How to compare erg scores by athlete weight

A newsletter from Valery Kleshnev and the BioRow team on how to compare erg scores by athlete weight.

Rebecca is the host of RowingChat podcast and is a masters athlete and coach. Passionate about helping others enjoy the sport as much as she does. View all posts from Rebecca Caroe

2 thoughts on “How to compare erg scores by athlete weight”

Lewin says:
January 28, 2015 at 1:23 pm
It would be nice to have a suggested standard mass (“M”) I think. If I just choose 75kg will this be valid for a squad of varying weight?
L
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David Harralson says:
January 31, 2015 at 9:31 pm
The general formula is K x(( M/C) ** (2/9)).
Different people have used 70 KG, 77.5 KG, 100 KG, and other weight for C. However, the ratio M/C raised to the 2/9 power is the basic correction factor. Whatever value of C you pick determines a different value for K.
I have a spreadsheet that corrects for both age and weight for times rowed on the erg (the weight adjustment is not needed for times on the water). Interestingly, a recent club erg test had the oldest rower(who is a lightweight) with the fastest handicap time.
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