Ergs Training & Nutrition Video of the Week
Tag: erg
Question of the Day
What are some good erg workouts that you find particularly helpful to lower 2k times?
Steady state! Longer pieces (45-70min total) help to increase your aerobic capacity which in turn allows you to go harder for longer. The key is to do them at a consistent, manageable pace so that your heart rate is consistently in the 140-170bpm range, give or take a little depending on your individual fitness. If you’re going out and doing long pieces but at a high percentage of your max heart rate, you’re most likely going above your anaerobic threshold which is counter-intuitive.
You also want to keep the stroke rates fairly low – somewhere in the 18-22ish range is usually good. If you know your 2k split you want your steady state split to be 16-18ish seconds above that. If you’re going off your 6k split it should be about 10-12 seconds above that.
Some examples of workouts include 7×10′ (2′ off between pieces), 10k at 18-20spm, 3 x 20′, etc. There’s tons of good examples on the /r/rowing sub on Reddit – just search “steady state” and you’ll easily be able to see what other people are doing.
Don’t forget to include interval stuff as well – 8x500m, 4x1k, 1:40 on/0:20 off, etc. In order to row well you’ve got to have a good balance of aerobic and anaerobic fitness so that you can go hard and fast when you need to and then be able to settle into a solid pace for an extended period of time.
Question of the Day
Hi! I am doing a 15 minute erg, free rate although, my coach says to keep the rate above 26 spm, but I was thinking of building up the rate towards the end and I was just wandering how you would recommend I pace myself. P.S. This erg will determine the crews for a national competition we have coming up.
If the minimum stroke rate is 26 I’d say you’d wanna keep your base rate at 26-27 for as long as you can. Since it’s seconds that are ticking down and not meters, you’re not going to be done any faster if you speed up your stroke rate so it’s best to keep it low to avoid flying and dying. If you wanted to build it up I would probably not do anything until you’re inside of 90 seconds to go and then go up maybe 1 beat or so every 30 seconds so that you finish around 30spm.
Question of the Day
Hello! I just starting coxing in the winter season and I’ve been really quiet while coxing erg workouts because I never know what to say to encourage someone. What are your staple phrases to use to encourage someone during an erg test/workout or during a regatta?
The first thing you should do is always ask the people erging if they want to be coxed. Some people need it, other people hate it. In my experience most people are OK with subtle technique reminders but don’t care too much for the “yay, go you” motivational calls, mostly because they’re largely unnecessary unless someone is really struggling. This obviously varies by team though. If you want to say something encouraging, say it to the whole group – something like “looking strong, guys” or whatever. Don’t be cheesy though. I beg of you. If whatever you’re going to say sounds like it could be on a Hallmark card or part of a “deep” Tumblr text post, don’t say it.
When I’m coaching or coxing an erg workout I typically just walk around and watch people’s form. For the most part I’m fairly quiet too. I like to use the time to observe rather than talk because my theory is that when we’re on the water, that’s my time but when we’re on land and they’re on the ergs, that’s their time. When I’m walking around, I’ll lean down and say something if I see something stand out with their technique or if I see their splits climbing above where they should be but usually it’s just a quick reminder like “get the arms all the way out”, “chins up”, “watch your split, get it back to 1:49”, etc. If there’s something that requires some more detail, an explanation, etc. then I’ll just wait until they’re done erging before I say something to avoid distracting them.
“Staple phrases” is tough because there sort of is no such thing – my staples are different than most other coxswains staples and their staples are different from other coxswains’ staples. As I’ve said many, many, many times before, the best way to figure out how to motivate someone is to just ask them. What do they want to hear, what do they need to hear, what reminders do they want/need, what are their goals, etc. From there, all you have to do is repeat that to them when you feel they need it (or they tell you they do). You could always go through the “calls” tag too if you wanted – there’s a lot of stuff in there so I wouldn’t recommend doing that unless you’ve got some free time on your hands.
Related: The worst coxswain calls
All that being said, you’re a novice – you really shouldn’t be saying that much because you don’t know anything yet. The only thing worse than not saying anything is saying stuff that you yourself don’t understand. Walk around with the experienced coxswains, ask them questions, learn about technique on the ergs, get to know the rowers, talk with the coaches about the goals of each practice and why you’re doing the workouts you’re doing, etc. Spend time educating yourself at and outside of practice and then as you start to get more comfortable with the terminology, technique, etc. then you can start coxing the rowers (if they want you to).
Video of the Week: California Rowing Club 60 minute test
In case you’re feeling sadistic looking for workouts to do, how about an all-out 60 minute piece?
Question of the Day
When we row with our feet out of the foot stretchers I have a lot of trouble getting up the slide never mind getting up on time, and it’s really embarrassing being the only one in the boat who obviously struggles with these drills. Is there any thing I can work on to improve this area?
It sounds like you’re not getting or staying connected throughout the stroke and are most likely trying to use your calves and shins to pull you up the slide. If you lack connection at the catch, as you pull through the drive your feet are going to come off the stretchers and you’re going to “fall” backwards, which is obviously going to make it pretty difficult to get back up the slide on the recovery in time with everyone else.
The first thing you have to do is establish that connection right as the blade enters the water at the front end. In this instance the connection refers to the grip the blade has on the water and the relationship between the body and the handle. In order for you to have good connection, regardless of whether you’re rowing feet in or feet out, the blade has to go straight to the water at the catch, meaning there has to be an immediate unweighting of the handle as you come into the front end. If you’re already at full compression when you unweight your hands, your entry to the water will be late. You have to anticipate your arrival to the catch and time your hands accordingly, if that makes sense. Basically what I’m saying is that when you’re about two inches away from the front end with your slide, your hands should already be moving up to drop the blade in.
Once your blade is in the water, you have to maintain a consistent application of power throughout the entire drive. Keeping your quads engaged will be a big help here. As you approach the finish also be aware of how much you’re laying back. If you’re laying back too far then you’re going to end up in the lap of the rower behind you, which is going to result in your feet flying off the stretchers. Having a good squeeze right at the end of the stroke combined with maintaining a similar layback to when you’re rowing feet in will help you maintain that connection with the stretchers. If you lack connection at the finish you’ll end up having to reset your feet and use your hamstrings, calves, and shins to pull you up the slide which will lead to all sorts of problems, the least of which is your timing at the catch.
When your coach or coxswain tells you to stay connected, don’t just think “OK, I have to keep my feet on the stretchers”, think “I have to keep X, Y, and Z muscles engaged throughout the drive so that my finish is supported”. Connection at the catch, a consistent drive, and supported finished are the main components you want to shoot for here. If you find you’re still having trouble with this on the water, try spending some time on the erg rowing feet out, preferably beside a mirror so you can watch yourself. I’d also recommend doing some planks to help you strengthen your core. Core strength is a huge component in having a supported finish and is especially important to have when rowing feet out.
Question of the Day
Hiya, I just started rowing recently and have to do some ergs with 18, 20 & 22 m/s but I don’t quite understand how this works. Does it really just depend on my speed or do I also have to change the resistance level to get those results?
I think you mean “strokes per minute” (SPM), not m/s, which is “meters per second”. The resistance has nothing to do with stroke rates, distance covered, etc. It’s essentially like the gears on a bike – higher damper settings require you to work harder to spin the fan on the next stroke whereas lower settings require less work to spin it. It affects how erging feels more than it affects the resistance you’re working against. The dampers are usually set at 4 or 5 so I would leave it there.
Question of the Day
I am doing an 8k sometime this week. I’ve done a 30′ piece before, and I’ve done a few 4k but nothing like this. My split for the 30 minute piece was 2:05.8 but that barely got me into the top 16. I’ve improved a small bit since then but not much. Recently I’ve been making top 3-5 on our erg pieces and I really want to make the first boat, however I know about 3k into it, I’m going to be telling myself I really don’t care and it’s not worth it. How can I approach this physically and mentally?
Have a plan. Break the piece down into whatever size chunks you want (8x1k, 4x2k, etc.) and plot out roughly what splits you want to shoot for during each chunk. Be reasonable and realistic with these. It’s better to say your goal is a 2:05 split and then actually be at 2:04.6 instead of shooting for 2:03 and then being above for the majority of the piece.
Mentally, think about this. You said you want to make the first boat but you also said that 3k in you’re going to be saying you don’t care and it’s not worth it. I think all rowers question whether or not it’s worth it while they’re in the pain cave but deep down they know it is otherwise they wouldn’t have started the piece in the first place. No one that’s truly serious about the sport or making the top boat would say to themselves that they just don’t care in the middle of the piece though, no matter how arduous it is. If making that top boat is your goal then putting yourself through 8000m of pain is worth it by default.
Pushing yourself for that long is going to test your endurance, it’s going to hurt, and at some point you are going to want to quit. What makes you a stronger, more resilient athlete isn’t pulling the fastest splits or coming in first, it’s pushing through the pain and finishing the piece regardless of what happens in the middle. As a coxswain (and a coach) I obviously want fast people in my boats but even more so than that, I want people who know what pain feels like and who know how to overcome it.
Video of the Week: How to Dismount the Erg During a Relay
Watch and learn, kids. Watch and learn.