I broke six minutes for the 2k erg, and after that every 2k I did was under six. I managed to break 5 minutes 50 about 10 times, and my PB is 5 minutes 45 seconds. So 2k ergs are something I'm decent at. Here's what I think actually makes you faster on a rowing machine.
How to row faster on a rowing machine?
I think going fast on the erg comes down to two main things. First, you have to have done the training. Second, you have to back yourself. Then, once you're on the machine, there are two things I watch for on every stroke: a smooth force curve, and power that gets from my legs to the handle without leaking out on the way.
None of it is complicated. It's simple stuff done well, every session.
Do the training
There's no trick that replaces the work. You have to have done the training, full stop. Everything else on this page sits on top of that.
If you want to see how long it took me, here are my 2k erg scores by age. For more on erg sessions and tests, start at the erg and testing topic page.
Back yourself
The second bit is your confidence. Are you confident in what you can actually do? Do you back yourself?
"Confidence can't be faked, but it can be built."
The way I built my confidence before all of my 2k ergs was doing specific 2k prep on the rowing machine. There were a few favourite workouts I'd do every time before my big 2ks. They're in the two erg sessions I did before every big 2k, and you can get all of them, with the timings and when I did them in the lead-up, in the free PREP download. On the day itself, use the exact warm-up I did before my PB.
Watch your force curve, not your split
When I'm on a Concept2, I always set the bottom half of the screen up as the graph showing the force curve, and the top half as either the split or the wattage. Then I just stare at that little graph and see how much of a symmetrical bell curve I can create.
The force curve draws how hard you're pushing through each drive, from the catch to the finish. On a Concept2 the line is drawn as you take the stroke, so you see each one build in real time. On a PM5, press Display until the force curve fills the bottom half of the screen, then use Units to set the top half to split or watts.
"You want it to be this totally smooth upside down U and often a really good curve will mean faster splits, not often, always."
What does a good rowing force curve look like?
The best force curve is a smooth, symmetrical bell curve, like an upside-down U. Make that curve as consistent and smooth as possible, stroke after stroke.
A dip, a hump or a spike means the power is coming on in bits instead of one smooth push. A really full bell-shaped curve will mean more watts and faster splits, consistently. That's why I watch the graph more than the numbers. Fix the shape and the split follows. For a full walk-through, read the little graph that means faster splits.
Get your power through the chain
Plenty of Meataxes, me included, have big strong legs and are big and strong in the gym, but don't put that power down to the water effectively.
Rowing is just transferring energy through a chain. The chain starts at your fingertips, then you press through your legs, swing through your body and finish the stroke. Your legs and trunk are doing about 80% of the work. If that power isn't transferred to the handle, you've got slippage somewhere in the chain, often in your core and hips. Say your legs are pumping out 400 watts and you lose 20, 30, 40 watts through your trunk. Your arms end up with 350, 370, whatever it is. Good rowing is reducing that loss.
Eric Murray gave me a tip for this when we raced together at national champs for Waikato: hang off the handle and get that hang to feel like it's right in the lower part of your lats.
"It's super easy to feel like you're going to work really hard and then you load up upstairs, you load up in the shoulders and it's all just wasted energy."
Take it out of the arms. Your arms just hold on, and you're hooked up through the lats, through the core and down to the legs. Over time that helps you get more power down to the water. The full story is in hang off your lats: the tip Eric Murray gave me.
Try this: the tie-down drill on the erg
This one helps you connect from your hands all the way through to your feet.
- Hook a strop or tie-down around the erg handle and the machine itself.
- Get to your catch position and adjust the strop so you're more or less at the catch.
- Apply pressure against the strop through your entire body, with your bum staying in the same position. The only thing you want to see is the seat going light underneath you.
- Hold that locked-in position, with no slippage through the body, for 20 seconds or so. Then lower.
- Do that a few times.
You'll feel it through your lats and your legs, and you'll feel how much core you need to stay in that position.
"Do that a few times and you'll feel where the weak points in your whole kind of chain are."
If your arms fold away, you're not locking on through your shoulders and lats. If the middle gives, you're not locked on through the hips and connected with your back. More in the erg tie-down drill.
Common mistakes
- Staring at the split. Watch the force curve instead. Get the shape right and the split comes.
- A lumpy curve. A dip, a hump or a spike means the power is coming on in bits. Aim for one smooth push.
- Loading up upstairs. Working through your shoulders feels like hard work, but it's wasted energy.
- Skipping the prep. Confidence can't be faked. Build it with specific 2k prep before a big test, and pace it your way with how to pace a 2k erg.
Send this to a Meataxe who needs to hear it. Not sure what that is? Here's what a Meataxe rower is.
More from Shaun on this
Read the transcript
Hello you filthy Medacs. Here's a tip I got from Eric Murray. So Eric Murray, the famous Kiwi rower from the Kiwi pair alongside Hamish Bond, double Olympic champion. I raced a bit with Eric at National Champs for Waikato and he used to talk about hanging off the handle and getting that hang to feel like it's right in the lower part of your lats. Because yeah it's super easy to feel like you're going to work really hard and then you load up upstairs, you load up in the shoulders and it's all just wasted energy where I found it really beneficial to think about like the hang through that lat like feeling the lat stretch and lock at the same time and just like taking it out of the arms so that the arms are just like a fucking noodle holding on for dear life and you're just hooked up through the through the lats and through the core and then down to the legs. Olympic final in Tokyo. That photo there I'm hanging through the lats. Over time that'll help you get more power down to the water. So send this to a Med-X who needs to hear it.
Read the transcript
Hello you adorable little Medax. So I'm going to show you an exercise on the Erg that's going to help you connect from your hands all the way through to your feet. I feel like I need to frame that up a bit better. And here's the exercise itself with that strap connected to the handle and the machine itself. I want you to apply tension through the chain. The only thing you want to see is that the seat becomes light underneath you. So right now my bum's not the seat and I'm trying to hold that locked in position with no slippage through the body. Hold for 20 seconds or something like that and then lower. Do that a few times and you'll feel where the weak points in your whole kind of chain are.
