2000 Meter Erg

Question
What tips can you offer about rowing a 2k?  I am a high school rower.  My goal is at least 6:55.

Answer
Hi Justin: First off, that's an outstanding goal for a high school rower. I'm assuming you are talking about the Concept II erg and not the monstrous contraption I used in college. You need to to stay under 1:45/500M on the meter on the CII. That's some pretty hard rowing.

I never did too well on the erg, but my coach at Temple University was Mike Teti, who is now the US Men's Olympic team coach. Mr. Teti offered the following strategy: Right at the start of the piece, row as high and hard as you are able without losing control of your slide or your swing. Teti's rationale: you are going to get tired and your pace is going to fall by 1000 meters no matter what you do so you might as well get some good early splits...then hang on for the rest of the piece.

Some of my strategies included the following:

- near the end of the finish, give an extra bit of pull with the arms. Unlike a shell, where your blade would be out of the water by then, you can influence the meter throughout the drive. I had strong arms (albeit not-so-strong legs) and this helped me.

- Near the end of the piece, shorten the stroke to 3/4 slide. That will help get the stroke up when you are probably dying by then.

- Prior to the 2K piece, prepare with workouts consisting of 500M/1000M pieces at racing pace, with 3-4 minutes in between.

- Finally, avoid "clock watching!" I always found it better to not fixate your eyes on the meter. That can get to your head. Just keep your head up just as you would for a race on the water.

Good luck and good rowing.

                               Regards/AP