Erging was always a necessary evil for me. I saw it as a way to keep fit as opposed to a useful tool for rowing. The saying 'Ergs don't float', was used a lot at my old club as a reason for not taking erg scores too seriously. Performance on the water is ultimately more important. It's easier to get a good erg score because you don't have to worry about balance or water / weather conditions.
Being on the water feels natural and comfortable to me, so getting my rating up on the water was never a problem. Feeling the connection between my oars and the water, and feeling the consequences of my actions makes it easier for me to correct and adapt my technique. On the ergs, however, I struggled to make the mental and physical connection between my actions and the numbers on the screen. I couldn't quite work out how erging was supposed to feel.
Like a Fish Out of Water
I didn't know what the connection was supposed to feel like. I wasn't quite sure what it meant to squeeze with my glutes, as I thought I was doing enough by pushing down with my legs. I didn't have a discerning eye when looking at other people's technique. I felt like a fish out of water on an erg!
Thanks to some great erg coaching from John Gill, and the support of a couple of the experienced ladies during our squad erg sessions, things are finally clicking into place. My sequencing is improving and I now know what the connection feels like, and my glutes just keep on firing! Even a relaxed session on the ergs now is more powerful than what used to be a hard session for me!
Milestones
I did a session on the erg this afternoon, and my times are better than they ever have been, and that was just during the warm-up! Rowing is a journey that I came to quite late in life, and it has taken a lot of perseverance to get this far, but it has totally been worth it! I'm still a novice and this will be my second regatta season, so who knows what will happen!
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