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2006-2007 Rower's Almanac
At the start of the Lake Samish Salmon Roe race near Bellingham, WA. Photo by Bob Gilda

 Get the urge to erg

  By Elizabeth Angell
You know those people who seem to be able to spend hours on the erg? The ones who seem perfectly content to pull their way through thousands of kilometers without becoming frustrated, bored or fraught with cabin fever? Ever wonder how they do it – or how you can join their ranks? After all, no other form of cross-training so closely replicates the exertion demanded on the water – and no other form of cross-training can help you maintain your physical form when you don't have access to the water. That's not to say running, weight training, cross-country skiing, cycling and other forms of weight-bearing exercise don't make an excellent complement to your training, but if you're going to row, you need to erg. "The summer rowing season can be pretty short, so the goal of the erg was to simulate the stroke well enough (not exactly because it's a little different from sweep or sculling) so that rowers could train safely during the winter months without putting themselves at the mercy of the weather," explains Concept 2's Judy Geer, former member of the U.S. National Rowing team and three-time Olympian: "As well as simulating the stroke, the erg uses the same muscle groups as rowing, starting with the quads and all the big muscles in the upper leg, then moving into the core and ab muscles, the forearms and the back, so it also promotes a good range of motion and flexibility."
Because the erg also offers clear results based on time, distance, resistance and exertion, it's also an excellent means for measuring your own progress in a way that you can't when you're actually on the water, Geer adds, explaining that another great advantage to including regular erg workouts in your training is that you can work within the same conditions and parameters each time, whereas you can't always count on having perfectly flat water.
But here's the big question. The erg might be a great training – and teaching – device, but how do you make the most of it? And just as important, how do you keep it interesting? Former Dartmouth and current Craftsbury Sculling Center coach Geer, along with German world championship rower Dr. Volker Nolte, author of Rowing Faster and men's head rowing coach at the University of Western Ontario, have some valuable advice:
 Photo by Byron Derringer

  1. Perfect Your Technique
    2. Technique on the erg is just as important as technique in the boat – poor posture or stroke isn't just bad for your training, it can lead to physical ailments as well. Geer suggests focusing on the following technique do's and don'ts (check the Concept2 website for more):
    • Don't let shins go beyond vertical in the catch position.
    • Do keep arms straight and relaxed at the beginning.
    • Do let your legs begin the drive, keeping arms and shoulders relaxed as your back swings into it.
    • Don't lean back too far – be comfortable.
    • Don't hyperextend your knees – just straighten your legs as you pull all the way into the body.
    • Do keep your shoulders low and relaxed, not hunched.
    • Do finish the stroke in reverse order: hands away first, back forward and up.
    • Don't hump your hands over your knees.
  2. Use the Right Resistance
    3. "Accelerating a fast boat that's already moving is a real education," says Geer. "It's the idea that you adjust resistance by pulling harder and quicker, and that's the same concept that should carry over into your erg workouts." That means not making one very common mistake: setting the damper too high. It's easy to think that you're ‘not getting a good workout' unless you have very high resistance, but as it turns out, that's not necessarily the case. In fact, keeping the damper setting low – between three and five – then adjusting resistance by pulling harder – is a more effective way to improve strength, pace and aerobic capacity.
  1. Don't Be a Hamster
    2. Unless you really do enjoy the monotony of going through the very same motions day in and day out (in which case you're probably not a rower anyway), you'll find you progress faster and find your erg training more enjoyable if you vary the types of workouts you do.
    Start with simple workouts first, advises Volker Nolte, whose Canadian national team crews won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics. "Establish the splits/speed you want and make sure that you're not fooling yourself," he suggests. "You need to be very clear on what splits and speed you want, being careful not to let the erg give you the impression that you have to pull harder."
    As well as asking your rowing coach and/or training partners to share a few of their own favorite workouts, Nolte recommends the following tactics for establishing your splits and making your routine both interesting and effective:
    • Turn the monitor away from you: you should be able to row easily for 20-30 minutes non-stop while talking to the person next to you. This should be your base pace; use the splits you row for endurance work.
    • Make sure your workouts are more than 20 minutes. Try breaking a 60 or 80 minute workout into 20 minute sets with a short rest in between.
    • Set yourself special tasks to make the time pass faster. For example, try a 20-minute pyramid of 4, 3, 2 and 1 minute intervals then 1, 2, 3 and 4 minute intervals increasing/decreasing stroke rate or power each time.
    • Focus on minute splits and do technical tasks like emphasizing legs or arms.
    • Build strength by doing set distances like 50 or 100 meters as hard as you can on a very low stroke rate or doing fast, light work to build aerobic capacity.
  2. Know Where You're Going
    3. Like most things physical, it's a lot easier to train when you know what you're training for, and setting a few goals can add a whole new dimension to your erg training. Depending on what you want to accomplish (you might be gearing up for race season or simply trying to improve your endurance), Nolte suggests adding more minutes or a few more kilometers each week. But don't get too ambitious, he cautions – focus on one or two very simple goals and work towards them incrementally. "Think of the implications of going harder or faster, for example. You always want to go faster, but it's really, really hard – as you get older your splits are going to go down every year and you need to take this into consideration, whereas if you're a beginner, your splits are going to get faster for longer."

"You can vary a ton on the ergometer, but it's all a matter of mindset," Nolte concludes. "I always say that you have to love your erg and enjoy your work – and any kind of variation is good!"