Ergometer (Rowing Machine)

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The Ergometer is a machine that allows us to get a workout with a somewhat reasonable facsimile of the rowing stroke.  There is no need to balance, no interaction with the surface of the water, no requirement to interact with others in a crew, and the hands travel straight back and forth rather than following the arc of pivoting oars. While the basic motion of the stroke is quite similar, the nuances of the boat are missing so while rowing an ergometer one can make many mistakes of stroke efficiency that would show up in a boat. While these mistakes are vital to boat speed they are trivial on the erg. Ergometer technique is to keep you from hurting yourself on the rowing machine.