Exercising in poor air quality has become a summer reality for millions of people, and this summer is a good example of why.
Here in my town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, for example, the air quality index sat above 600 multiple times. For context, anything above 100 is considered unhealthy, and anything above 300 is hazardous — the highest category there is. So we were basically off the charts.
Smoke from wildfires burning across Ontario and northern Minnesota drifted south and east for days. Millions of people were under air quality alerts, some of them in places that rarely deal with this kind of thing. If you’re one of them, or if wildfire smoke or pollution is a regular visitor where you live, this post is for you.
I want to walk you through:
– What to do when outside conditions become hazardous,
– Why those of us over 50 need to pay more attention and, most importantly,
– How to modify your workouts.
If outdoor workouts are part of your regular mix, this is likely a good time to pivot. But that doesn’t mean pausing your workouts entirely, and rowing is very much on the table.
In fact, an indoor rowing workout may be just the thing to have in your back pocket until the air clears.
Don’t Skip Rowing — Go Virtual
If smoky days are going to keep you off the water or out of the garage this summer, the EXR rowing app is worth having ready to go. It’s a virtual rowing app that drops you into immersive environments during your row. I put it to the test during my longest, most dreaded training sessions — the 10k days that used to feel like a slog — and, as I wrote in my review, it “gave me a new lease on endurance-rowing life.”
Read the full EXR app review for the details.
What’s Actually in Wildfire Smoke
Wildfire smoke is made up of gases and fine particulate matter, and it’s that particulate matter that does the most damage. These particles are so small they can bypass your body’s natural filtering system, travel deep into your lungs, and in some cases cross into your bloodstream. That’s what’s behind the burning eyes, scratchy throat, and tight chest that show up on smoky days.
It may surprise you to learn, too, that you don’t need to see or smell smoke outside for it to be a problem indoors. If you can smell it inside, those same pollutants are inside with you. Closed windows help, but they don’t seal a home completely.
Why Exercise Intensity Changes the Equation
This is the part most people miss. At rest, you’re breathing a relatively small volume of air through your nose, which filters out a good portion of what’s floating around. The moment you start exercising, two things happen: you breathe a lot more air, and you shift to mouth breathing, which skips that filtering step almost entirely.
Research on this is striking. Studies on particle deposition during exercise show that moderate-intensity activity like cycling can increase the total number of particles deposited in your lungs by roughly four to four and a half times compared to rest. Push into high-intensity efforts, like the kind marathon runners hit, and that number climbs to six to ten times higher than resting levels.
In other words, the harder you work, the more polluted air you pull in and the deeper it goes. That’s true whether you’re outside in the haze or inside a garage gym breathing air that’s already worked its way indoors.
The Air Quality Index, in Plain Terms
The EPA’s Air Quality Index shows you where the concerns are, and what the color zones mean for exercise:
- Good to Moderate (0–100): Green or yellow zone. You’re clear to head out and exercise as planned.
- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101–150): Orange zone. Healthy adults can still exercise outdoors, but shorten it and dial back the intensity. If you’re in a higher-risk group, move indoors.
- Unhealthy (151–200): Red zone. This is the line. Don’t exercise outdoors at this level, full stop.
- Very Unhealthy to Hazardous (201–500): Purple and maroon zones. Stay inside, keep windows closed, and treat outdoor exertion of any kind as off the table.
You can check your local number anytime at AirNow.gov.
Who Needs to Be Extra Careful
Some people feel the effects of poor air quality faster and more severely than others. That includes:
- Adults over 65
- People with diabetes or obesity
- Anyone with heart or lung conditions, including asthma or COPD
- People who’ve had an organ transplant
If you fall into one of these groups, treat the orange zone (101–150) the way everyone else treats the red zone. Your margin for error is smaller, and it’s not worth testing it.
What to Do Instead: Bring Your Workout Indoors and Down a Gear
When the air quality is this bad, two things need to happen. First, get indoors. Second, consider lowering the intensity of your workout, not just the location.
That means:
- No high-intensity intervals, indoors or out, until conditions improve
- Lighter weight if you’re strength training that day. If you’re newer to structured strength work, our RowStrong program is built to help you dial that in safely
- Rowing, walking, or cycling at a conversational pace rather than pushing for a personal best. If you’re brand new to rowing altogether, RowNow is designed to ease you in at exactly this kind of low intensity
If you do need to be outside briefly, or you’re in a garage or three-season room that isn’t well sealed, avoid peak pollution hours. Early morning, before traffic and heat build up, tends to be your best window. A well-fitted mask can also help if you’re in a semi-outdoor space you can’t avoid.
EXR: The Virtual Rowing App for Smoky-Day Workouts
This is exactly the kind of week where the EXR indoor rowing app earns its keep. It’s a virtual rowing platform with immersive environments you row through in real time, and it turns an easy, lower-intensity session into something you’re looking forward to rather than settling for.
If motivation to do an indoor workout is lagging, this might be just the ticket. I love it, and I teach rowing and certify rowing instructors for a living! You can read the full breakdown in my EXR app review.
And if you’d like to try EXR and get a discount, you can sign up here and use the code UCR2 at checkout after your 2-week trial for 15% off your subscription.
Why Zone 2 Is Exactly the Right Call
Zone 2 is the aerobic training zone where your effort feels sustainable and steady rather than taxing. It’s roughly 60–70% of your estimated max heart rate, and the simplest gut check is the talk test: if you can hold a conversation in full sentences while you row, you’re in the zone. If you’re gasping between words, you’ve drifted into Zone 3 or higher.
Zone 2 matters for two reasons when air quality drops. First, it builds your aerobic base, any day. That improves how efficiently your body uses fat for fuel, and supports long-term heart health.
Second, it keeps your breathing rate and ventilation lower than high-intensity work, which limits how much polluted air you’re pulling into your lungs. Lower effort, lower dose. On poor air quality days, that’s the whole strategy in one sentence.
Bad air can also slow you down even at the same effort level, so don’t be surprised if your usual pace feels harder or your splits creep up. You’ll start feeling better once the air starts to clear.
Indoor Rowing Workouts for Smoky Days
Here are two workouts from 101 Best Rowing Workouts that are perfect for days like these — lower intensity, technique-focused, and easy to modify further if you need to.
Workout 1: The 3-Minute Ladder
Set your monitor for intervals:
- 3 minutes on, 3 minutes rest
- 3 minutes at stroke rate 20
- 3 minutes at stroke rate 22
That’s 18 minutes total. During your rest periods, you can either row easy to keep your heart rate up, or step off the rower and do a light round of bodyweight squats, push-ups, and sit-ups. Do the full sequence once or twice through, depending on how much time you have.
Workout 2: Mountain Climb (Lighter Version)
The original version of this workout builds up to 400 meters at stroke rate 26, but that can push you out of Zone 2 — not what we want this week. Here’s a scaled-down version that keeps you in the right zone:
- 100 meters at stroke rate 18, then paddle 30 seconds
- 200 meters at stroke rate 20, then paddle 30 seconds
- 300 meters at stroke rate 22, then paddle 30 seconds
- 400 meters at stroke rate 24, then paddle 30 seconds
Then work back down:
- 300 meters at stroke rate 22, then paddle 30 seconds
- 200 meters at stroke rate 20, then paddle 30 seconds
- 100 meters at stroke rate 18
If you have the time and energy, repeat the full pyramid a second time.
Either workout is a great excuse to slow down and focus on your technique. That’s easy to skip when you’re chasing a hard split, but your results will thank you down the road for putting some time in on your technique.
FAQ: Exercising in Poor Air Quality
What air quality should you not exercise in? It depends on the number. Below 100, you’re generally fine. Between 101 and 150, healthy adults can still go outside but should shorten the workout and lower the intensity; people in higher-risk groups should move indoors. Above 150, everyone should avoid outdoor exercise.
If I smell smoke inside can I still be affected? Yes. If you can smell smoke or haze inside, fine particulate matter has made its way in, and you’re being exposed even with the windows closed.
Does exercise intensity actually change how much pollution I inhale? Yes, significantly. Moderate exercise can roughly quadruple the particles deposited in your airways compared to rest, and high-intensity exercise can increase that six to tenfold. Lower intensity means lower exposure.
What are the best indoor exercise alternatives when outdoor air quality is unhealthy? Indoor, low-intensity, steady-state cardio — Zone 2 rowing, walking, or cycling — is ideal. It’s easier on your lungs than high-intensity work and still delivers real cardiovascular benefits.
An indoor rower paired with a virtual training app is one of the easiest ways to keep a workout enjoyable when you’re stuck inside. EXR is the one I use and recommend. It’s built specifically for rowers and works well for exactly this kind of low-intensity, high-frequency indoor training.
The Bottom Line
Wildfire smoke and other air pollution has become part of life, especially in the summer in many countries. It’s even reaching places that don’t usually deal with it. If that’s your situation, the plan is simple: bring your workout indoors, drop the intensity, and let Zone 2 cardio do what it does best — build your aerobic engine without asking your lungs to work overtime.
So what’s on the schedule for your next rowing workout? Maybe a lower-intensity row one you’re excited about instead of dreading?
Tell me in the comments, I’d love to hear!
