I am old enough to remember a time when someone might have asked “do you do the weights” and rarely if ever was this asked of a woman but walk into any gym today and you will see as many women lifting weights as men. But now instead of just doing the weights many gymgoers, male and female alike, are doing Hyrox, Crossfit or some other form of hybrid programme of what we now refer to as “strength and conditioning.”
When I started lifting weights in the 1980s this terminology did not exist. There was no internet or YouTube videos or TikTok fitness influencers. Sports science was in its infancy and the only sports teams that had an S&C coach were in the NFL. If you were lifting weights at the gym or at home you were likely following some bodybuilding routine that you got from a magazine or book and your “conditioning” if any might have been a run around the park or an aerobics class (remember them?)
Today gyms are equipped with an abundance of weight machines to push and pull against and cardio equipment to run, row, cycle, step and even ski on. As a former powerlifter I was never much of a fan of exercise machines preferring the challenge of lifting free weights but when I stopped competing at weight lifting and started to focus more on fitness and conditioning that all changed and I had an epiphany of sorts.
I first used a Concept2 rowing machine while working as a personal trainer in New York in the 1980’s and I had continued to use “the erg” to warmup at the gym. But it wasn’t until a friend who was a competitive rower showed me the proper way to use the erg that I discovered the most challenging workout I had ever done up to that point.
I learned that the Concept2 is more than just a rowing machine and why it is called an ergometer and that indoor rowing is a sport. For the past 20 years indoor rowing has been my primary exercise and sport. The transition from Powerlifting to rowing could not be more dissimilar though rowing is classified as a “power-endurance sport/activity”. Powerlifting is all about demonstrating strength whereas rowing demands a combination of strength and endurance.
Strength AND Conditioning
To build strength the basic barbell may be your best friend but for cardiovascular fitness and conditioning it is hard to beat the ergometer. The RowErg provides an effective and efficient total body workout that involves all the major muscle groups in a combined push and pull movement against resistance.
Can the RowErg be a substitute for strength training?
It was never intended as such because the erg is primarily a cardio-focused machine for endurance training but you can get stronger rowing, up to a point. It depends on how strong you need to get! This year a new highly innovative Concept2 StrengthErg, designed specifically for strength training, became available in Ireland. I started using the StrengthErg at the gym a few months ago and I think it is a game changer, especially for certain populations.
Like the rower the StrengthErg applies the same user generated force to create flywheel resistance. You can apply as much or as little force as you want and the machine responds with as low as 12lbs and as much as 1200lbs of responsive resistance. The StrengthErg automatically adjusts resistance to match your effort and the resistance is constant through every degree of movement unlike when you are lifting free weights. And you cannot fail a rep on the StrengthErg because just like the rower, you reach the point of momentary muscular failure only when you decide to stop. It’s like doing an infinite drop set! (gymgoer lingo)
- Push harder and faster → Greater force → More resistance
- Push slower and with less effort → Lower force → Less resistance
Similar to the RowErg when you push and pull harder the resistance on the flywheel increases but instead of showing your meters and watts the key metric displayed on the StrengthErg is ‘force.’ Strength is the ability to produce force. I have been tracking my StrengthErg workouts using the Concept2 ErgData app and I am seeing a steady increase in my force output week on week.
While indoor rowing may not be a substitute for conventional weight training I believe the StrengthErg certainly can be, especially for people who are intimidated by lifting weights and for those unfamiliar with the proper weight training exercises and protocols. Many older adults lack the confidence and the know-how to navigate the gym scene and how to make the most efficient use of their time. If you are a gymgoer who finds yourself roaming around the gym from one exercise machine to another without any real plan your time would be far better spent on the StrengthErg.
The most important factor for building strength is progressive resistance exercise. This means that over time you should be gradually increasing the load you are working with or the force you are producing to overcome that resistance. Your muscles cannot distinguish the form of resistance they are contracting against whether it is a barbell, your bodyweight or an erg.
To get the greatest benefit from your StrengthErg workouts I recommend doing 2 or 3 sets of each of the three exercises for a specified number of repetitions or time. And to ensure that you are generating maximum force and working in a progressive manner to do each of these sets at maximum effort. You can track your force output in real time and post-workout using the Concept2 ErgData app. After all if you don’t track your workouts how will you know if you are progressing?
Concentric Only Exercise
If there are any perceived disadvantages of the StrengthErg compared to conventional strength training one might be the fact that the resistance is one way only as is the case with all Concept2 ergometers. With concentric only exercise there is no resistance on the return or eccentric part of the movement. You are also limited to just three movements: Leg Press, Chest Press and Row.
I would argue that these are only disadvantages if your primary goal is building muscle and they are outweighed by the unique features of the StrengthErg such as its ease of use and safety, the responsive constant resistance through the full range of movement, the accuracy of the data, the pre-programmed workouts plus the ability to easily track your progress with the ErgData app. All of the above, in my opinion, make the StrengthErg a safer, more effective alternative to most of the resistance machines found in gyms today. The StrengthErg is not a bodybuilding machine but it will build your strength.
So should you weight train or Erg train?
For strength and conditioning you should do both. We all have limited time to exercise so we have to prioritise and find an exercise that you enjoy doing and one that gives you the results you are looking for. Eccentric muscular contractions (eg; lowering weights) are an important component of strength training especially for people looking to build and preserve their muscle mass. Erg training is my primary form of exercise but I havent stopped lifting weights.
