Despite my bias, it cannot be denied that the indoor rowing machine (a.k.a. the erg) can provide one of the
best cardio workouts available. It can also be one of the hardest aerobic/anaerobic exercises you will ever
experience if you do so choose (I would not recommend this, anyone whose done a 2k test
knows what I'm talking about).
Depending on how you train it can also prove to be a great strength and endurance builder. However, few people
know how use the erg properly, which is key to getting a good rowing workout in. I am in no way claiming to be an
expert on erg technique, but I can definitely offer some pointers that will help you develop better erg form, and
consequently better erg workouts.
Here is a picture so you can see things I am referencing throughout this.
First I'll explain some basics. The first thing you should know is how to set the resistance of the machine.
Let's assume you are already sitting on the seat with your feet strapped in. If you look at the picture, there is
a circular object at the front of the erg. That houses the fan that creates the resistance. On the side you
can see, there is a small black lever sticking out. On most rowing machines the lever to change resistance is
located on the right side of the fan. On some machines, however, you can set the resistance on the control pad,
it just depends on which company makes the erg. The erg above is made by a company called Concept 2.
They are one of the best, if not
the best erg companies. Most gyms that carry erg machines carry ones from
Concept 2. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is setting the resistance incorrectly. The fan can usually
be set at a resistance between 1 and 10. Many people think that putting the lever on a higher setting affects
the amount of wind the fan blows on you while working out.
This is not the case!. The lever actually controls
how hard it is to pull the handlebar. This is the first area where you can vary up your workouts.
Set the lever at a lower resistance to do cardio-type workouts. If strength is what your going for, set the resistance
to a higher level. Virtually every school that has a rowing team makes everyone set the
resistance to level 6. This is because that is the resistance most similar to that of actual water. 6 is a great level
to set the machine at if you are looking for both an aerobic and muscle toning workout.
The next basic thing to talk about is the performance monitor. This is the small square-shaped control pad protruding
out from the fan that gives you the readout of your workout. It looks like this
The two most important things two look at on the monitor are your stroke rating, and your average 500-meter split.
On the image above, the 27 in the upper right-hand corner represents the persons rating. This is how many strokes they
will take in one minute. A very low stroke rating is between 16-18, whereas a very high stroke rating is in the 32-40 range (40 and above being EXTREMELY fast). If you want to emphasize the cardio element of the workout, keep your stroke rating higher, in the 22-28 range. To do strength training, drop your rating to 16 or below (if you can) and pull harder, varying the level of force you put into it until you find the level of force you need to work the muscles. This brings me to the next most important part of the performance monitor, your 500-meter split. In the photo it is the 2:03 in the middle of the screen. This tells you, on average, how long it is taking you to row 500 meters. It's also what you use to gauge how hard you are pulling. The harder you pull, the lower that split will drop. On light cardio days, I will train with my split at around 2:15, sometimes going up to between 2:20 and 2:30, depending on how I'm feeling that day. You will start going some decent cardio work when that split drops to 2:00. Between 1:53 and 1:59 is more difficult, but still a good split if you are working on both cardio and muscular endurance. Most novice rowers do their first 6k test and finish with an average split of around 1:55. Once you start getting below 1:50 on your split, and even below 1:40 (like you have to do for a good 2k score) you will start experience some real work. I would not recommend doing this for extended periods of time as it is very difficult and taxing on your system. Do 20 strokes at most with this low of a split, then let your split climb back up to a more comfortable time. Throw in another 20 strokes (a "power 20" as it's called), every 1,000 meters or so to get your heart rate up. Of course, as you get better both aerobically and technically, you can start seeing how long you can sustain higher ratings and lower splits for. It's hard work, but you can definitely make dramatic improvements in small amounts of time. When I did my first 6k test, my average 500-meter split was 1:57. By the end of the season, when we had to do 10,000-meter erg practices, I would keep my split to around 1:55 and still consider it a relatively easy workout. Point being, if you have a hard time sustaining a low split, just keep at it and keep trying to improve your split, cause you will see HUGE improvements if you do so! You will truly be amazed at how good of shape you can get yourself into from proper erg workouts.
The last thing I want to talk about is proper form. There are four main "sections" of a stroke.
1) The Catch: The catch is the first section of the stroke. This is when you have rolled all the way up so that your legs are compressed to your chest and you are holding the handle with your arms extended. You want to have your legs as compressed as possible, knees touching your upper body if you can. Keep your heels from rising up from the foot-rest as much as possible. You want to have your heels as low as possible so as to get the most out of the drive (which I'll talk about next). By keeping your heels engaged with the machine as much as possible, we allow your legs to transfer as much energy as possible into the stroke. When at the catch you want to make sure the following things happen: Your butt should be sticking out slightly, rather than tucked under your upper body. Again, this is to ensure the maximum amount of energy is transfered from your legs to the stroke. A common myth about rowing is that it is mostly upper body strength that is needed.
This couldn't be further from the truth! Rowing is almost all lower-body. That's why most higher-level rowers have decent or sub-par upper bodies, and then massive legs. Make sure you are sitting up nice and tall, with your arms extended straight out, shoulders should be down and relaxed, and your traps should be as relaxed as possible.
This is what the catch looks like (it's not on an erg, but you get the idea)
2) The Drive: The drive is where you actually take the stroke. The first thing to do is
keep everything from the waist up exactly as it is when you are at the catch! For the drive, you want to push out with your legs until they are flat with your quads flexed. The momentum from pushing out with your legs should cause your back to open up just before your legs are fully extended. Continue swinging the back open until you are leaning backwards slightly. Keep in mind that you do not want to be leaning so far back that your abs are recruited to do all the work in keeping you from falling backwards. The lower back muscles should be taking the brunt of this work. You should only feel a
slight tension in your abs, nothing more. You also do not want to be sitting straight up and not using your core muscles at all. Your arms should stay straight until just before your back stops swinging open. Just as your momentum allowed your back to open up, the momentum from this happening should allow your arms to pull the handle into the body. In a proper stroke, the arms should not be doing too much of the work. If done correctly, the handle should more or less just glide into the body with a little assistance from your arms. Of course, if you are dropping the rating to get a good strength workout, or you are trying to get your split pretty low, you can pull harder with the back and arms to use every muscle available to you. One of the biggest problems for beginners is not separating the moves of the drive appropriately. If you are just starting out, I would recommend starting out very slowly so as to nail the technique. First extend the legs all the way, pause, then swing the back open, pause, then use the arms to pull the handle into the body.
3) The Finish (also called The Release): This is the position you are in when you have pulled the handle into the body. It looks like this.
At the finish, you want to have pulled the handle bar into the rib-cage. Keep in mind that you do not want the handlebar to actually touch your body. You should bring the handlebar as close to your body as you can without touching it, then extend your arms back out till they are straight. This initiates the first part of the recovery.
4) The Recovery: The recovery is when you begin sliding back up to the catch. The first part of the recovery is to extend your arms out straight from the finish. Then you should swing your upper body forward until it is at the same angle as when you were originally at the catch. Your legs should then follow, compressing again as much as possible once you are back at the catch. In rowing, the recovery is possibly the most important part of a race. During the recovery, you want to turn your leg muscles completely off. I repeat,
COMPLETELY OFF! This is one of the most difficult parts of the stroke to master. If you have taken an effective the stroke, the momentum from extending your arms out and swinging your upper-body forward should allow you to turn off your leg muscles while still sliding up to the catch. For this to happen, you have to make sure that you bring your arms into the body and extend them back out in a smooth, continuous motion. Ideally, the handlebar should never stop moving. When you extend your arms back out straight, you want to do it quickly, almost punching with both fists, so as to create enough momentum to pull your body forward without using your legs at all. Equally important is what we call Ratio. Ratio is the amount of time you take on the drive compared to the amount of time you take on the recovery. Ideally, you want to have a 2:1 ratio of recovery time versus drive time (meaning it should take you twice as long to slide back up to the catch as it should take you to drive to the finish). Ratio is another tricky skill to master, even for experienced rowers.
Well, there you have it. I know this is a lot of information, and props to you if you actually stayed interested enough to read to this point. Although there is a lot of technique that goes into proper erg workouts, you can trust me when I tell you that becoming skillful on the erg can pay HUGE dividends when it comes to your fat-loss goals. I'm sure there's some stuff I missed (please feel free to add anything I didn't mention) or did not explain clearly enough, so if you want to know more, such as what kinds of workouts to do, etc., or if you just want clarification, please don't hesitate to ask!
