INSIDE THE ERGATTA EXPERIENCES

Before we dive into the different game-based workouts we offer, let’s cover a few key elements that apply to each of the Ergatta experiences — from speedy Races to long, endurance-building programs.

WORKOUTS THAT ADAPT TO YOU

Our programming incorporates unique features, like Calibration and Classifications, to ensure that every aspect of the Ergatta experience is tailored to your fitness profile, providing immediate feedback. With workouts customized to your individual fitness level and goals, each Ergatta experience is highly personalized, which leads to move motivating workouts and continual achievement. 

GOAL SETTING 

Build a consistent, sustainable workout routine with our Goal Setting feature. Set a custom goal for how many days per week you want to row, then we’ll track your progress for you and provide tips to help you stay on course. You’ll earn new Milestone badges for hitting your weekly goal, and you’ll set streaks when you meet your goal multiple weeks in a row.

MILESTONES & RIVALS 

Unlock more workouts and celebrate your progress with Milestones. Each accomplishment earns you a visible badge in your dashboard, with different workouts featuring unique milestones. Every stroke counts towards your meter marker milestones, with your first at 10,000 meters and the ultimate milestone at 1 million meters. Hit that 1 million meter milestone and you’ll unlock the opportunity to design your own workout to share with the Ergatta community.

Our community keeps daily fitness exciting and motivating, with Race Workouts and Rivals to keep you challenged. Compete against real competitors at your skill level or connect with others in our Facebook and Reddit groups to share milestones and get inspired. Workouts feel like wins when you have the support and motivation of our community.

WORKOUTS ON THE ERGATTA PLATFORM

Now, here’s a deeper dive on everything from our game-based, to instructor-led classes, and Scenic Rows. 

PUSH PROGRAMS

In one sentence: These sequential, goal-based training plans are designed by our fitness to help you stay consistent and reach a certain goal. They come in two forms. 

• Push Programs: Push Programs are designed to prepare you for a specific challenge or goal (like increasing your speed and endurance to take on your first 1,500m race) and include a recommended timeframe, a workout sequence that unlocks as you progress, and a final challenge.
• Progressive Push Programs: These are a collection of multiple push programs in which workouts are geared more toward long-term development and training (rather than preparing for a specific challenge or goal). Generally speaking, Progressive Push Programs tend to be about 3x longer than a Push Program.

Choose this when: You want a guided experience that removes decision-fatigue. Each program is structured around a specific theme or fitness achievement, so you can select one that aligns with a goal you want to accomplish. Then, you’ll follow a structured workout plan that’s calibrated to your fitness level.

Expert Tip: This is our flagship feature. Pick a program, stick with it, and see how you progress. You’ll rack up a milestone for each Push Program you complete and begin unlocking access to exclusive additional programs to take on. 
 

SOLO GAMES

In one sentence: Our interval-based Solo Games feature thousands of unique HIIT, Conditioning, Endurance, and Recovery workouts, each equipped with real-time feedback and optimized to your fitness profile.

• Wavelength: Soar through stunning 3D worlds, hitting targets, dodging obstacles, and navigating the shifting tides below. The points you collect earn you Stars, which new workouts in your Campaign and grant you special in-game abilities called Perks.
• Meteor: Meteor workouts are inspired by classic 2D side-scrolling games. In Meteor workouts, you’ll collect tokens as your avatar flies through space. The harder you row, the more points you earn.
• Pulse: Pulse workouts present a series of different targets to hit over time. To successfully complete a target, you must keep your avatar within the highlighted zone on screen for a designated amount of time. Your score is based on your percentage of successful targets.
• Echo: Echo workouts place an emphasis on rowing rhythm and form. The goal is to align your strokes with passing targets. Each time you do so successfully, you earn points. 

Choose this when: You want to get in a great workout without committing to the long-term nature of a Push Program.

Expert Tip: Aim for Solo Games to comprise about 80% of your non-Push Program workouts. You can think about it like training for a sport. Solo Games are your “practices," the more frequent sessions throughout the week where you’re really building up your fitness levels. And you can think about Community Games (below) like your "game day," where all of the work you put in at practice finally gets to pay off.
 

COMMUNITY GAMES

In one sentence: Go head-to-head with Rivals, the community, and your past performances with our two competitive workout experiences: Races and Vortex.

• Races: Compete in intense, distance-based workouts against other members, your Rivals, or your past performances. We also offer four live Races weekly and a highlighted Race of the Week.
• Vortex: Compete against your grandmother or Olympians in time-based intervals, trying to score the most points in a game that rewards you based on individual effort, rather than raw speed.

Choose this when: Want to go all out, push your limits, and really show off your skills.

Expert Tip: Aim for Community Games to comprise about 20% of your workouts. If Solo Games are your "practices," Community Games are your "game days." By limiting your participation in Races and Vortex to around 20% of your workouts, you’ll give your body sufficient recovery time after these high-intensity workouts.
 

CLASSES

In one sentence: Powered by CityRow’s fleet of expert instructors, our classes bring upbeat, guided workouts straight to your screen. 

Choose this when: You want the motivation of an instructor-led rowing workout (”Rower only” classes) or you want to incorporate strength training and/or mobility work into a rowing workout (”On/off rower” classes).

Expert Tip: Our classes range from low to high difficulty, and the most difficult classes contain "Advanced" in the title. Most other classes are suitable for all fitness levels. Use filters in the class library to find the instructors, types, intensities, and durations that appeal to you most.

 
SCENIC ROW

In one sentence: Scenic Rows are an open canvas: unstructured rows that allow you to set a desired time or distance, or simply row without any boundaries. 

Choose this when: You’re taking a recovery day or want a less structured, less strenuous workout.

Expert Tip: Scenic Rows make for a great warm-up and cool-down exercises since you can row your own pace. You can also turn to Scenic Rows on active recovery days, the day after a high-intensity workout.
 

HOME SCREEN NAVIGATION

Alongside the experiences outlined above, there are a few other features you’ll notice on the Ergatta home screen.

YOUR LIBRARY

Your Library is a personalized folder that shows your recent workout history, your favorite workouts, and any upcoming Push Program workouts you have. In Your Library, you can:

• Quickly select a past workout, favorite workout, or upcoming Push Program workout
• Replicate custom intervals from past Scenic Row workouts
• Favorite workouts that you recently completed so they stay front-and-center for easy access
   

MONTHLY CHALLENGES

Each month, we host a community-wide Monthly Challenge. Each Monthly Challenge has a particular goal, like completing 6 Push Program workouts or trying 3 different game experiences. If you complete the challenge, you’ll receive that month’s unique challenge badge. Plus, each month’s challenge is paired with a charity, and your participation unlocks a donation we’ll make on your behalf.
 

MEMBER MADNESS

These fun, engaging, and motivating challenges divide the Ergatta community into teams and pit those teams together in head-to-head competition. The winning team receives a special badge and bragging rights—at least until the next Member Madness challenge comes along. Past Member Madness challenges have been based on metrics like total Vortex points collected and Push Program completion. 

BEHIND THE DESIGN

So what goes into making our game-based workouts?

“We strive to make fitness-based games that are equally as fun and engaging as they are conducive to an effective workout. All of our game concepts are conceived and vetted with the help of our Director of Fitness Science & Programming, Chris Chang, and are then rigorously tested in various iterations with our internal team and our member community,” says Jordan Morris, Ergatta’s Director of Product Design.

If you want to get in the weeds of precisely how our experience is created, you’ll have to join our team. But in the meantime, here’s a glimpse at a few more of the features that define the Ergatta experience.

• Calibration: This feature exists so that every single interval, workout, and milestone is uniquely built to challenge you. Upon creating an account, you’ll row a distance-based calibration workout that sets initial exercise intensity zones. As you progress, the rower will automatically recalibrate your fitness profile to drive continuous improvement.
• Classification: This feature allows members of the platform to find competitors in a similar stage of their fitness journey.

Check out Understanding Calibration + Classification to dive in deeper to the science and design behind these features.