The following is reprinted from Row As One's Newsletter, Reach.

I Used to be a Boat Stopping Erg Wimp
Since calibrated indoor rowing became part of the on the water rowing training tradition, coaches have been confronted with three types of rowers. There are the erg spinners/boat stoppers, boat moving/ergo wimps and finally the group – which makes coaching a breeze – there are the erg spinning/boat movers. If you are in the later group, turn the page. But if you find yourself in group one or two, take heart, you are probably in the majority and are causing your coach sleepless nights.

If you are a true spinner, then I would suggest you can afford to take a little off your effort. Concentrate on this key point which can be practiced on the erg but has more application on the water. I believe many spinners forget about the one part that can make all the difference in the shell – a purposeful finish. To finish in an organized manner allows you to work hard on the drive and not lose your effort just when the boat is beginning to move its fastest.

Think of the finish as a concert of effort summing the last part of the leg drive with the swing through of the back just as the elbows drive hard past the body. As the handle approaches the body, think “paper clip”. Finish with the hands following the radius of that paper clip from top to bottom. Now swing the hands and handle towards an area above the socks and allow the shoulder to come with the moving handle permitting your knees to bend upward in the window you created with the handle and your arms. Remember the hands are always advancing the slide and shoulders toward the wheel. As the handle approaches your reach point, begin to think of the next drive as a combination of allowing the hands to repeat the paper clip movement. This time from the bottom to the top side just as the legs begin the press away from the foot stretchers to the stern. I admit some of the rowers who are spinners found this process a bit discouraging since some of the “hammer” was lost but when spring rolled around they were making improvement in adding to the speed of the boat.

The second group boat moving/ergo wimps need to swallow a different pill.
1. Be sure the damper setting is truly suitable for you
2. Check your foot height -no hyperflexing the knee at the catch end (seat should not hit your heels)
3. Legs at the finish are down without wobbling (Wobbling legs means you do not have a strong finish base)
4. Practice quarter slide rowing at each end of the stroke
(Focusing on the linkage of the body parts without losing force of the handle due to soft connections)
5. Watch for arms early in the drive
(Be sure they are not bending at the expense of a strong leg drive. Keep the arms long and relaxed.
6. Look in the mirror each morning and repeat, “I am a born again Erg Spinner”

Now begin a diet of 20 sec to 2 min. piece with the intensity of a mother bear protecting her cubs. Once those efforts begin to show some promise, begin to stretch them out realizing that as the piece gets longer, the pace changes. Flying and dying is not acceptable but gliding and smiling makes for slow times. Balance the effort between high intensity and steady state efforts but constantly challenge yourself. You may never earn a membership card into “SCA - Spinners Club of America, but improvement is relative. The real test is who gets over the finish line first in Long Beach next August.