Mind over Matter: planning your 2K ergo test

by Sara Bird

Tackling a 2km, or any other, ergo test is as much about your mental preparation as your physical prowess. So here are some suggestions for how to ensure you’re prepared for the challenge, and some tools to help tackle the common issues of ergo tests. 

This post is more from my personal experience of ergo tests (and indoor champs) over the last decade or so, so please do use the comments below to add your suggestions and help your fellow ergers with your tips.
 
Let’s start with perhaps the most important one...

The Digestive System

My most common issue during ergo tests is a desperate desire to jump off the machine mid-sprint and run to the bathroom... The adrenaline hits, blood heads to your limbs, and your digestive tract resorts to fight or flight and decides now’s the time to evacuate. 

So eat a good, bland meal well ahead, 2 hours-ish - avoid anything that could upset your stomach or cause nasty eruptions from either end. Fill the gap with a bland snack if you need it (and we’re hungry rowers so of course we’ll need it). And, before you start rowing, go to loo: empty the system.

Ensure you are well hydrated - but coffee or another caffeine source can help too. Studies show that a little bit of caffeine can boost performance, but as caffeinated drinks can also dehydrate and create an urge to poop, you need to ensure you’ve planned ahead. 

Clothing, hair and sundries

You’re on course for the best 2K ever, you’re 300m from the end…and your top/shorts catch in the rollers. Even being distracted by a floppy fringe, a migrating headphone or sweaty mascara can slow your time so make sure you're happy with what you’re wearing - no hair in eyes, shoelaces that stay tied, a top that doesn't ride up, shorts that don’t work their way down your bum...

Setting the machine up

Next, ensure the ergometer is set up to give you the best chance to perform, and provides a time that reflects your true ability. Check the feet are the right height for you, that you have the right screen setting, and set the drag factor. About 125 for women, 130 for men. Also check your environment - that the room is not too hot, you’re not in a blinding sunbeam, that you’re able to focus - and that your head isn’t centimetres away from a wall or railing at backstops.

The Warm Up

I prefer a longer warm up than usual for ergo tests: at least 2500m over two bursts on the ergo. I start with the usual technique-building warm up of about 1000m with bursts of higher power. I then stretch, to open up the hip joint, get ankle mobility, shoulder mobility and posture. Then I get back on the ergo but focus more high rate, high power bursts that seriously tax the muscles and get me out of breath. Online, serious ergers recommend at least 15 minutes warm up and even up to 30 minutes. This gets the blood flowing, your body ready to handle lactic acid, your muscles prepared for hard work, and your technique all set. Skipping on the warm up is one of the most common 2K mistakes. 

The Plan

In BGC we rarely use detailed plans for races, let alone ergos: but they help. Plans provide a focus when all you might think about is pain, and take decision-making out of moments when your brain is getting very little blood. For me, 2K is almost exactly 200 strokes, and before I start I know what I will do with every single one: and I've often used a post-it (and large writing) on the monitor to remind me.

I start with a racing start of around 20 strokes to get the erg spinning, lengthening over 10 from short powerful strokes to long, fast strokes, then holding it for 10, reaching my fastest split of the test. Just as the lactic acid starts to bite I...

...dramatically slow the rate to my race pace and breathe deeply: this is my most powerful sustainable rate for the majority of the test. Over time this has gone up from rate 24 to 26/27/28 but it will vary for everyone. During this stage I change my focus every 10 strokes, from quick catches on my toes, to using my glutes, to sitting up tall, to a powerful hip opening, to back/finishes (working from my toes up my body). Repeat that cycle 3 times and we’re ready for the finish...

…at about 300m left to go, I dig deep and go for it. Often focusing on 10 on the legs, 10 on sitting tall/ opening the hips/using my shoulders and then 10 all out, with a last few strokes if needed, building power with every one. And then I sit there wheezing and wondering if I’m going to throw up. 

Every person will have a different plan, a different number of strokes, a different length of start or finish - but knowing what’s coming helps deal with the pain and scrutiny, and brings out your best rowing. Plans develop over time, so try one out, see how it goes, improve it next time. 

Finally

Take the time to cool down on the ergo and shift that lactic acid. Ignore people comparing times. Be proud of improvements. Don’t beat yourself up if it didn’t go to plan, learn lessons and use them next time. Stretch. Stretch again. 

Ergo Warm-Up

As we start introducing ergo training to the club, this warm-up is recommended as a great way to
- build your stroke, posture and technique each time
- get the feel of ratio, ideal for when we get to power pieces
- warm up cardiovascularly

By the end you should be 'puffed', and then have a quick stretch before commencing your 'pieces' for the day. So, set your drag factor to 125-130, and off you go...

10 strokes arms only
10 strokes with body lean
10 strokes half slide
10 strokes full slide
10 strokes rate 20 low power
10 strokes rate 20 high power (ratio change)
10 strokes rate 24-26 low power
10 strokes rate 24-26 high power (ratio change)
10 strokes rate 28+ low power
10 strokes rate 28+ high power (ratio change)
10 strokes taking it down

So, to summarise, build the stroke, then do 10 each of low power and high power at low rate, medium rate and high rate - should take about 5 minutes. 

The pain and the glory...

by Sara Bird 

As the prospect of the club actually owning 6 rowing machines looms, this blog entry is a basic introduction to the horror, the joys and the benefits of rowing machine training.

The technical name for these machines is ergometer, often abbreviated to ‘erg’ or ‘ergo’. Concept II make by far the most reliable, accurate and popular machines so this entry is based on these – but any ergo is better than no ergo and others are available far more cheaply. 

Setting the ergo up

Every ergo has a different range of resistance, based on age and how well maintained it is, so setting 4 on one model is not always the same as on another. Before you start training, you need to set the 'drag factor', which is a measure of the resistance of the machine and used to standardise your training. It should be around 125 for women and 130 for men to mimic water training. On newer Concept 2 models this option is in the menu, for older models, press 'ready' and 'rest' buttons and the same time, then row. Then adjust the power setting until the drag reads about right - it's usually about 3-5 on the power setting but can vary hugely. Training at higher levels is not hugely beneficial for cross-training for rowing.

Next you'll need to set the feet height, which for gig rowers or less flexible people could be very low, but for power, the middle range is better. See the video above for other tips.

Now you're set to row.

Roles of the ergo

Ergo training is clearly useful for improving your strength, power, stamina and cardiovascular fitness, but is also useful for improving your technique, each of these issues is covered below. A combination of approaches is good to avoid boredom and improve all round ability.

Improving strength and power

A low stroke rate (e.g. 20 strokes per min) allows the ergo to lose momentum before next stroke, and means a heavier catch. By focusing on the classic 'ratio' stroke, i.e. very powerful then a very, very slow and smooth return, you help build the muscles you use in rowing. This type of training can be anything from 15 minutes to an hour depending on your fitness, so build up time on this, using a very motivating mix tape and occasional breaks for water. Your focus is one posture and power, rather than distance covered. This also helps build stamina and is great for burning fat. 

Improving handling lactic acid

To help improve starts, you need to prepare your body for the pain (!) of lactic acid build up  and to physiologically to break lactic acid down better, which requires anaerobic training. A typical routine for this is short, sharp, bursts of 1 minute 'on' (max rate max power) then 1 minute off, building up the number of times from, say, just 4, to 10 sets.

Improving over race distances

Building up longer intervals, e.g. 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 2000m, with correspondingly longer rest times of around 30s to 2 minute (see Pete's plan below) helps to improve performance over race distances. However note that training above and beyond race distance/power is what really makes the difference to improving strength and stamina.

Improving your technique

Many people think that ergos do little for on-water technique, however used in the right way they can help embed technique changes that you don't have enough time to build muscle memory, and indeed muscle power, for on the water. This involves a great deal of personal discipline to pay constant attention to your own posture and technique. 

So, imagine you are on the water. Things to practice are raising the hands towards the catch, ensuring you draw into body at finish, and lovely smooth returns. Focus on pushing through the balls of your feet, rather than pulling on the handle, and engaging the glutes with strong posture.

This video covers some common technique errors, though note this rower, even on 'good technique' has their back rather too rounded:

The test

The '2K' test is the worst of all worlds - lactic acid over a relatively short distance, but long enough to require ongoing power and endurance, however this is the benchmark for your progress. It is also the standard benchmark across lots of rowing disciplines, amongst both amateur and professional sports people. For women, 'good' is less than 8 minutes, for men this is less than 7 minutes, but it may take a while to work to this if you are new to erging.

Interestingly, there is a strong relationship between what can be achieved over an hour, in 20 minutes and 1 minute, and over 2K and 5K, so there is little benefit in doing one type of work out as multiple types are more interesting and support each other - so use long, aerobic rowing and short, anaerobic rowing, to prep for your 2Ks and avoid obsessively doing just 2Ks. It's very dull and takes away the adrenaline and focus that can lead to a great 2K.Some other ideas.

Other tips

Ergos can be boring and painful, but are probably THE best way to measure your progress and improve performance on the water. Here are some ideas that may help provide variety:

• Rowing 'feet out' (i.e. without the foot straps) is more similar to gig rowing, and helps improve connection to the stretcher that you may lose if you rely on the straps holding your feet in, which would actually catapult you off the stretcher in the boat and mean you are not levering the boat past the oar. Feel those abs...
• Break your session into blocks of say 100 metres, or 10 or 20 strokes, with different things to focus on in each block. I alternate between 10/20 strokes focusing on a power issue (such as power through back muscles, glutes, thighs, or off stretcher) and 10/2o focusing on a technique issue (such as back posture, shoulder position, extent of lean forward, relaxing fingers). 
• Consider using a heart rate monitor: many plans target different aerobic and anaerobic states tailored to your heart rate and age, for really accurate training. 
• Play with it - there is a game on most ergs about chasing fish - or set yourself challenges. Over distances, the faster you do it the sooner you can stop...

Some other help

There is lots of advice on the internet for training plans, technique etc. Some you might like to try are:

• Sign up for Workout of the Day via email from Concept 2 - a choice of short, medium and long every day
• Try the Rowing Company's interactive training programme
• Investigate the 'Pete' plan - a continuous plan that revolves in 3 weeks cycles
• Check out the rowing technique videos on the Concept 2 website