The triple Olympic gold medallist was in Warrnambool yesterday for work and also managed to squeeze in a couple of boxing sessions with local trainer Rodney "Rude" Ryan.

While he misses rowing, Tomkins explained there was a good reason he had not been in a boat since Beijing, where he was Australia's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony.

"Having done it so seriously you can't just then go and do it for a bit of fun," he told The Standard.

"It would be like Roger Federer just going to play in a Sunday tennis comp."

Tomkins retired from competitive rowing after the Australian men's eight finished last in the Olympic final in China.

Despite the oarsome foursome member staying off the water for more than 18 months, he didn't rule out a return to the sport.

"Just watching the winter Olympics, that sparked up a little bit of interest," he said.

"The national rowing championships are at Nagambie Lakes this weekend, so I'm going to head up there to watch a few friends.

"I'm sure that will get me going as well.

"Resisting it all is going to be hard.

"If, and it's a very, very small if, I decide to get back into it, I want to be reasonably fit."

Tomkins, who is based in Melbourne and often catches up with his fellow oarsome foursome team members, is no stranger to a boxing session with Warrnambool's Ryan.

"I did quite a lot of boxing with him when he was up in Melbourne," the seven-time world titleholder said.

"It was in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

"I've been waiting for him to move back to Melbourne," he laughed.

"I liked boxing because it's so much different to what we would normally be doing.

"You get that physical component and also the mental component."

The decorated rower does a mix of cycling and running to keep fit while he is also a keen golfer.

The fund manager is coming to the end of a short regional tour for work, explaining that he regularly gets recognised.

"It's a good level though," the 44-year-old said.

"People will say 'there's that rowing bloke' but I don't get stopped down the street all the time or anything."