Episode 21 – The Legend of Indoor Rowing: Graham Benton (A.K.A. The Erg Daddy / Big G)

In this episode of The Indoor Rower, Tony sits down with none other than Graham Benton — a true legend in the world of indoor rowing. Known as “The Erg Daddy” or simply “Big G,” Graham has built a phenomenal legacy in the sport.

Graham began his rowing journey in 2002 and has since amassed an incredible list of accolades, including 17 British Rowing Indoor Championship titles and 6 World Rowing Indoor titles. Beyond the erg, Graham has also competed on the water, proudly representing England and reaching the finals at several Henley Royal Regattas.

In this in-depth conversation, Tony and Graham cover a wide range of topics:

• How Graham first got into rowing
• His training under the guidance of Eddie Fletcher
• His experiences in both indoor and water rowing
• How his training has evolved with age
• His personal achievements
• Health challenges he’s faced
• And whether he plans to race again

What stands out most is Graham’s dedication, strategic mindset, and intelligence — all of which have played a key role in his success. He brings a grounded perspective on balancing elite training with work and personal life. Humble yet formidable, Graham speaks with the wisdom and experience of someone who has truly mastered his craft.

So sit back and enjoy this inspiring conversation with one of the greats in our sport.

⏱️ Key Points & Timestamps

0:00 – Introduction
1:50 – Graham talks about his current health challenges
5:49 – Tony & Graham discuss their experience with trainer Eddie Fletcher
9:06 – Graham recounts how he got into rowing
13:26 – Graham & Tony look at Graham’s rowing record
15:37 – Joining the British World Class Start Program
17:06 – Graham details his experience in water rowing
22:35 – How his training has changed with age
25:11 – What goes through his head during a 2K race
29:48 – His 2K race start sequence
32:52 – Training breakdown
39:44 – Pre-race training sessions
42:48 – Where does his power come from?
46:48 – Graham’s proudest indoor rowing achievements
52:52 – Favourite vs. most hated erg sessions
56:58 – Will he race again?
1:01:00 – Episode wrap-up

🔗 Links & Socials

• Graham Benton on Instagram: @grahambenton
• Graham on X (Twitter): @theergdaddy
• Tony Larkman Website: tonylarkman.com
• Tony on Instagram: @tonylarkman
• Tony on X (Twitter): @tonylarkman
• 📧 Contact: tony@tonylarkman.com

In the 20th episode of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Josh Knight, the 2024 crowned British Rowing Indoor Open Heavyweight Champion. Clocking in an eye watering 5:47.6 over 2000 metres. Josh’s journey into rowing wasn’t conventional. A former hockey player at the University of Liverpool, he only picked up an oar less than two years ago. Now at age 23 he is a rising star in the GB Performance Development Academy.

He's recently won gold at the Olympic Pathway Regatta and turning heads at GB trials. In this episode he talks about his rapid transformation, what it took to go from hockey to rowing and where he sees himself heading as Paris 2024 fades and LA 2028 draws closer.

Key Points:

0:00 - Introduction

1:32 - Josh talks about his upbringing and background.

3:50 - Josh discloses what got him into sport.

5:43 - Josh shares how he got into the Performance Development Academy.

9:29 - Josh details his typical training week.

11:17 - Josh explains how he approaches recovery.

15:01 - Josh shares what his favourite and least preferred types of training sessions.

16:59 - Josh talks about his British Rowing Indoor Championship race.

18:59 - Josh discusses his Great Britain trials and how his performances went.

21:33 - Josh details the summer regattas he is entering this year.

24:41 - Josh discloses his future plans.

26:44 - Josh shares his new goals for the future.

31:45 - Josh gives his message for people starting a new sport at any age.

33:14 - Josh talks about what rowing has taught him in the last 18 months.

36:42 - Josh discusses how important weight training is for him.

38:39 - Josh shares where the listeners can follow his journey.

40:17 - Tony rounds up the episode.

Links:

https://instagram.com/joshjknight123

https://tonylarkman.com/

https://instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://x.com/tonylarkman

tony@tonylarkman.com

In episode 19 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Richard Tomlinson, a New Zealander residing in Australia who has taken the indoor rowing world by storm.

At 59, Richard clinched the 55-59 World Rowing Indoor Gold Medal completing 2000m in an astonishing 6 minutes and 16 seconds plus winning the Australian Indoors earlier in the season and setting a new Aussie 55-59 record in 6:15. Standing at 6 feet 4 inches and weighing in at 100 kilograms, Richard is the epitome of athletic prowess, boasting a physique that rivals athletes half his age.

His dedication to fitness and health serves as an inspiration to young and older generations alike. During the talk, Tony asks Richard about his upbringing, his path to indoor rowing, his training regime, his approach to recovery and his goals for 2025/2026 including aiming to break the 60-64 World Record!

Richard finally gives his advice to anyone over 50 looking to get back in to shape or start a new sport.

Key Points:

0:00 - Introduction

1:44 - Richard talks about his upbringing, starting with athletics and how he got into indoor rowing.

8:55 - Richard details how he got into competitive indoor rowing.

15:43 - Richard discusses his training regime for competitive indoor rowing.

23:19 - Richard continues to detail his training, specifically base training.

28:27 - Richard talks about his approach to recovery and how consistency keeps him healthy.

41:20 - Richard shares his goals in indoor rowing for 2025 and beyond.

44:17 - Richard discloses how his family see his indoor rowing achievements.

47:53 - Richard gives his advice for anyone over fifty looking to get back into shape or starting a new sport.

52:37 - Richard discusses what piece of advice he would give to his younger self.

58:02 - Richard shares where you can keep up to date with his ongoing journey online.

59:43 - Tony rounds up the episode.

Links:

https://facebook.com/richard.tomlinson.180

https://facebook.com/tonylarkmantrainer

https://tonylarkman.com/

https://instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://x.com/tonylarkman

tony@tonylarkman.com

www.tonylarkman.com

In episode 18 of The Indoor Rower, Tony reflects on the indoor rowing season which, has come to its natural close, as far as major competitions are concerned. He details his experience of competing in the British and World Rowing Indoor Championships, as well as highlight standout winners in different categories and detailing the other indoor events that happened throughout the season.

Tony also discusses his approach to training after the season ends and how keeping consistent is key to ongoing success.

Key Points 0:00 - Introduction

1:26 - Tony delves into the results of the indoor rowing season, starting with the Australian Indoor Rowing Championships.

3:08 - Tony then talks about The British Indoor Rowing Championships (BRIC) which he competed in.

4:27 - Tony mentions the Irish Indoors, Head of the Hooch Virtual Regatta, The French Indoors, The USA Indoors and the C.R.A.S.H.-B’s.

5:14 - Tony discusses his experience competing in The World Championships.

6:44 - Tony mentions the Swiss Indoors, the World Rowing Virtual Indoor Sprints, the Hamburg Ergo Marathon, The Nordic Indoor Championships.

7:34 - Tony gives his thoughts on the past year's indoor rowing season.

8:05 - Tony gives his opinion on how the indoor rower should approach training after the season ends.

12:34 - Tony signs off detailing what is upcoming with next podcast.

Links https://tonylarkman.com/

https://instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://x.com/tonylarkman

tony@tonylarkman.com

In episode 17 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Sam Blythe, founder and coach of FM Rowing, a former British indoor rowing champion, a World indoor rowing silver and bronze medalist and an European silver medalist.

Sam holds the 30-39 10km British Record completing the distance in a blistering 32 minutes and 57 seconds, that’s a sub 1:39 average split and rowed a sub 6 2k in his 40th year!

Within this episode Sam talks about his upbringing in London and love for football, playing professional rugby, his transition into indoor rowing, his coaching style and FM Rowing. He also delves into rowing training and technique for a sub 6 footer, weight lifting, returning to rowing after injury and his future indoor rowing goals.

Key Points

0:00 - Introduction

1:05 - Sam speaks about his upbringing and how he got into sport.

9:06 - Sam details how he got into playing rugby professionally.

15:28 - Sam talks about his kids.

16:52 - Sam shares how he transitioned from professional rugby into indoor rowing.

22:50 - Sam discusses some of his indoor rowing records and medals.

24:56 - Sam talks about his training and coaching style.

38:21 - Sam goes into detail about his rowing technique.

42:22 - Sam explains how he integrates weightlifting into his training.

48:01 - Sam details his thoughts on the upcoming World Rowing Indoor Championships in February which will be held virtually.

55:38 - Sam shares his short and long term goals.

Links

https://fmrowing.com
https://x.com/FMPTExeter
https://instagram.com/samblythe
sam@fitnessmatters.me.uk

https://tonylarkman.com/
https://instagram.com/tonylarkman
https://x.com/tonylarkman
tony@tonylarkman.com

In episode 16 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Jim Berriman, the 40-44 current World Indoor Rowing Champion.

Jim pulled a blistering 5:58 2, winning the gold medal by 8 seconds after only taking up indoor rowing a couple of years ago. Jim talks about his background and how he came to rowing, his training routing and preparation for competition, nutrition, how he achieved his sub 6 2k, his competition day routine, his future goals and what he learned along the way.

Sit back and be enthused by Jim's remarkable achievements in a relatively short period of time.

Key Points:

0:00 - Introduction

1:20 - Jim talks about his background and how he got into rowing.

4:06 - Jim recounts his time with martial arts, powerlifting and boxing.

7:51 - Jim details how he achieved a 300kg deadlift.

10:19 - Jim shares how he transitioned into indoor rowing.

16:48 - Jim dives into his training routine and preparation for competing at the World Rowing Indoor Championships.

29:32 - Jim talks about his nutrition.

33:23 - Jim discusses his split times during the dreaded interval workout, The Rugby Test session (the last 750!)

35:42 - Jim recounts when he realised he had achieved sub 6.

37.:27 - Jim details his competition pre race routine.

39:49 - Jim discusses his mindset and strategy midway through a race.

42:10 - Jim talks about his training and how he doesn’t really do any heart rate control work.

46:48 - Jim shares his future goals in rowing and other adventures.

52:24 - Jim reflects his route to pulling a sub 6 and what he’s learned along the way.

Links https://tonylarkman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman

tony@tonylarkman.com

In episode 15 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks to Dr. Simon Handley, a GP Partner in Gloucester.

Simon is a former international world medallist swimmer and a very powerful indoor rower. He’s pulled sub 1:30 splits for a mile, has a 2k personal best (PB) of 6:03, rowed a sub 1:16 for 500 metres at age 47 and has been producing some great results as he enters the over 50's category.

Tony and Simon discuss his history in swimming, his swimming training and the benefits of lifting weights. Simon also gives his diagnosis on how he became a doctor whilst swimming competitively, his achievements in swimming and how he got into indoor rowing. We examine his PB’s in indoor rowing and his indoor rowing training. And the Doctor discusses overtraining and its negative effects and how nutrition helps recovery and optimum performance.

Dr Simon also discusses the positive effects of strength training for older athletes plus his future competitive plans.

Key Points:

0:00 - Introduction

1:16 - Simon recounts how he got involved with swimming.

5:15 - Simon discusses his swimming training.

6:35 - Simon talks about lifting and its benefits.

10:53 - Simon details how he qualified to become a doctor whilst swimming.

12:16 - Simon lists his achievements in swimming.

12:59 - Simon discusses how he got into indoor rowing.

16:35 - Simon goes into some of his indoor rowing personal best times.

18:54 - Simon and Tony discuss indoor rowing training.

26:10 - Simon talks about overtraining.

29:28 - Simon gives his opinion on nutrition for effective training.

34:22 - Simon discusses the effects of weight training for older athletes.

40:05 - Simon talks about training for power.

41:02 - Simon details the negative effects of overtraining.

44:48 - Simon broaches the subject of his future competitive plans

Links https://tonylarkman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman

tony@tonylarkman.com

In episode 14 of The Indoor Rower, Tony talks about weight training periodisation, specifically for the first few months of the new season.

This is designed for rowers who will be competing in the winter months of 2024/25.

Tony specifically looks at the preparation for building a platform of strength, the different types of weight training periodisation, what undulating periodisation is, hypertrophy, the rep range to increase strength and exercise prescription.

Key Points

0:00 - Introduction

1:23 - Tony talks about the general preparation period for indoor rowing.

3:02 - Tony explains three different types of periodisation for weight training.

4:56 - Tony details what undulating periodisation is.

10:38 - Tony discusses hypertrophy and the rep ranges common to increase strength.

13:05 - Tony lists the exercises he recommends.

15:27 - Tony explains the block periodisation system.

Links

https://tonylarkman.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tonylarkman

https://twitter.com/tonylarkman

tony@tonylarkman.com