Stroke Rate Rowing - Why Do We Need It?

Stroke-rate capped rowing works by shifting the focus from adding strokes to getting more out of each one. By deliberately limiting stroke rate in certain workouts, rowers can develop technique, build aerobic capacity, and improve power per stroke - so that when stroke rate later increases, faster splits follow naturally.

What Is Stroke-Rate Capped Rowing?

Stroke-rate capping means deliberately limiting the number of strokes you take per minute (spm). Common capped rates include 18, 20, 22, or 24 spm. Instead of allowing the rate to drift higher, the stroke rate is held steady, which shifts the focus away from simply moving faster and onto making each stroke more effective. In doing so, this approach encourages improvements in connection, sequencing, and power per stroke.

On a Concept2 monitor, stroke rate is displayed as a two-digit number followed by s/m (strokes per minute). Depending on your display settings, it typically appears in the top right or bottom left of the screen.

Why Stroke-Rate Capped Rowing?

Stroke-rate capped rowing offers several distinct benefits for performance and efficiency.

• It builds real power, not superficial speed

  Many rowers chase speed by letting stroke rate creep upward. A higher rate, however, does not automatically produce faster boat or erg speed. More often, it disguises declining force production by increasing turnover. Stroke-rate capped rowing redirects attention to where sustainable speed actually comes from: power per stroke.

  
  

  By holding the rate steady, you must:

  • connect cleanly at the catch

  • apply force early in the drive

  • maintain length and pressure through the middle of the stroke

  • preserve rhythm rather than rush

    
    

  This is why low-rate work is often described as honest. There is nowhere to hide. If the split improves, it is because each stroke is doing more work. A long-standing coaching maxim captures this well: “Anyone can make the boat go fast by rating up. The skill is making it go fast without doing so.”

• Movement quality under load

  Lower stroke rates create the time and space needed to reinforce high-quality movement, particularly when producing meaningful force. At capped rates, rowers can focus on:

  • correct sequencing through the drive and recovery

  • strong, consistent connection at the catch

  • clean finishes without excessive layback or pulling

  • controlled breathing

  
  

  At higher rates, these elements deteriorate quickly unless they are well established at lower rates. Capped rowing therefore acts as technique rehearsal for the rates you want to perform well at later.

  
  

  Crucially, these patterns must be trained while producing power, not just during light technical drills. Stroke-rate capped rowing allows technical precision to coexist with physiological demand, reducing injury risk by ensuring force is applied through stable, well-coordinated movement, (particularly important during higher-volume training). It teaches not just what good technique looks like, but how to maintain it when the work is hard.

• Aerobic efficiency and fatigue resistance

  Stroke-rate capped rowing is one of the most effective tools for developing aerobic efficiency. Producing meaningful power at lower stroke rates places a sustained demand on the aerobic system, leading over time to:

  • improved oxygen utilisation

  • better lactate management at submaximal intensities

  • greater fatigue resistance during longer efforts

  • lower heart rates at given power outputs

  
  

  Endurance research consistently shows that athletes who can produce higher outputs at lower relative intensities preserve more physiological capacity for the later stages of an effort. As endurance physiologist Stephen Seiler has noted, “The best endurance performers are not those who can go the hardest, but those who can sustain the highest power output for the longest time at a relatively low physiological cost.”

• Pacing skill and self-regulation

  One of the most overlooked benefits of stroke-rate capped rowing is its role in developing pacing discipline. Holding a fixed stroke rate while managing split, technique, and breathing, (particularly under fatigue), requires active self-regulation. It teaches rowers to respond to rising effort with improved execution rather than panic-driven acceleration.

  
  

  This skill transfers directly to performance scenarios such as:

  • steady pacing in long-distance pieces

  • controlled first halves of 2k efforts

  • the ability to increase speed late without technical collapse

This principle is also reflected in high-performance testing environments. For example, GB trials often include stroke-rate capped test pieces, commonly around 24–26 spm. These pieces are used to assess whether athletes can deliver the required power output while rowing at the same stroke rate, an essential requirement for effective crew-boat performance.

Recommended Stroke Rates

Appropriate stroke rates depend on the goal of the session and the desired physiological stimulus. Stroke-rate capping is most effective when the rate is held consistently, rather than allowed to drift in response to fatigue or rising effort.

You do not need to row fast to row well. You need to row well to eventually row fast.

Lower stroke rates are typically used when the priority is technique, aerobic development, or power per stroke. Slightly higher capped rates allow athletes to practise efficiency under greater fatigue while maintaining control and consistency.

The following ranges provide a practical guide for structuring stroke-rate capped sessions:

Stroke Rate as a Gearing System

Stroke rate can be usefully thought of as a gearing system. As I explain in Indoor Rowing Mastery, “pace typically increases as stroke rate increases and decreases as stroke rate reduces.”

Slower splits at lower stroke rates are not a sign that training is ineffective; they simply reflect fewer strokes being taken per minute, (unless power per stroke increases to compensate).

How to Get Started

Here are a few practical tips to help you introduce, or improve, stroke-rate capped rowing.

1. Start with 20 spm

When learning stroke-rate capped rowing, I recommend starting at 20 spm. It is slow enough to allow control and technical focus, but high enough to feel purposeful and rhythmical. As confidence and control improve, athletes can then branch out to lower or higher capped rates as appropriate.

A 30 minute continuous row at 20 spm is an excellent benchmark session and a useful way to track progress over time. For those newer to rowing, or for whom 30 continuous minutes would be too demanding, a session such as 3 x 5 minutes at 20 spm, with 90 seconds rest between intervals, is a very effective starting point.

2. Pick the rate and protect it

Once a stroke rate has been chosen, it should be treated as non-negotiable. If pace begins to slow, resist the urge to increase rate. Instead, focus on improving connection, length, and pressure through the drive. In the early stages, it is also helpful not to become distracted by too many metrics. Focusing on stroke rate alone allows confidence and rhythm to develop first. Split and heart rate can be layered back in as familiarity increases.

3. Use feedback tools to help

If you rely solely on the Concept2 monitor, it can be difficult to know whether you achieved your stroke rate target until the session is complete. Apps such as ErgData or ErgZone display cumulative stroke count, which provides immediate feedback. This is another reason why 20 spm works particularly well. At the end of each minute, the total stroke count should be a multiple of 20 (and every 30 seconds, a multiple of 10). This makes it easy to identify small deviations early and correct them before they accumulate.

4. Control the recovery

Stroke rate is adjusted primarily through the recovery, not the drive. At lower stroke rates, the recovery phase will naturally be longer than the drive phase. Rushing the recovery is the most common cause of unintended rate increases.

5. Keep it engaging

Long, steady rows can sometimes feel monotonous. To maintain focus and enjoyment, I often programme stroke-rate ladders or pyramids, where the capped rate increases or decreases at set time intervals or distances.

A rate ladder involves stepping the capped stroke rate up or down in stages, with each step held for a fixed time or distance. In the example below, a 21-minute workout is made up of three 7-minute sections, with the stroke rate increasing by one stroke per minute each time: 18, 19, and 20 spm.

A rate pyramid follows a similar principle, but builds progressively to a peak rate before descending in reverse order. In the example below, a 7000m row is structured with the stroke rate changing every 1000m: 19, 20, 21, 22, 21, 20, 19 spm.

This approach helps make longer pieces feel more manageable and provides an opportunity to layer different technical or physiological focuses at each rate, while still maintaining control and consistency throughout.

When rowing sessions with varying stroke rates, it can be helpful to calculate in advance the time or distance at which each rate change will occur. Writing these down and placing them somewhere visible makes it easier to stay on track during the row.

When programming these sessions, setting the split length to match the time or distance of each section allows you to review splits and stroke rates clearly on a section-by-section basis in the summary screen.

When Low Stroke Rates Are Not Appropriate

Stroke-rate capped rowing is not always appropriate. How much of your training should be rate capped depends on overall training volume and goals, with the remainder typically rowed at a free or higher rate.

Free-rate or higher-rate rowing is essential when:

• preparing for race-specific demands where higher stroke rates must be practised

• performing short sprint intervals that require rate freedom

• targeting top-end speed or anaerobic capacity

Performance still requires exposure to higher stroke rates, but that exposure is far more productive when the foundation is solid.

Final thoughts

Stroke-rate capped rowing is one of the simplest and most effective tools for improving technique, developing power, and building aerobic capacity. It rewards patience, precision, and control - qualities that underpin high performance at every level of rowing.

If you want to row faster, start by rowing better. And if you want to row better, stroke-rate control is where you begin.

If you’d like support putting this into practice, I offer custom training programmes and technique transformations with a specific focus on stroke-rate control.