As we keep on trucking into the depths of winter, with spring light years away (or so it seems), we continue to bring you some favorite winter workouts from the frozen Charles River. Past the Head Of The Charles finish line, around the bend, sits Northeastern University's Henderson Boathouse. Northeastern senior co-captain Chloe Laverack shares her favorite erg workout – a team classic – and gives us a little insight on why the Harvard Stadium seems to be a local favorite for staying in shape off the erg.
row2k: What is your favorite winter workout?
Chloe Laverack: One of my favorite workouts is pretty infamous among our team, 5 x 5 minutes, with equal rest.
Pacing is ideally around your 2k split, maybe one or two splits above. After each five minutes, the coxswains rearrange the order of athletes, according to the results of the previous piece, setting them up in descending order of split. We fondly call this ‘musical ergs.’ The goal is about hard pacing from the first piece to the last because you want to maintain your spot and not fall back, but you also want to compete with those girls that are in front of you and move up as many ergs as you can.
row2k: What about this workout makes it a favorite?
CL: This workout is great for team chemistry. It’s a hard workout, and getting through it together is an empowering experience. We also use our peers to push one another, and encourage the competition. We all recognize that this competition will make us faster. It is probably my favorite mostly because of the result it brings, which is speed. While the workout is demanding, the progress is clear, and the result is the best part of any workout.
row2k: How long have you been doing this workout and who introduced it to you - is it an old favorite or new to your repertoire?
CL: I have been doing this workout throughout my years at Northeastern, and it has been done for many years before I began rowing as well. I’m sure many alumni can attest to that, as it is not easily forgotten!
row2k: If you could stay fit during the winter by only doing one type of non-erg cross training, what would it be and why?
CL: I love running and have been doing it long before I began rowing in college. But something I discovered while in college, or Boston specifically, is running stairs. Running the flights of the Harvard Stadium is one of the best workouts, and most enjoyable ones, that I have experienced. Sometimes conditions in the winter can be tricky (and I would never test those conditions on stairs), but Boston has had fairly workable winters recently and the steps have been runnable more often than not. There are many variations of running stairs for training as well, though I prefer longer stadium workouts, such as 50 sections, or 1.5 tour (56 sections) workouts.
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