With winter approaching, most of us are heading indoors to the erg. We all know it's a great training device, but it can also be a helpful tool for improving technique. Erging is a simplified version of rowing - no blades to worry about, no wind or chop to offset your balance, no steering necessary, no one to follow - just sit down and row - but don't let your erging become mindless. Hand levels, rhythm and relaxation, body preparation and horizontal rowing can all be improved with time on the erg.

If you have trouble with balance in the single or any small boat, chances are your hand levels are inconsistent or perhaps your body is not staying over the keel. To work on this, set up mirrors both in front and to the side of the erg. Check your body position, particularly with the mirror in front to make sure you're not tilting your head or body or letting one leg lean out more than the other. Watch your hands and keep them level, follow the chain straight in and straight out. Muscle memory here can and will carry over into the boat.

If you're not a natural stroke, finding and setting a rhythm can be difficult. It's not always best to stick to a pre-determined stroke rate but rather finding the stroke rate that works best for each specific workout. Having the monitor directly in front of you will help keep your stroke rates consistent while the splits will help you learn what stroke rate is the most efficient for you. Play around with different rates within a set workout, say 4 x 5 minutes. Are you stronger at a lower rate or do you find yourself getting better results with a higher rate? Adjust the damper setting to find out what drag factor works best for you as well.

Muscle memory on the erg can and will carry over into the boat.

With the mirrors, check your body movement during the stroke. If you have a tendency to dive at the catch, work on early body preparation out of bow, getting full body prep by half slide and then keeping your body still from half slide into the catch. You could also spend some time rowing just half slide with full body angle or rowing with a pause at half slide, all the time watching the mirrors. Keeping the body still into the catch will reduce check and can help with the balance.

It's very easy on the erg to work on the idea of horizontal power application. Remember that the water is flat so reducing any vertical movement will be beneficial. With the mirrors, pay attention to the level of your head and shoulders, you want them to stay consistent throughout the stroke.

If the mirrors don't work for you or if you want to go a step further in this direction, try placing a video camera directly next to the erg and then hooking that up to a TV or monitor placed in front of the erg. Now you can watch yourself rowing in real time. Do you break your arms too early on the drive? Get too little layback? Overcompress at the catch? These and many other habits can be improved while on the erg.

Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. What you do on the erg will translate to the boat, the good and the bad, so make sure those 1000's of winter meters on the erg are accomplished with good fluid, efficient rowing technique that you can transfer to the boat come spring.