Becoming a better cyclist from erging/rowing?

[Sb13ky]

I knew that erging and rowing usually makes you an okay cyclist but I thought maybe my fitness would be very similar. I raced triathlon for 10 years and had my best 20 minute power test at 312 watts @ 70kg. In the spring I started riding after a few months off and ended up riding 304 watts for 20 minutes after a month of training. I rode up until June and then rarely rode in the summer and picked up erging in August. I have been erging consistently since then around 100km a week. Started riding last week again and based off of my workouts I could see myself holding 340 watts for 20 minutes at 71kg. Crazy to think that erging has increased my power on the bike.

[Dangerscouse]

I'm not sure, but I'd assume that you will gain more from erging and then cycling, than the other way around.

The inclusion of the upper body along with pushing with your legs, will give your CV system a better workout, whilst maintaining the leg strength too.

Admittedly I'm not a cyclist so I don't have a clue, and it's just assumption

[MiddleAgeCRISIS]

I knew that erging and rowing usually makes you an okay cyclist but I thought maybe my fitness would be very similar. I raced triathlon for 10 years and had my best 20 minute power test at 312 watts @ 70kg. In the spring I started riding after a few months off and ended up riding 304 watts for 20 minutes after a month of training. I rode up until June and then rarely rode in the summer and picked up erging in August. I have been erging consistently since then around 100km a week. Started riding last week again and based off of my workouts I could see myself holding 340 watts for 20 minutes at 71kg. Crazy to think that erging has increased my power on the bike.

I have a similar experience albeit at much lower intensity. I row 140km per week all at low intensity.

On my watt bike , which i havent really ridden since december , my just riding along pace has gone up from 100 watts to 150 watts.

My peak 6 second wattage was 1253 before my stint of 140km weeks and now its down to 1050. Albeit i've done 5.4m metres at 20km per day without a rest.

I wouldnt say i'm stronger at the top end but I can hold 80 90 effort for ages.

[Sb13ky]

I'm not sure, but I'd assume that you will gain more from erging and then cycling, than the other way around.

The inclusion of the upper body along with pushing with your legs, will give your CV system a better workout, whilst maintaining the leg strength too.

Admittedly I'm not a cyclist so I don't have a clue, and it's just assumption

I would have to agree. When racing triathlon in university, I hopped on an erg with poor form the first time and still pulled a sub 7:00 off of triathlon fitness. I have gotten faster on the erg since then by committing the last 5 months, but it has been slower as I get closer to that 6:30 range as a lightweight. On the other end, my power has increased a lot on the bike. Overall I feel like erging has had a huge benefit and I would be interested to see how it would impact my swim, bike and run times if I started to run and swim again.

[flatbread]

Erging makes you better at erging.

Riding a bike makes you better at riding a bike.

[Citroen]

Erging makes you better at erging.

Riding a bike makes you better at riding a bike.

Both improve your CV fitness so there will be some cross-over between one sport and the other.

[hjs]

Erging makes you better at erging.

Riding a bike makes you better at riding a bike.

Both improve your CV fitness so there will be some cross-over between one sport and the other.

Crosstraining is often used when the main sport has limitations at some point in volume. In both rowing and in speedskating even more cycling is used a lot. The back is the limiting factor. Cycling is very volume friendly, bit like swimming, very easy on the body. Not for nothing both in cycling and swimming people race so much.

[MiddleAgeCRISIS]

I knew that erging and rowing usually makes you an okay cyclist but I thought maybe my fitness would be very similar. I raced triathlon for 10 years and had my best 20 minute power test at 312 watts @ 70kg. In the spring I started riding after a few months off and ended up riding 304 watts for 20 minutes after a month of training. I rode up until June and then rarely rode in the summer and picked up erging in August. I have been erging consistently since then around 100km a week. Started riding last week again and based off of my workouts I could see myself holding 340 watts for 20 minutes at 71kg. Crazy to think that erging has increased my power on the bike.

I was thinking back to where my body first hurt the most when i started rowing and i wonder if you have experienced similar? My hip flexors were so painful and tired but now they feel so strong. I wonder if that is in the mix for you.

[PawsyBear]

‘ I could see myself holding 340 watts for 20 minutes at 71kg. Crazy to think that erging has increased my power on the bike.’

I had a similar experience. Been rowing but not seriously for a few years. Decided late last year to learn and train to help cycling as cross training. Long story short saw 25Watt increase in FTP on less cycling I think it helped improve core arms back connection to legs. Balanced or improved a different muscle groups. I’m no expert but I’m convinced. Rowing is staying in my weekly training.

[flatbread]

erging will help you cut your losses if you don't ride your bike. if you're riding, then sure, time on the erg is an additional training stimulus, but the carryover is minimal, and vice versa. putting that extra time into the bike would yield more cycling-specific benefit.

at the end of last summer my FTP was 345w. I put my bike up for the better part of three months ad just used the erg. My FTP now is about 330. my erging got a lot better from Sept-Dec. cycling got worse -- erging just cut the damage.

I'll return to some erging in a couple of weeks, but just to tone my back. if you're going to do bike races, you ride your bike.

for rowers, ok, the limiter is the back and some additional UT3-UT2 level work on the bike will help with those low intensity adaptations on the erg or in the boat -- not as much as more rowing would however, but more rowing would increase the chance for injury.

a high level rower will get on a wattbike or a road bike regularly. you won't see mathieu van der pol on an erg anytime soon. you want to race the bike, you ride the bike.

[Cyclist2]

Just read another article (in Bicycling magazine, see another thread just below this one with the first article I found) about how building strong shoulders will improve your cycling. It described a bunch of dumbbell exercises to help that, but getting on the erg will do the same thing and improve your core and CV fitness as well.

Lots of anecdotal information about how these two sports compliment each other (most famously, Hamish Bond), and my personal experience is right in line with that. I wonder if there are any controlled studies that could verify it.

[PawsyBear]

Anecdotal https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/osborn ... rld-title/

A 2018 study from Australia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6077239/
Read but I’ll be honest I didn’t get much from this as it’s beyond my pay grade


I think, in both cases, they are elite athletes. I’m certainly not. So their results will include some bias? Combing cycling and rowing seems anecdotally to have some benefits. My findings

As you say building stronger shoulders arms etc will benefit off road cycling gravel/cross/mtb all part of my world and why I use rowing and cycling together

[hjs]

Just read another article (in Bicycling magazine, see another thread just below this one with the first article I found) about how building strong shoulders will improve your cycling. It described a bunch of dumbbell exercises to help that, but getting on the erg will do the same thing and improve your core and CV fitness as well.

Lots of anecdotal information about how these two sports compliment each other (most famously, Hamish Bond), and my personal experience is right in line with that. I wonder if there are any controlled studies that could verify it.

Looking at the grand tours its very much a weight game, those guys don’t even look at a weight, goal is get an upperarm as thick as an wrist

Hamish B. Did not do both sports together, he stopped rowing and started cycling and for that lost a lot of weight. For a rower he was not very heavy. https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-spo ... ling-plans

So his rowing weight was 89 and he went to 76 for cycling. Still on the high side for climbing.

That said, he did pull a pb again on the 2k, 5.43? After he picked up rowing again, but no doubt his weight was again back up.

[Cyclist2]

Looking at the grand tours its very much a weight game, those guys don’t even look at a weight, goal is get an upperarm as thick as an wrist

Hamish B. Did not do both sports together, he stopped rowing and started cycling and for that lost a lot of weight. For a rower he was not very heavy. https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-spo ... ling-plans

So his rowing weight was 89 and he went to 76 for cycling. Still on the high side for climbing.

That said, he did pull a pb again on the 2k, 5.43? After he picked up rowing again, but no doubt his weight was again back up.

Not arguing that there is some definite specificity involved between the two sports, but from a strength (overall) and CV perspective, the benefits cross over. I was at least 7-8 lbs (3-4 kg) lighter when my focus was cycling, but the upper body strength I maintained due to the erging I continued gave me, I think, an advantage. Likewise the endurance I gained from 100 mile bike rides sure helped me rowing and erging. I think Hamish would agree; that he is losing fat, not muscle, for his cycling efforts and that leanness doesn't hurt his rowing. The fact that he has switched back and forth supports the assumption.

For amateur athletes like most of us, I am a strong advocate for using both sports to improve both sports.

[hjs]

Looking at the grand tours its very much a weight game, those guys don’t even look at a weight, goal is get an upperarm as thick as an wrist

Hamish B. Did not do both sports together, he stopped rowing and started cycling and for that lost a lot of weight. For a rower he was not very heavy. https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-spo ... ling-plans

So his rowing weight was 89 and he went to 76 for cycling. Still on the high side for climbing.

That said, he did pull a pb again on the 2k, 5.43? After he picked up rowing again, but no doubt his weight was again back up.

Not arguing that there is some definite specificity involved between the two sports, but from a strength (overall) and CV perspective, the benefits cross over. I was at least 7-8 lbs (3-4 kg) lighter when my focus was cycling, but the upper body strength I maintained due to the erging I continued gave me, I think, an advantage. Likewise the endurance I gained from 100 mile bike rides sure helped me rowing and erging. I think Hamish would agree; that he is losing fat, not muscle, for his cycling efforts and that leanness doesn't hurt his rowing. The fact that he has switched back and forth supports the assumption.

For amateur athletes like most of us, I am a strong advocate for using both sports to improve both sports.

Partly agree, not about the fatloss, that really is mostly muscle. Look at pics of hamish as a rower, and as a cyclist. Rowers do have muscle, cyclist are just skin and bones.

And my point was, Hamish did not do the two sports together, but switched between sports. And now again switched back.

Re weight, you talk about 7/8 lbs, Hamish lost 30.

https://images.app.goo.gl/uehYrkbg695JgPJD8 This is him as a rower, no cyclist in a grand tour has this much upperbody muscle