[youtube o7pA1Ac0ZLs]On Saturday I went to Stephen’s to erg, and on Wednesday I went to Doug’s to erg. I’m trying to emphasize the things that Dan and I worked on last Thursday, but it appears that I did a better job of it on Saturday and on Wednesday. Both times I paddled for half an hour non-stop, then started doing 9 minutes normal, 1 minute fast, and about a 30 second rest while I got a drink of water, and then went really hard for the last two minutes. But on Wednesday, my stroke rate was higher, my heart rate was higher, and from the video I don’t think I was rotating as well. Also, I tend to do a stroke-stroke-pause instead of a stroke-pause-stroke-pause, so I don’t know if I am, but I think I’m not pulling as hard on one side as the other. It’s too bad the erg doesn’t tell you whether you’re getting the same power on both sides – on the boat you’d know because you’d be going in circles.
7 thoughts on “More erging”
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Paul,
I just found your site when I googled -” rochester open water challenge”. Curious by nature, I have perused your site. I also watched your video – If I may …
Your change in technique is likely due to big differences in paddle length. Early in the video your paddle is quite long -resulting in more resistance. This Resistance must be overcome by engaging the core. When the paddle is shortened (later in the video) you don’t have to engage the big core muscles to spin the flywheel. The end result is that you have a higher stroke rate, don’t pause long enough at the end of the stroke to get really good rotation, etc.
Hope this helps.
-M
Matt, that’s interesting, because the early video (in the white garage) I’m using an erg that belongs to a guy who is about the same height as me, but the later part of the video (in the brown attic) I’m using an erg that belongs to a guy who is much shorter than me. I only thought about lengthening the shaft to get the grips in the right place, I didn’t think about the entire length of the shaft.
Paul,
Your mileage may vary, but it seems that 63 to 65 inch lengths feels *right*. I’ve mine set to 65 for this winter erg series and it usually feels similar to my 219cm paddle. I think 64 feels quite similar to 215 and 63 would be closer to a 211. What length wing paddle are you using?
-M
I’m using a Braca VIII, which has a very long blade. I’m not sure the shaft length, I’ve been experimenting a bit with that over the season.
That’s cool – this is the first I’ve heard of a kayaking erg. I’m familiar with the ConceptII we used at RIT.
@dsh, we’re trying to get RIT to buy a couple of kayak ergs for the gym. One of the professors is a former national kayak champion and he wants to do some coaching there.
If they get the erg I may need to utilze my almnus status to use it! I rowed competitively for a while as a student, and now kayak recreationally. With two or more I could take my brother for competition.