Making Erg Training Count

Are you one of those people who feels like time is flying— except when you’re training indoors?

The days when we can’t get out on the water and enjoy the outdoors seem to drag on forever. Yes, we know that indoor training is important and offers benefits that rowing on the water can’t. But we are rowers, and nothing beats the feeling of a team working together and a boat running well.

It’s not hard to motivate myself to go rowing on the water, but it takes considerable effort to pack my bag and go to the gym. I realize how important it is, especially for older athletes, to strength-train regularly, but it’s definitely not a favorite.

From comments I’ve heard, I know that ergometer training is to many rowers what strength-training is to me. Because it’s not exciting, getting it done requires extra motivation.

Everyone agrees that winter rowing on an erg is excellent preparation for rowing on the water, so people put in their time but tend to do it on cruise control. As with any exercise done reluctantly, erg training misses the mark when performed incorrectly.

If you don’t pay attention to proper technique, you won’t achieve optimal results, and positive adaptation, both physiological and psychological, will be limited. Poor technique also can put unnecessary strain on your body and cause injury.

A common technical error: starting the drive by opening your upper body and leaning back while your legs are still straightening. Without the right sequence—legs-upper body-arms—you won’t achieve maximum handle force, you’ll tire quickly, and by weakening your core stability, you may hurt yourself.

If you row this way consistently, thus ingraining the incorrect sequence in muscle memory, once back on the water in the spring, you’ll transfer your bad habits to the boat, which will alter the feel and diminish the power of your stroke.

Other erging no-no’s: gripping the handle incorrectly, lunging, pausing at the catch, not extending your legs fully, bending your knees during the recovery while your upper body is still leaning back, tilting your upper body to one side while exerting uneven pressure on the foot stretcher.

Coaches should correct these technical errors, and rowers shouldn’t ignore them. Watching yourself erg in a mirror will enable you to identify your weaknesses. Even better: a video at race pace. The objective is to become aware of your mistakes so you can fix them.

During long low-intensity training sessions, it’s tempting to go through the motions and assume your technique is fine. But complacency can lead to performance stagnation and even injury. Better to concentrate on improving your erging form so you’ll row better when you get back in the boat.

Volker Nolte, an internationally recognized expert on the biomechanics of rowing, is the author of Rowing Science, Rowing Faster, and Masters Rowing. He’s a retired professor of biomechanics at the University of Western Ontario, where he coached the men’s rowing team to three Canadian national titles.

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