SkiErg

Damper Setting is…

The damper is the lever on the side of the flywheel housing, or fan cage, that controls how much air flows into the cage. The fan cages on our later indoor rowers (Model C and later), are numbered so you can set the damper lever to a particular value from 1–10, indicating how much air is drawn into the cage on each stroke:

• Higher damper settings allow more air into the flywheel housing. The more air, the more work it takes to spin the flywheel against the air. More air also slows the flywheel down faster on the recovery, requiring more work to accelerate it on the next stroke.
• Lower damper settings allow less air into the flywheel housing, making it easier to spin the flywheel.

Damper setting is similar to bicycle gearing: it affects how rowing feels but does not directly affect the resistance. A lower damper setting on the indoor rower is comparable to easier gears on a bike.

Damper Setting is Not…

Many people confuse damper setting with intensity level or resistance. Instead, the intensity of your workout is controlled by how much you use your legs, back and arms to move the handle—in other words, how hard you pull. This is true regardless of where the damper lever is set: the harder you pull, the more resistance you will feel. Because our indoor rowers use wind resistance (which is generated by the spinning flywheel), the faster you get the wheel spinning, the more resistance there will be.

Think about rowing on the water. Regardless of whether you are rowing in a sleek racing shell, or in a big, slow row boat, you will need to increase your intensity and apply more force to make either boat go faster. The difference is in how it feels to make the different boats go fast. Making a sleek boat go fast requires you to apply your force more quickly. Making the slow boat go fast also requires more force, but the speed at which you apply the force will be slower over the course of the rowing stroke.

At a damper setting of 1–4, the indoor rower feels like a sleek racing shell; at the higher numbers, the indoor rower feels like a slow row boat. Regardless of the setting, you will need to increase your effort to increase your intensity.

Drag Factor: How True Effort is Calculated

You might be tempted to think that rowing on the highest setting will result in your best score. This is where the Performance Monitor comes in.

Between each stroke, the PM measures how much your flywheel is slowing down to determine how sleek or slow your “boat” is. This rate of deceleration is called the drag factor. On your next stroke, the PM uses the drag factor to determine from the speed of the flywheel how much work you are doing. In this way, your true effort is calculated regardless of damper setting. This self-calibration is what allows us to compare scores from different indoor rowers, making things like indoor racing and the online world rankings possible.

Different indoor rowers can have different drag factor ranges. A damper setting of 3 on your home machine may feel like 4 on the machine at the gym. Differences in air temperature, elevation—even how much lint is caught in the flywheel housing—can all affect the drag factor from machine to machine. When using different machines, you may need to adjust the damper setting to achieve the drag factor and feel you prefer. See How to View Drag Factor for information on checking the drag factor on your machine.

What Damper Setting to Use

With a little experimentation, you will find the damper setting and drag factor that work best for you. We recommend starting out on a damper setting of 3–5. Really focus on technique, and as you improve, you may find that a lower damper setting gives you the best workout and results. Resist setting the damper lever too high; this can exhaust your muscles before you reap the full cardiovascular benefit rowing provides. The Performance Monitor will give you immediate feedback on each stroke so that you can monitor your performance and determine where you get your best results.

You can also vary your damper setting to achieve different types of workouts. In general, lower damper settings are best for aerobic workouts, while higher damper settings make rowing more of a strength workout.

More on Damper Settings and Drag:
Debunking Myths: Damper Setting, Stroke Rate and Intensity
Damper Settings of Olympians

The SkiErg Performance Series aims to provide coaches and athletes with a new tool for evaluating the effectiveness of their training. Regular testing is not a new idea but testing in controlled conditions has been difficult, and testing with a ski-specific device has been impossible in the past. The SkiErg, with its accurate Performance Monitor, makes both of these training tools possible.

The other important aspect of the SkiErg is that scores can be compared from one machine to another, at any altitude, in any conditions. Athletes can now compare their performances with others around the world.

Training on the SkiErg may not be exactly like skiing on snow—but it’s a good approximation, and good enough to provide useful data and a measure of a skier’s potential performance.

The SkiErg Performance Series is designed to span the dryland training season, starting in May when skiers get back to serious training, and ending in November when races begin on snow. There are intermediate testing periods in July and September to inform training along the way.

Test Periods

The test may be performed at any time during the month.

• Post-season: May 1–31
• Early summer: July 1–31
• End of summer: September 1–30
• Pre-season: November 1–30

Test Distances

The same distances are used every month so coaches and athletes can track progress.

• Speed/Power: 30 seconds
• Sprint: 1000m
• Distance: 2000m
• Distance: 5000m

Skiers and coaches are encouraged to submit scores for each of the distances in each of the four testing periods, to best monitor training progress. However, it is also fine to submit scores for selected distances and testing periods.

How to Participate

1. Set up a free online logbook at concept2.com/logbook.
2. Sign up for the Series on the Challenges page of your Logbook.
3. Ski the desired distances during the testing period.
4. Enter results into your online logbook by the end of the month.

Times are automatically added to the Results Board for the given testing period. If the athlete repeats the test within the testing period, the fastest result will show on the Results Board.

Results Boards are archived on the Concept2 website, so that coaches and athletes can refer back to them as needed.

Once you’re comfortable with technique on the SkiErg, gradually begin increasing the duration and intensity of your workouts. Here are workouts to try. We recommend doing them in the order listed.

Before trying these workouts, please read our liability disclaimer.

Workout 1

Resist the temptation to ski for too long the first time on the machine—we recommend starting with no more than 3–5 minutes at a time. We also recommend starting with the double-pole technique as it uses more muscle groups and gives you a great overall workout. After 3–5 minutes, take a break to stretch and walk around. If you feel good, do up to four of these short intervals of skiing.

Workout 2

Begin experimenting with cadence and power. Cadence is displayed in strokes per minute (spm) in the upper right corner of the Performance Monitor. Power is how hard you are pulling. It is displayed in a choice of units in the central display area: watts, calories, or pace. Try some 3 minute intervals of skiing, varying your cadence and pace, as described below.

• 3 minutes at 35 spm, comfortable effort; 1 min rest
• 3 minutes at 37 spm, harder effort; 1 min rest
• 3 minutes at 39 spm comfortable; 1 min rest
• 3 minutes at 41 spm, harder effort; 3 min rest
• End with 10 minutes of steady state skiing at your choice of power and stroke rate. Make note of what pace you settle on, because you will use it in your next workout.

Workout 3

This workout introduces longer skiing with cadence variation.

• Do four 5 minutes pieces, varying the cadence rate as noted below. Try to ski at a pace that is a faster than your 10 minute pace from Workout 2.
  • 35 spm for the first 2 minutes
  • 38 spm for the next 2 minutes
  • 41 spm for the last minute
  • Rest: ski very easily for 2 minutes before starting the next 5 minute piece.

Workout 4

This workout focuses on longer, steady skiing.

• Do two 10 minute pieces with 3 minutes rest in between. Try to go a little faster than you did for the 10 minute piece in Workout 2. Your stroke rate should be between 35–41 spm.

Workout 5

This workout features short intervals for variety. This is the workout to see how fast a pace you can achieve.

• Ski 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy for a total of 20 minutes. Watch the central display for your pace. Aim for a cadence of 39–45 spm. Record your pace after the workout using the recall/memory function on the Performance Monitor.

Benchmark Piece

Once you complete Workout 5, do a benchmark piece of 30 minutes nonstop. Record your total meters, and repeat this workout every few weeks to see how you are progressing. You can also enter it in the Concept2 Online Ranking!

Next Steps

Now that you’ve completed the first few workouts, begin building an exercise plan that works for your schedule and goals. Visit our Workout of the Day page for ideas.