6km Test looms

Throughout the winter we have a testing period every six weeks. This is designed to give the coaches a chance to evaluate the athletes but it also give the athletes a chance to see that all the training and hard work they are doing is paying off.

This current round of testing is based mainly around the 6km erg. (the "erg" is slang for ergometer which is a rowing machine that you commonly see at many gyms throughout the world) The guys will get on the erg and see how fast they can cover 6km. This will take the cream-of-the-crop power guys about 19:00mins. The next range will be about 19:15-19:25. If you are a heavyweight who truly considers himself a contender, you don't want to be above 19:45.....it doesn't instill any confidence in you by the coach or your fellow athletes. Who wants to row with a guy who can't produce much power? Below is a picture of the guys cranking it on the erg at our gym

Our coach takes this test to another level....or should I say, a different level than the other programs on the team. He then gets the boys to row two 2km race pieces in a pair and then two 2km race pieces in a single. Next he adds up all the times up which then provides him with a ranking for each individual athlete. This ranking will then be used for boat priority, priority in the weight room and later in the season it could possibly determine whether you get to attend the warm weather winter training camp. It also lets everyone know what the current pecking order is.....in our camp....there most certainly is one and it is respected.

These types of tests can most certainly earn you respect as it can also go the other way....you don't want to take testing lightly, it could determine the difference between being on the team and not if it is very close between two athletes. Your ability to perform consistently over the winter and also consistently improve are a couple of big ways you can establish yourself higher up the pecking order of the heavyweight mens team.