Tips for a Successful Training Program

From 1991 to 2003, Larry Gluckman served Concept2 as our Human Resources staff and everyone’s personal coach. Larry had coached numerous Olympic and National Team crews in the years before he joined Concept2 and went back to coaching after he left us.

Larry's workout wisdom is evergreen, and well worth reposting 24 years later—with a few updates to reflect that fact that we now have the SkiErg and BikeErg in addition to our RowErg.

1. Plan your workouts in advance but be willing to adjust depending on how you are feeling. Feeling great? Go for it in time or intensity. Feeling stressed out and tired? Make the workout a relief. Cover the monitor, turn on the radio or TV and just exercise for the release of it.
2. Include a period of warm up and cool down in each workout. This time can also be spent working on proper technique.
3. Experiment periodically with both your wind damper setting and your race stroke rate. You may find that a change in damper setting may make you slightly more efficient and complement your improving cardiovascular conditioning and strength. This may also be true with stroke rate.
4. Supplement your workouts with body exercises that encourage additional flexibility and reciprocal joint and muscle strengthening. For example, try push ups, pull ups, stomach crunches and back arches as well as simply bending over and touching the fingers to the toes, letting gravity help lengthen you out a little.
5. Schedule in rest days as well as test days.
6. Keep a log. This helps in terms of motivating yourself by noting your improvement and helps identify a successful series of workouts.
7. Train with a friend either on two [indoor] rowers or by alternating pieces on one [indoor] rower while one of you in stretching or doing body exercise. (Or: Alternate between the RowErg™, SkiErg® and BikeErg®!)
8. Enjoy the workout. It's a great way to spend some time with your body!