What you'll gain

• Builds aerobic base below lactate threshold with no impact loading on the joints.

• Recruits legs, trunk and upper body in one continuous pattern, unlike leg-only cardio machines.

• Rewards a repeatable rhythm, which makes it easy to hold a target pace for long pieces.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Strap your feet in so the strap crosses the ball of the foot, and set a moderate damper.

2. 2

   Come to the catch with shins vertical, arms straight, and the shoulders slightly ahead of the hips.

3. 3

   Push the legs down while the arms stay straight and the back holds its angle.

4. 4

   Once the legs are nearly flat, swing the back open and draw the handle to the bottom of the ribs.

5. 5

   Extend the arms away, hinge the torso forward, then bend the knees and slide back to the catch.

6. 6

   Repeat at a rate you can sustain, taking about twice as long on the recovery as on the drive.

Common Mistakes

• Pushing the legs and leaning back at once, which is inefficient and loads the lower back.

• Recovering as fast as you drive, which cuts the next stroke short and raises the rate for no extra pace.

• Pulling the handle high to the collarbone, which puts the finish above the strong line of the ribs.

• Setting the damper at maximum, which turns a rhythmic aerobic piece into slow heavy pulling.

About This Exercise

Steady-state rowing is the base version of the stroke: catch, drive, finish, recovery, repeated at a rate you can hold for the whole session. A workable starting rate is sixteen to twenty-two strokes per minute, with the recovery taking about twice as long as the drive. The legs push first, the back swings open, the arms finish, and the pattern reverses on the way back to the catch. Steady-state work is continuous effort held below lactate threshold, and a sensible build runs from about ten minutes toward thirty, which makes the erg an easy entry point. For a catalog this is the reference rowing clip. It anchors the erg family, works as the default library thumbnail for indoor rowing, and gives beginner programs a technique demo the interval and sprint variants build on.

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