Ergometer & On-Water Session Library

Rowing Machine & On-Water Workouts by Stroke Rate

Structured rowing workouts for the ergometer and the water—complete with segment-by-segment stroke rate targets, seconds per stroke, printable boathouse cards, and downloadable Excel logs.

Session Prescriptions

Structured by Stroke Rate & Seconds per Stroke

Rowing Machine (Erg) On the Water 20 Minutes
18 – 26 SPM

20-Minute Rowing Rate Pyramid (18–26 SPM)

A classic 20-minute continuous rate pyramid climbing from 18 to 26 strokes per minute and stepping back down. Builds rhythm discipline on the erg or on the water.

Volume
20 min
Sec / Stroke
3.33s – 2.31s
Training Zone
UT2 → AT
4 min @ 18 SPM 3 min @ 20 SPM 2 min @ 22 SPM 1 min @ 24 SPM +3
Session guide & A4 print card
Rowing Machine (Erg) On the Water Endurance · UT2
18 – 20 SPM

UT2 Steady State Rowing Workout (2×20 min & 3×15 min)

The foundation of rowing endurance. Low-rate aerobic pieces at 18–20 strokes per minute (3.0 to 3.33 seconds per stroke) for the rowing machine or on the water.

Volume
40 – 45 min
Sec / Stroke
3.33s – 3.00s
Training Zone
UT2 Aerobic
15 min (or 20 min) @ 18 SPM 2 min @ Paddle 15 min (or 20 min) @ 19–20 SPM 2 min @ Paddle +1
Session guide & A4 print card
Rowing Machine (Erg) On the Water 2k Race Prep · VO2 Max
30 – 34 SPM

8 × 500m Race-Pace Rowing Intervals (30–34 SPM)

High-intensity 500m sprint intervals at 2000m race pace and cadence (30–34 strokes per minute, 1.76 to 2.0 seconds per stroke) for the ergometer or on-water race prep.

Volume
4000m (8 × 500m)
Sec / Stroke
2.00s – 1.76s
Training Zone
TR / VO2 Max
2 × 500m (2:00 rest) @ 30–31 SPM 2 × 500m (2:00 rest) @ 32 SPM 2 × 500m (2:00 rest) @ 33 SPM 2 × 500m (2:30 rest) @ 34–36 SPM
Session guide & A4 print card
Rowing Machine (Erg) On the Water 3 × 10 Minutes
20 – 26 SPM

Stroke Rate Control Ladder (3 × 10 min)

A technical 3 × 10-minute step-up rowing workout (20 / 22 / 24 / 26 SPM) designed to eliminate rushing the slide and lock in exact recovery ratio control on ergs and on the water.

Volume
30 min work
Sec / Stroke
3.00s – 2.31s
Training Zone
UT1 → AT
4 min @ 20 SPM 3 min @ 22 SPM 2 min @ 24 SPM 1 min @ 26 SPM +4
Session guide & A4 print card
Rowing Machine (Erg) On the Water 5,000m Continuous
24 – 30+ SPM

5,000m Head Race Step Test (5 × 1,000m)

Build 5K and Autumn Head Race endurance with a continuous 5 × 1,000m negative-split step workout rising from 24 SPM to a 30+ SPM sprint finish.

Volume
5,000m
Sec / Stroke
2.50s – 2.00s
Training Zone
AT Threshold → VO2
1,000m @ 24 SPM 1,000m @ 25 SPM 1,000m @ 26 SPM 1,000m @ 28 SPM +1
Session guide & A4 print card
On the Water Rowing Machine (Erg) 6 × 3 Minutes
32 – 40 SPM

On-Water Regatta Start & Base Settle (6 × 3 min)

Practice explosive regatta starts, high-20s transition strokes, and settling cleanly onto your 2,000m race base rate without losing boat speed.

Volume
6 × 3:00
Sec / Stroke
1.88s – 1.50s
Training Zone
Alactic Start → Race Base
2 × 3:00 @ 38 → 32 SPM 3:00 each @ 16–18 SPM 2 × 3:00 @ 40 → 34 SPM 3:00 each @ 16–18 SPM +1
Session guide & A4 print card

Built for the Boathouse & Launch

Branded A4 Session Cards & 3-Tab Excel Telemetry Workbooks

Every workout in the library includes a purpose-designed single-page A4/Letter print layout and a multi-sheet spreadsheet workbook engineered for rowing coaches, coxswains, and solo erg athletes.

A4

Single-Page Waterproof Print Sheet

Click Preview Print Sheet or Print A4 Boathouse Sheet on any workout page to generate a single-page session card with a river-navy header, crew & wind write-in boxes, warm-up protocol, segment table, 10-row clipboard recording grid, and bottom 3-stroke stopwatch lookup bar.

XLS

3-Tab Excel Workbook with Live Formulas

Each downloadable .xlsx workbook contains three pre-styled tabs: 1. Session Log & DPS (auto-calculating Seconds/Stroke, Velocity m/s, and Distance Per Stroke), 2. Squad & Erg Line Log (compare up to 10 boats or ergs side-by-side), and 3. SPM & DPS Chart.

DPS

Boat-Class Benchmarks & Fault Diagnostics

Every guide includes target split, Distance Per Stroke (DPS), and 3-stroke stopwatch benchmarks across Eights (8+), Fours/Quads (4-/4x), Doubles/Pairs (2x/2-), Singles (1x), and Indoor Rowers—plus coaching fixes for common rate faults.

Rate Every Piece on the Erg or the Water

Trusted by rowing coaches, coxswains and athletes since 2014. Download Strokes Per Minute on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android.

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