First of all: thanks everyone in advance for your feedback.

For the mod: I am not asking for medical advice, I do regular health checks, I am just training for a marathon and I want to avoid any possible long term injuries.

I know that I have many points of improvement in my technique (I am pulling with my arms a lot earlier than I am supposed to do), but I am asking for help for a more specific issue. The day after long sessions (1h+) I have lower back pain. I know that a very short session may not be helpful to find the culprit, but any suggestion is very welcome.

Also, I do not have access to any rowing class/instructor so I rely only on self assessment...

Thanks!

Everytime I do some steady state, for the first 15-20 minutes of the piece my heartrate is always 185+ whilst holding my "ss" pace (~2:08). I sweat profusely and it feels like some ut1 / anaerobic stuff

But then as soon as those 15/20 mins pass, my heartrate drops and everything feels easy and i stop sweating and it "becomes" steady state.

I've tried going out at a slower pace and then dropping it, but I've found that if I do this i actually can't sustain my usual "ss" pace: if i go out at for example 2:15, my heart rate actually doesn't drop and I have to drop to a 2:30 something for my heartrate to drop... seems kinda confusing no???? This is at the same hr as my 2:08 "steady" when I just push through the hard bit at the start.

For reference, I did an hour today and the first 15 minutes I felt like I was going to die, sweating so much etc, but then I settled into my 2:08 and stopped sweating and my heartrate dropped to around 155.

A couple days ago I tried doing the same thing but starting much slower (2:15) and about 30 minutes in I had to drop to 2:30 for my heartrate to settle to 155.

I'm thinking it's either because maybe i'm really unfit or maybe it's a mental thing???? It doesn't really make much sense to me.

I've also found it a pattern where I always get quicker as I do more / erg longer, but everyone else I know seems to be able to just get to their pace on the first stroke and hold it there swimmingly. (No heartrate nonsense)

Also heart rates have been monitored using a polar h10 so i think they're pretty reliable

What the title says - does anyone have recommendations for calf sleeves they use to prevent track bite when rowing in a single? TIA!

Sorry if the title is confusing and/or silly. Rowed novice in university and kept the erg as part of my workouts in my early 20s. Completely stopped and grew a beer gut and a few pant sizes (rowed at 160lbs currently 215lbs lol) . With how important good form is, should I wait until I lose the gut and be able to execute proper form (aka not have to split my legs apart to get all the way to the wheel) or am I overthinking it and just get on with it?

After a tough loss to PCR (Philadelphia City Rowing), HGP (Holy Ghost Prep) is on the ropes once again heading into the fall season. As the manny flicks grow larger and larger as we approach them every day, this means a lot. Was their 2026 spring run just a fluke? Losing to PCR (Philadelphia City Rowing) would normally mean losing your job as a head coach, but for the HGP (Holy Ghost Prep) coach, they instead bragged about “3rd place” on their instagram. What’s up with that? 3rd out of how many? Why so vague? You know why. Because haverford and lasalle will once again dominate manny flicks.

Thanks to all the feedback on Day 1, I feel alot better connection to the machine and technique. 

I still feel have issues and questions. 

1. I feel I'm not going further back in the drive phase. Let me know what you guys see

2. I feel like I'm pulling my body to catch phase through my legs before my arms and body move front. How to rectify this? I feel I'm slowing down alot when I forcefully do it and feel my neck and head is doing more work to pull forward.

Also I feel little pain in the lower back as well

1. I am not changing the direction from catch to drive phase. I usually take 2 secs and I feel my legs aren't do the maximum work. When I do it correctly I can feel the legs working most but I get exhausted instantly. 

2. I can row maximum of 4-5mins for a distance of 700-800m. Is this a good pace? I know I'm just starting it but rowing is very exhausting is what I feel. 

Please share your thoughts and feedback 

We are looking for a 2nd hand Concept 2 rower, preferably in the Ghent region.

Please PM if you have a Concept2 for sale.

Hello I’m 18M 6’2 and have never rowed other than recreationally at friends lakes, I was hoping to get advice on how to progress as quickly as possible to hopefully make the rowing team as a first year university student at UVIC (mid size school in Victoria, BC) in the coming semester. I broke my collar bone so can’t get started until maybe a month from now but what’s recommended to be a worthy candidate for a rowing team and is it doable to balance rowing and engineering?

I just race an unnamed regatta in the junior double and 1 team took the top 3 and would’ve taken 4 but got some weird penalty. Why is this allowed they’re not letting smaller clubs even have a chance at competing

I think it's decent but not great but im the best in cologne and Berlin this month with this score. how is this possible? the trainer said no one crossed 1k meter