Rowing Machine Workouts for Anaerobic Performance

Anaerobic work is short, intense effort where your muscles demand energy faster than oxygen can supply it. In rowing it covers sprints and the start and finish of a 2k race. It is demanding, so use it sparingly and build up to it.

What it is

You can sustain these efforts for seconds to a couple of minutes, after which effort drops or you must rest. They develop power and your ability to tolerate hard work. They sit on top of an aerobic base, which does most of the heavy lifting in rowing overall. Even a 2k race draws mostly on the aerobic system, with the anaerobic system adding the start, the sprint and the surges. Our guide to how cardio can help you become a better rower explains how the two systems work together. See 5 indoor rowing sprints every rower trains for.

Three workouts

Warm up for at least 10 minutes with a few firm strokes at the end. Cool down for 5 minutes.

Session	Work	Rest	Reps	Effort
Short sprints	20 sec all out	100 sec easy	8	9 to 10 out of 10
250 m repeats	250 m hard, repeatable pace	2 min	6	8 to 9 out of 10
500 m repeats	500 m strong pace	3 min	4	8 out of 10

1. Short sprints. 8 rounds of 20 seconds all out, then 100 seconds easy. Keep the technique sharp. If the last few sprints are slower than the first, you have probably gone out too hard or rested too little.

2. 250 m repeats. 6 rounds of 250 m at a hard, repeatable pace with 2 minutes of rest between. Aim for each to match the first, within a second or two.

3. 500 m repeats. 4 rounds of 500 m at a strong pace with 3 minutes of rest. This is a classic rowing session. Pick a pace slightly faster than your 2k split if you are fit, otherwise start around it.

Full recovery between efforts matters, because the point is to hit each one at quality. Short rests turn these into aerobic intervals, which are a different session.

A worked example

Say your best 2k average split is 2:00 per 500 m. A sensible target for 250 m repeats is around 1:55 to 1:58 per 500 m pace, which means each 250 m takes about 57 to 59 seconds. For 500 m repeats, start around 1:58 to 2:00. If you cannot hold those, slow the pace a few seconds rather than shortening the rest.

Technique under pressure

When you sprint, the temptation is to shorten the stroke and pull with the arms. Keep a strong leg drive, the same sequence, and a relaxed grip. As a rule of thumb, sprints sit somewhere in the high 20s to 30s. See the stroke rate guide.

Safety

• Check with a GP before maximal efforts if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure or other health concerns.
• Warm up properly.
• Stop if you feel dizzy, chest pain or sharp pain, and seek medical help if needed.
• Do not do back-to-back hard days.
• Do not rely on these as a beginner. Build an aerobic base for a month or two first.

Fitting it in

One anaerobic session a week with steady rowing around it is plenty. A typical week might have two steady rows, one sprint session and one rest day, then a longer easy row at the weekend. See the benefits of rowing machine interval training and our training hub. If you want to test your results, try the 2k erg test.