Since its introduction, the Indoor Rower has played an important role as an indoor training and testing tool for rowers and indoor rowing is now an international sport in it's own right. The 2,000m test is used worldwide and provides coaches and athletes with a tool to monitor fitness and improvement.
Rowers, like most people, do not like being tested/examined and for this reason the 2,000m test is regarded by many as an unnecessary interruption to on-water training, and not an accurate reflection of on-water performance.
In the last 20 years the volume and intensity of rowing training has increased rapidly; top level club oarsmen and women expect to train more than 15 hours a week and international athletes well over 20. In most cases, the training cycle is building towards an annual event, or series of events. Given the level of commitment made, it makes sense to regularly check that the desired training effect is being achieved. Placing regular tests within the yearly cycle allows both the coach and athlete to monitor the athlete's performance gains and, where necessary, adjust the training programme to suit the individual's needs. If the athlete sees that they are making regular performance gains, their confidence improves and they gain a belief that the training they are doing is effective and return to it with renewed vigour. If there is no performance gain, it acts as a warning signal of either ill health, over-training or that the training programme is not suited to the individual. Whatever the answer, this can be addressed immediately rather than continuing to train, only to be disappointed when performance falls below expectations in competition.
For these reasons a testing procedure should be included in the training programme to fit into the end of each meso cycle, allowing performance gains to be monitored. This way, the testing does not need to interrupt on-water training, but will certainly benefit it. Whilst performance on the Indoor Rower does not directly reflect on-water performance between two people of different technical skill levels, where the skill level is the same, the athlete with the better 2,000m time on the Indoor Rower will inevitably win.
In this section we offer two different training programmes; the original and the interactive. The original programme offers a series of pre-set programmes for four, five or six sessions per week. The interactive offers a bespoke programme taking into account different fitness levels.
The original programme and the interactive programme vary in two ways:
1. The original programme does not take into account current fitness,
2. The interactive programme offers a suggested split for each training zone that can be used for either of the two programmes and is the best split expected for each training zone based on 2,000m time.
