I’m a Beginner – Where Do I Start?

How to Start Training for Rowing as a Beginner

The rowing community is always evolving, with veteran rowers hanging up their oars as beginners are just starting. We see the complete range on our Dark Horse Crew training programs, and as a coach my firm belief is that teaching the fundamentals is just as important as helping athletes take advantage of the latest advances in sports science.

This week I want to give you Step one of the Dark Horse Rowing journey and show you how our relationship with our ergs can grow and change throughout our time on this awesome piece of training equipment.

Rowing training doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective, and with the proven information and tips in this guide you can start training and prepare yourself for sessions that will really help you achieve any goal you have!!

Getting Ready to Train For Rowing As a Beginner

Before jumping into workouts or increasing the amount of time you’re spending on an erg, there are some tasks and purchases to check off your list. These include:
Give your erg a once over: We’re not expecting you to become a whizz with a screwdriver but a bit of basic maintenance is always a good start. Start with replacing the batteries in your monitor, make sure your chain is oiled and your foot straps hold your feet in place comfortably. If you have time or the inclination then you can always dust off the flywheel but really it’s not essential.

Get used to the technique: Training stresses the body, and optimizing the way you sit on the erg and perform the rowing motion and reduces injury risk. We have plenty of rowing technique videos on our Youtube page so spend a little time there first and get used to the movements and positions before throwing yourself into the world of workouts.

Gear up: You don’t have to kit up like a pro, but comfortable training gear is essential. For apparel, avoid cotton, stick with moisture-wicking fabrics, and use layers so you can adjust for weather conditions.

Items You Don’t Need To Get Started

There’s a seemingly endless array of products you can buy as a rower, but when you’re getting started it’s important to realize you don’t have to spend a fortune or get everything at once. Here are items people think you need that you don’t, at least not right away.

Heart rate monitor: Training with HR is wonderfully effective and a monitor is a very valuable tool, but you can make a lot of training progress before needing to invest in one.

Phone Holders: A great addition to your erg but certainly not something that will make you any faster or help with form.

Seat covers: Padded seats are light, strong, and can get expensive. If you want a seat cover to help with some extra padding we strongly recommend this one. If not don’t go spending money on something unless you really are invested long term in this sport!

Your First Week of Training for Rowing

Row your erg more than you did last week. If you haven’t been rowing regularly, start by developing both form and technique along with your fitness 2-3 times a week for anything from 10-30mins. If you’ve been rowing recreationally, figure out a ballpark for how much time (not distance!) you’ve been rowing on a weekly basis and aim to increase by 10%.

Don’t worry about going hard. Don’t go from zero to four high intensity interval sessions in week one. Your pace on the erg should be conversational, meaning you could speak in full sentences to someone with you.

Your First Month of Training for Rowing

Beginner rowers who were not rowing regularly before starting to train should continue building time in the seat and working on form and fitness. Take as many rest days as needed – no training – at least two days out of seven.

If you’re more comfortable training, remember to engage with the rowing community through Facebook communities and Apps that will allow you to track your progress and help athletes measure their progress and stay accountable to their training goals. Many athletes who work with coaches upload their training data to The Concept 2 logbook  or similar apps that allow coaches to analyze an athlete’s data. Fitness trackers are more effective with more data, so if you use one be sure to upload your data ErgData is by far the most commonly used on both Apple and Android devices.

Your First Three Months of Training for Rowing

Rowing more hours can only take your fitness so far, especially once time-crunched athletes hit their maximum training time at 4-6 hours per week. Workload is the product of intensity and volume, and to increase workload without increasing volume we have to increase intensity. That’s where intervals come in.
Interval training is a means of increasing total workload by alternating between periods of higher intensity and recovery periods at lower intensity. Intervals can be long or short, mildly challenging or cross-eyed difficult, and anything in between. There’s an inverse relationship between the intensity of an effort and the length of time you can sustain that effort. The harder the interval, the shorter it will be, and vice versa. Athletes can use this relationship to target the energy system they’re trying to stress with an individual workout, series of workouts, or entire training block.

Generally speaking, here’s how interval duration and intensity correlate with energy systems. There is some overlap, but the larger point is that you can’t do 10-minute VO2 max intervals because you can’t sustain the intensity necessary to target that energy system for 10 minutes. Likewise, very few athletes can sustain 60-minute efforts at lactate threshold intensity. For most athletes 10-20 minutes is as long as they can maintain the intensity necessary to target improved performance at lactate threshold. When intervals are longer than they should be, intensity decreases toward general aerobic conditioning, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not helping achieve the goal of the interval.

There you have it!! The most comprehensive blog of how to start your rowing training from zero to 3months. Next week we’re going to look at 3-6months and how to get from a beginner to an intermediate level. Looking for a program that encompasses all of this?? Head to our Launch Your Rowing plan and start your journey with us from wherever you are in your rowing journey!!

Yours in fitness, education and starting from scratch!
Coach John.

Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash