College Ergs How To Q&A Rowing

Question of the Day

Hi there! Your advice is absolutely wonderful and I love your blog. I am a second-year varsity rower at a D3 school. My question is about ERG tests. Recently I’ve hit a mental block on my 2ks. My PR is 1:58.3. Last year, my 2ks were my best test, but on my past 2 I have literally stood up at about the 700 mark and the 1000 mark, respectively, somehow afraid of the pain/speed. I’ve never done this before. Do you have any advice on how to push through that moment in tests where you want to stop?

Acknowledging the imminent pain before you start your test will prepare you for when you finally feel it. That way, when you hit that point you can say “I knew this was coming, I’m not surprised I feel like my body is being run over by a tank, I have to keep going”.

Related: I know I physically can perform the workouts on the erg, but I mentally psych myself out I guess you could say. Do you have any tips on mental toughness/blocking out that annoying voice that wants you to quit on the erg? Thanks!

In the grand scheme of things, 2ks take up like, 0.0005% of your day. If you quit in the middle, how much time after your test do you spend thinking about it? For most people, it tends to ruin their day. If you do well on it, you don’t think about it that much afterwards.

Related: 2k test strategy

Don’t let 7-8 minutes out of 1,440 stress you out. You have to push and remind yourself of the bigger picture, which is whatever goals you’ve set for yourself.

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