Indoor rower

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A row of Concept2 "Model C" indoor rowers

An indoor rower is a machine used to simulate the action of watercraft rowing for the purpose of exercise or training for rowing. Indoor Rowing has become established as a sport in its own right. The term also refers to a participant in this sport.

An indoor rower is also known as an ergometer (colloquially erg or ergo), an ergometer being a device which measures the amount of energy or work performed. The indoor rower is calibrated to measure the amount of energy the rower is generating. Ergometer comes from the Greek word's ergon, meaning work and metron, meaning measure. An ergometer therefore is a device that literally means "work measurer".

1 Layout of the machine
2 Exercise
3 Erg Tests
4 Competitions
5 External links

[edit] Layout of the machine

There are three types of machines on the market: the so-called “hometrainers” for €300 or even less, the rowing ergometers like Concept2, RowPerfect, and WaterRower which are available under €2000, and actual dry land boats like [BIOROWER]. The rowing ergometers consist of a flywheel connected to a chain and handle. The rower pushes his body backwards with the legs, then pivots his back, and pulls on the handle, causing the flywheel to spin. The flywheel has a damping mechanism applied (using either air or water) that is intended to simulate the feel of an oar moving through water. Depending on the machine the rower either moves back and forth as part of the rowing action, or the rower remains stationary and the flywheel mechanism moves.

The standard measurement of speed on an ergometer is generally known as the "split," or the amount of time in minutes and seconds required to travel 500 meters at the current pace. For example, a 2:00 split would correspond to a 2:00 time for a 500 meter race, or an 8:00 time for a 2 kilometer race. The split does not necessarily correspond to how many strokes the rower takes (the "rating") since strokes can vary in power.

[edit] Exercise

Indoor rowing is one of the most challenging forms of exercise as it works most major muscular areas of the body, as well as being an excellent cardiovascular exercise. Ergometer rowing entails both high levels of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, so the benefits can be great, but this comes with some risk of injury.

Unlike high impact exercises, which can damage knees and the connective tissues of the lower body, rowing's most common injury site is likely the lower back. Proper technique is a necessity for staying injury free, with a focus on both mechanics and breathing, as correct rhythm, exhaling on the drive and inhaling on the recovery, is a stabilizing force for the upper body. Non-rowers commonly overemphasize the muscles of the upper body, while correct technique uses the large muscle of the thighs to drive much of the stroke. Also, good technique requires that the angle of the upper body is never too far forward, nor too far back, both of which jeopardize the lower back.

In addition to the high levels of fitness attained, rowing is an intense calorie-burning exercise. Although rowers with less ability and training will burn fewer calories, the ergometer is an excellent tool for use in a weight-loss program.

[edit] Erg Tests

Erg tests are used by rowing coaches to evaluate their rowers and to make boat selections. Rowers will row a set distance, usually 2000 or 5000 meters (the distances raced) on the erg, and will try to clock the fastest time possible.

Coaches often take the information garnered from running such tests to make lineups for their crews, putting the rowers with the fastest times together in a boat. Erg testing is also an important part of athlete selection for the senior and junior national rowing teams.

Weight adjusting of erg scores is sometimes employed by coaches because erg scores sometimes do not tell the whole story of an athlete's boat-moving potential. The general trend is that the taller, larger and stronger the athlete, the better their erg score. However, the larger the rower, the more the boat is weighed down in the water, which creates more drag that the crew then has to overcome. A formula for adjusting erg scores to account for the rower's weight is sometimes a useful tool for coaches to correctly evaluate athletes. A typical formula is:

$weight \quad factor \quad adjustment \quad = (bodyweight\quad in \quad pounds \quad / 270)^{0.222}$

[edit] Competitions

Concept2 organizes a large number of indoor rowing competitions all over the world, including the world championships (also known as CRASH-B Sprints) held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA in February and the British Indoor Rowing Championships held in Birmingham, England in November. The usual distance for competition is 2,000 m. The machines used are very consistent and although the resistance may be adjusted, a result on one machine can be fairly compared with results on other machines regardless of resistance level. The prevalence of Concept2 machines creates a standard which facilitates competition.

Indoor rowing is an inclusive sport, perhaps because indoor rowing has historically been used for fitness, training and self-improvement rather than as an independent form of competition. Most major competitions include many categories based on age as well as weight. While the fastest times are generally achieved by rowers between 20 and 40 years old, teenagers and rowers over 90 are common at competitions. Inexperienced rowers as well as world class athletes are welcome.

There is, however, a nexus between performance on the water and performance on the ergometer, the open events (men's, women's and lightweight men's and women's) at the World Championships are dominated by elite rowers. Former men's Olympic single scull champions Pertti Karppinen and Rob Waddell and five-time Gold Medalist Sir Stephen Redgrave have all won world championships or set world records in indoor rowing. Less anecdotally, correlation between ergometer performance and on-the-water performance is quite high. However, because the indoor rowing machine measures only energy (power) output, whereas power, power to weight ratio, and technical proficiency are all important factors in determining boat speed, the absolute score on an indoor rowing machine is not the best indicator of an athlete's boat moving ability.

The world records for 2,000 m are currently (as of December 2005) 5:37.0 for men and 6:28.4 for women. Full Records For All Distances, Weight, and Age Classes