How ErgBuddy's Training Methodology Works

ErgBuddy doesn't generate random workouts. Every session is part of a structured, periodised program calibrated from your benchmark test. Here's how the methodology works and why it's built this way.

The polarised model

Our approach follows the polarised training model used by elite endurance athletes. The core principle: keep easy sessions genuinely easy and hard sessions genuinely hard. No "medium-effort every day."

Seiler & Kjerland (2006) measured how well-trained junior cross-country skiers actually train: about 75% of sessions clearly easy, 15–20% with substantial hard work, and relatively little in between. The authors note the same pattern in observational studies of elite athletes across several sports. It shows how successful athletes train, not proof that one split beats another.

This is counterintuitive. Most rowers default to pulling at a "decent" effort every session. But that moderate zone is the least productive place to spend your training time.

Six-phase periodisation

ErgBuddy structures training into six distinct phases, each with a specific purpose. The app fits them to the plan length you choose, from 4 to 12 weeks, so in a longer plan each phase simply gets more weeks (very short plans of 4–5 weeks skip a phase or two). The weeks below are for a 12-week plan:

1. Foundation (weeks 1–2)

Long, easy rows that build aerobic capacity. Volume is high, intensity is low. You'll spend 80–85% of your time in UT2 (conversational pace).

2. Build (weeks 3–4)

Threshold work is introduced while maintaining the aerobic base. Intervals at AT pace develop lactate clearance. Volume stays high but intensity distribution shifts.

3. Specific (weeks 5–7)

Workouts become more race-specific. VO₂max intervals and race-pace rehearsals appear. The intensity distribution shifts further toward hard sessions.

4. Sharpen (week 8)

Sharpening phase. Short, intense sessions at or above race pace. Volume drops but peak session intensity is the highest of the entire program.

5. Taper (weeks 9–10)

Volume drops 40–60%. A few short, race-pace openers maintain neuromuscular readiness. Recovery and sleep become the priority.

6. Race rehearsal (weeks 11–12)

The last two weeks keep the same number of sessions but make them much shorter, usually with one short hard session a week, so you arrive fresh. The app doesn't book your test: use these weeks to rehearse your warm-up and pacing, then row the test and log it.

Benchmark-calibrated pacing

Every pace target in ErgBuddy is derived from your actual test result — not from generic tables.

When you log a 2K, 6K or 60-minute test, ErgBuddy picks your Anchor (the test that matches your goal, or an estimate from another distance) and calculates six pace zones as offsets from it. UT2 is 20–26 seconds slower than your Anchor split. Anaerobic is 1–3 seconds slower. Race pace is the Anchor split itself.

This approach is grounded in findings by Ingham et al. (2002), who showed that VO₂max and lactate-threshold power — both reflected in your benchmark — are the strongest predictors of 2k erg performance.

Experience-level adjustment

The program adapts based on three experience levels:

• Novice (the default): up to four training days a week, one session a day and one hard session a week, with one rep fewer per interval set, an extra minute of rest between reps and slightly wider pace ranges
• Intermediate and Advanced: more training days a week, the option of a second daily session (always an easy recovery row), and on five or more days some weeks get a second hard session. Each level also adjusts interval reps, rest and pace-range width.

These settings change how many days you train, how many hard sessions you get, and the reps, rest and pace ranges in interval sets. Steady rows are the same length at every level.

Adaptive recovery

Recovery isn't optional — it's programmed. On four or more training days a week, ErgBuddy ends each week with an easy recovery row, and it spaces the hard sessions so they never fall on consecutive days in the plan. Your rest days are the days you don't train. If two of your last three logged sessions in the past 10 days were hard, the Today screen suggests a recovery row instead.

Halson's (2014) review of training-load monitoring makes the case for watching how you respond to training, to lower the risk of overreaching.

Goal-specific templates

Different race distances demand different training emphasis:

There's also a general-fitness goal. ErgBuddy doesn't build half-marathon or marathon plans; our half-marathon and marathon guides cover those distances.

Each template sets its own session types, rep lengths and paces. Phase lengths and the easy/hard mix (intensity distribution) work the same way for every goal: they depend on the plan length and training days you choose.

The research base

ErgBuddy's methodology draws on five key studies:

1. Ingham et al. (2002) — Relationship between VO₂max and 2k performance
2. Seiler & Kjerland (2006) — Polarised training distribution
3. Halson (2014) — Recovery monitoring techniques
4. Kleshnev (2020) — Rowing biomechanics and performance
5. Steinacker (1993) — Physiological aspects of training in rowing

See all research references for full citations and how each study informed the training model.

Why this works

Structured training with benchmark-calibrated pacing eliminates the two most common mistakes: training too hard on easy days and not hard enough on hard days. The phase progression ensures your body develops each energy system in the right order, and the recovery logic prevents overtraining.

Try ErgBuddy free to see a personalised program built from your benchmark results.