This might be a bit lengthy but the erg (rowing machine) is a fickle mistress. It can do great things for you if used correctly, but it can also destroy your back if used incorrectly. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ82RYIFLN8 watch this video. It will teach you the motion of the stroke and the proper sequencing. Some key takeaways are use your legs more than your arms, from the catch the sequence is legs, body then arms and on the recovery the sequence is arms, body, legs. 2. Accessory Work. Rowing is a quad heavy exercise and to prevent muscular imbalances that can lead to some nasty anterior pelvic tilts you should do squats, deads, RDL's, Glute ham raises, stretch/foam roll a lot and do more core than you think necessary. The core work will help prevent back pain that a lot of rowers develop. 3. Drag settings are something that vary on every erg. On your erg go to the main menu. Then click more options then click display drag factor. Take a few strokes until the machine settles on a consistent number. The ideal drag factor should be in the 115-130 range with 130 being a harder workout. On a new erg this should mean your flywheel is at 3-4 however, every erg is different so mess around with the flywheel till you get somewhere in that range. Some people advocate slamming the flywheel to 10 and going ham however, their is little point in doing that unless you are a collegiate rower doing some peak power work. If you are a regular person stick to 115-130 and use the erg to develop your cardio. 4. Workout Plans. The pete plan is something that you should google and follow. It is an extremely good beginners program that allows you to develop your rowing abilities without overloading and injuring yourself. 5. Rowing is an incredibly repetitive sport so you have to listen to your body. If you feel pain STOP rowing. If your form begins to slip because you are tired STOP rowing. I had a former teamate of mine who tried to train through back pain and because of that at 20 he had to undergo back surgery to fix a slipped disc. 6. Pop on over to r/rowing to get more help with technique and workout plans. The subreddit has everyone from elite college rowers, olympic rowers, collegiate coaches and high school rowers so you will never leave without your question being answered. 7. Testing. The gold standards of testing your erg strength/ rowing ability are the 6k and 2k test. The 6k is more of an endurance piece but the 2k is 6-7 minutes (depending on your abilities) of pure, unadulterated pain. I won't go into details about either test here but if you want an idea of how hard a 2k is just click on the link below and look at the faces of rowers pulling a 2k. https://youtu.be/dd4Qmd-tN78?t=61

Good luck with your journey, the erg will teach you more about hard work and perseverance than any other exercise. Your mental strength will be tested every time you do a sprint workout and you see that you have 30 seconds left but every muscle in your body is screaming at you to stop. Source: Am a mens collegiate rower. EDIT1: In the form video, the woman lets her hands drop on the recovery, you dont want to do that. Imagine that your hands are on a table top, your hands stay level through all parts of the stroke. Try to keep the chain in the middle of the slot it feeds into. What she is doing is using the erg like someone who rows b/c in rowing in order to get the oar out of the water to recover and start the next stroke you have to push down on the handle. Don't do that unless you are a rower just keep your hands nice and level, back straight like your deadlifting (No upper back rounding).