Concept2 Forum

I’ve been erging for years and have always found it tricky to get completely consistent splits. How do people manage to do multiple intervals (eg 10x500) with identical splits and stroke rate, with zero variation….what’s the secret??

You need to control the pace. There is no other secret.

There isn't much of a secret that I can tell you, other than understanding the feel of what a specific pace feels like.

I'm not sure if it makes any difference but I have got a good sense of rhythm and I used to DJ, so this may also make it easier for me to stay consistent.

mangabootoo wrote: ↑

November 8th, 2023, 7:56 pm

I’ve been erging for years and have always found it tricky to get completely consistent splits. How do people manage to do multiple intervals (eg 10x500) with identical splits and stroke rate, with zero variation….what’s the secret??

It’s easy. Although an App can help if you can’t be bothered to count strokes. Make sure the monitor is displaying average pace and you can see pace exactly to the tenth. You won’t be able to do it if you can’t see this.

Let’s say you’re aiming for a certain pace on a rep, 1:40.0 pace for 1 minute reps at rate 24 as a random example. You row as close to 1:40.0 pace as possible. The average might fluctuate between 1:39.8-1:40.2 for the first 30-45 secs if you’re pulling mostly 1:40s, but with the odd 1:39/1:41. When you’re in the final 10 seconds of the rep you simply need to adjust the pacing so that you finish exactly on 1:40.0. If you’re at 1:39.8/9 with 6-8 secs remaining then soften up a little. If it’s 1:40.2/3 with the same time remaining then speed up a little. You kinda tweak it near the end to land exactly on pace as the rep finishes.

Same with stroke rate. Pay attention to how many strokes you’ve taken during the rep. If it’s rate 24, then make sure you’re 12 strokes after 30 secs and 18 strokes with 16-15 secs to go. You’ll get to stroke 24 with 2-1 second to go.

So, yeah, it does require control and concentration. You’ll need to concentrate on rate / pace throughout and make the necessary tweaks in the last 8-10 seconds to land the rep exactly on your target pace / rate.

Using the pacer on the PM5 can help as well - if you know you want to be at exactly the right pace, make sure you're never above/behind the other boat.

I rarely use it - and my splits are all over the place normally - but for me the main reason is that I am constantly taking power out the leg drive on my longer pieces because my CV system can't cope, and that's a bit trickier for me to do do it accurately by feel.

If I'm doing a particular pace/rate for a while during training then the "right" feel does come easier for each stroke and for the timings though.

zero variation….what’s the secret?

Ergdata helps, since we can see length, peak pull speed and peak force. Watts offers adequate resolution. My C is a little capricious as to data, there being very few impulses per stroke, one every 3cm.

A good warm up helps starting at reasonable Watts, but long sets such as 10 x 500 will be problematic if we start too fast, unless the rest time is long, at least two minutes.

Intervals are for high speeds, so are usually shorter than 5k total:
https://www.britishrowing.org/indoor-ro ... ing-plans/

This was a total mystery to me too until I found the display screen that shows both your average pace and the average pace for the particular split you’re on. Adjusting based on the averages makes it possible to dial into a precise pace every time.

I would say that the consistency comes from time on the seat more than anything else.

In order to develop consistency in just about anything, repetition is a big driver. Every stroke is an opportunity to add just a small amount of information to the memory bank with respect to how much perceived effort it takes to create a certain pace / power.

Not every single stroke will be done at the exact same split down to the tenth or exact same watts, but over the course of a certain interval (500m, 1000m, 2000m, 5:00, 10:00, etc.), it will generally work out to be pretty close unless you crash and burn or are purposely trying to target some kind of progression, negative split, etc.

I also wouldn’t obsess over it. Splits within 2-3 tenths of each other are generally fine. No need for them to be identical.

Thank you everyone. Very helpful although it still
Leaves me with more questions than answers!! But thanks and happy rowing.

mangabootoo wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2023, 2:35 am

Thank you everyone. Very helpful although it still
Leaves me with more questions than answers!! But thanks and happy rowing.

Feel free to ask your other/new questions