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Ask The Experts

Is there a fitness test I can carry out using the Indoor Rower?

Mark Watts: Could you tell me if there is a fitness test I can carry out on the players in my rugby club using the Indoor Rower? I will have the use of a heart rate monitor, so we can record their heart rates at the end of their test and then check where they are fitness wise (if there is a table to compare the results to). Terry O'Neill: For a fitness test for rugby players, well the 2000m is a pretty comprehensive test and the results in the Ranking (http://www.concept2.co.uk/ranking) cover heavy and lightweights plus age groups so that is fairly simple. There is another really good test that is called the power/endurance test.

One of the methods used to define individual training intensities is to produce a "Power- Endurance Curve" on the Indoor Rower for each athlete. Five key points are established as a result of this test, which is carried out over one week:

  1. Maximum power output over 10 seconds.
  2. Anaerobic capacity over 60 seconds at a stroke rate of between 36-46.
  3. Race pace over 2,000m, stroke rate between 30-34.
  4. Aerobic capacity over 6,000m, stroke rate 26-28.
  5. Endurance over 60 minutes, stroke rate 22-24.
A graph of power/time is then plotted and the individual heart rate recorded.

During each of the steps note the highest and lowest split time so the graph has not only the mean but also the range at each level. You can then determine where you need to focus the training of your athletes.

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