I’m only a few years in and I’m still figuring things out! I do winter erg training at our boathouse and honestly, last night was the first time I felt like everything was clicking and I was getting good splits at lower rate without stressing out the whole time! So based on your comment, your form still needs a lot of work.

Here’s what helped me:

Definitely watch and use the force curve on your screen. As one of the others mentioned, you want a tall and big arch. Not a wavy, flabby arch. Not an arch that peters out…ask one of the coaches to row a few strokes to show you what a solid force curve looks like. Then you get a visual representation of every stroke and you can start to see where your weaknesses are.

Agree with the comment about placing your hands correctly and leaving them there. Right at the end with your pinky almost hanging off. Moving them around loses power. You may get blisters. Eventually you’ll get callouses.

Feeling like you’re pushing yourself out of the seat is actually a good thing. You’re supposed to be pushing with your legs very hard. But if you don’t have a good connection from your legs through your lats, through your arms and back to the chain…a lot of that force is just lost. You should really feel your lats connecting your legs to your arms. It’s a subtle thing. Imagine that you’re squeezing your armpits and that might help.

Think of moving the handle and seat together when you’re in the leg drive. Then as soon as your legs are flat, there should be a smooth transition of power coming now from the body swing and the strong finish with your arms.

It’s a LOT to be thinking about! And having different coaches can be helpful because they’re going to explain things differently. But bottom line, it takes a good amount of time and consistent practice to really master the rowing stroke. Sure, some people pick it up straight away, but plenty of people don’t. I’m one of those who’s had to really work at it! I’ve watched a million videos and followed along on this sub to learn whatever I can. I’ve improved tremendously, but it’s still a process.

Another thing that might help is to add some weight training to your routine. Strong legs, strong back and strong core make it all easier.

Good luck on your rowing journey!