What you'll gain

• Develops peak power output on a non-impact machine that measures every stroke.

• Stresses the anaerobic system hard in efforts short enough to fit any session.

• Reveals technique breakdown quickly, which makes it useful as a coaching diagnostic.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Strap in, set a moderate to firm damper, and row easy for several minutes before any hard effort.

2. 2

   Sit at the catch with shins vertical, arms straight and the torso hinged forward from the hips.

3. 3

   Drive the legs down as hard as you can while keeping the arms straight and the back angle fixed.

4. 4

   Snap the back open and pull the handle to the ribs, finishing the stroke with the legs already flat.

5. 5

   Push the hands away fast, rock the torso over, and let the knees rise into the next catch without collapsing.

6. 6

   Hold maximum effort for the planned distance or time, then paddle very light until breathing settles.

Common Mistakes

• Letting the recovery speed match the drive, which shortens the stroke and drops pace while the rate climbs.

• Yanking with the arms before the legs finish, which cuts the strongest part of the drive out of the stroke.

• Pushing the legs and opening the back at the same moment, which is inefficient and loads the lower back.

• Judging the effort by stroke rate on the monitor rather than split, so the numbers rise but the pace slows.

About This Exercise

A rowing sprint is the stroke at maximum power output. The leg drive is violent, the back swing sharp, the arms fast, but the sequence is unchanged: legs, back, arms in, then hands away, body over, knees bend. At sprint rates the recovery gets compressed first, and once it matches the drive the stroke shortens and pace falls even as the rate climbs. The sequence has to be comfortable before it can be raced. Manufacturer guidance is to hold slower rating work until the fundamentals are solid, so a sprint belongs after the stroke is learned rather than during it. As an asset it covers the top-end effort in an erg family, gives sprint conditioning content a believable maximal-effort loop, and lets a library show visible intensity differences between three rowing modes on one machine.

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