Added Resistence In Erg Training

[old] frozenrower · Post by **[old] frozenrower** » August 1st, 2004, 12:43 am

Hello All- After Canadian Henleys next week, I plan on starting 4 weeks of training before the Fall Season. I'm going to try and do mostly longer workouts (i.e. 2*25' and 60') at 20-24spm. However, I'd also like to add some specific strength training, without doing any heavy lifting sessions (Just barely a lightweight, can't afford to gain much muscle.). I was wondering if either raising the damper on the erg to 5-6 or elevating the back of the erg with blocks or something would be beneficial on longer pieces. I also wanted to know if it is possible to put in heavy tens or endurance lifting concurrently with aerobic training, and if so, how much. Thanks Frozen Rower

[old] jamesg · Post by **[old] jamesg** » August 1st, 2004, 2:05 am

The damper controls only the speed at the catch, not the gearing. To shift the accent towards strength rather than just CV (i.e. to use a harder gearing) all you need do is drop the rating but maintain the pace. The control is Watts/rating - constant and high. The Wolverine L4 system helps to keep it interesting by cycling 16-18-16 and suchlike, in the range 16-24, varying the CV load too.

[old] cforce · Post by **[old] cforce** » August 2nd, 2004, 9:08 pm

what club do you row for? and what event? good luck

[old] frozenrower · Post by **[old] frozenrower** » August 2nd, 2004, 11:08 pm

Thanks for the advice and the luck. I'll be rowing in the insanely competitive JrB Men's 8+ event. The event where puberty and rowing mix in a delightful combination, resulting in some of the lankiest strokes you will ever see.

[old] Canoeist · Post by **[old] Canoeist** » August 3rd, 2004, 9:59 am

Adding one or two 2"x4" planks under the back end really makes a difference on the amout of work that your legs must do for a given pace. The forces on your upper body remain the same. This is a good exercise if your legs are weak in proportion to your upper body. Raising the damper to 5 or 6 makes you focus more on power than the speed of the stroke. If you raise the damper to #10 you get even more of an effect. But after doing this several times, and looking at the force curves, I don't think this is really a good idea. I prefer keeping the damper the same and trying to row a given pace with a very low spm. A simple 2:00 pace becomes a good workout for even a big bloke if the SPM is under 15. Cheers, Paul Flack

[old] frozenrower · Post by **[old] frozenrower** » August 6th, 2004, 12:11 am

OK...so if you elevate the erg to help weaker legs....is there anything that can be done if your upperbody is weaker?

[old] cforce · Post by **[old] cforce** » August 6th, 2004, 10:43 am

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (frozenrower @ Aug 5 2004, 11:11 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> OK...so if you elevate the erg to help weaker legs....is there anything that can be done if your upperbody is weaker?  </td></tr></table> get in the gym and start working your upperbody. Try chinups, bench pulls, bench press, and some core work.

[old] dadams · Post by **[old] dadams** » August 6th, 2004, 4:03 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (cforce @ Aug 6 2004, 09:43 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (frozenrower @ Aug 5 2004, 11:11 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> OK...so if you elevate the erg to help weaker legs....is there anything that can be done if your upperbody is weaker?  </td></tr></table> get in the gym and start working your upperbody. Try chinups, bench pulls, bench press, and some core work.  </td></tr></table> cforce has good intent, but you said you are barely a lightweight. Getting into the gym may put you over the edge weight wise. I do agree on the core work however. And that sort of training won't add any significant weight. Realize what's been said already. If you lower your rating (The Wolverine L4 is a good example) this will definitely make it more difficult. I personally have tried the 16-18-16 thing, and it's a b**ch!! Paul's (Canoeist) suggestion of 15 spm at a 2:00 split is not for the faint of heart. Especially over a good distance (say 10k). Try these. You'll see. Dwayne

[old] dadams · Post by **[old] dadams** » August 6th, 2004, 4:08 pm

Just an added thought on Bench pulls. Of course this is my own opinion. If you want to someday have a rib injury, do bench pulls on a regular basis. Everyone I've ever met (Olympians, ex-Olympians, National Team members, etc) that have done these, has had a rib injury sometime in their career. People that I've met that haven't done these (Olympians, ex-Olympians, National Team members, etc) have never experienced a rib injury. Do I have proof that bench pulls will cause this injury to happen?? No. I just look at the stats. Anyway, I've had my two cents worth. Back to the main topic. Dwayne