isn't weakness.
It's training intelligently.
💧 NOW LET'S TALK HYDRATION
We're sweating more than we sometimes realize.
Sweat rate varies tremendously depending on body size, temperature, humidity, workout intensity and how accustomed someone is to exercising in the heat.
That means there isn't one magic amount of water that's perfect for everybody.
Hydration should begin before you're desperately thirsty.
Drink appropriately before, during and after training, and remember that when you're sweating heavily, hydration isn't only about water — electrolyte and sodium balance matter too.
At the same time, MORE isn't always better. Trying to aggressively replace every drop of sweat with plain water can also create problems.
⚠️ HARD WORK OR A WARNING SIGN?
There's an important difference between:
“This workout feels harder today.”
and
“Something doesn't feel right.”
Dizziness, confusion, faintness, severe headache, nausea or vomiting, chills/goosebumps despite the heat, or a sudden dramatic decline in how you feel are signs to STOP exercising and cool down.
Your body is giving you information.
Listen to it.
💙 THE COACH'S TAKEAWAY
Your Concept2 monitor gives us incredible information — split, stroke rate, watts, distance and more.
Your heart-rate monitor gives us another piece of the puzzle.
But neither tells the entire story.
YOU are part of the data.
How do you feel?
How hot is the environment?
How well did you hydrate?
How did you sleep?
How hard does today's effort feel?
Fitness isn't about forcing yesterday's numbers onto today's body.
It's about understanding the information your body is giving you and making smart decisions with it.
So the next time you're rowing your normal split and wondering…
“WHY IS THIS SO HARD TODAY?”
Look at the temperature.
Look at your heart rate.
Grab some water.
And remember:
HOT DAYS CAN CHANGE THE WORKOUT — EVEN WHEN THE WORKOUT HASN'T CHANGED.
🚣 Train smart.
💧 Hydrate appropriately.
❤️ Pay attention to your heart rate.
👂 And LISTEN to your body.
That's not backing off.
That's good training.
— Coach Elaine
THE CREW. A FITNESS EXPERIENCE. 💙
Coach's Corner information inspired in part by educational material shared by Shane at Dark Horse Rowing.
