For everyone here with an indoor rower what app do you use to make it more interactive.
I’m aware of exr but loath to have another subscription. What options are there for tools that integrate with intervals?
Thanks
for now i use IQ app from Connect Garmin , sometimes when uploaded Interrvals dont get the distance , so i mix with GOTOES and saved file from Concept2 , to get Moxy and other metrics together with distance and power
There’s not as many rowing “app entertainment” options as there are in cycling. EXR, which you mentioned, is likely the best option for many people in my opinion. It’s the best equivalent to Zwift for rowers.
Another options is Kinomap, which I use, and the main mode of the app is videos recorded in the real world, which you can ride with at original speed, or in a variable mode where your effort slows and speeds the video. It is also subscription based, but has a lifetime option, which is pricey but if you plan to use for years can be worth it long run. I got the lifetime membership back in 2020 and have gotten my money’s worth from it. Kinomap also has videos for cycling and tread so if your home gym has multiple things this can be interesting. For cyclists only I think Fulgaz does this a little better, and for rowing I think EXR is more focused on the rowing experience than Kinomap. Kinomap does not have a direct way to send to intervals.icu but can use Strava as a go-between.
There’s apps that do instructor rowing: Apple Fitness+, Peloton, Hydrow, and CityRow, which do not require to connect a rowing machine (and for Fitness+, there’s no option to do so), so you’d need to run two devices: one for the “entertainment” app and another to record the session (e.g. for a Concept2 RowERG the ErgData app would be used for this). They all have subscriptions; none has a lifetime option.
Using the free ErgData app with a Concept2 RowERG and watching a video on YouTube can work well — the “Rowalong” channel in particular I’d recommend. Hope that helps.