WHAT ARE PULSE WORKOUTS?

Pulse workouts are a type of interval workout on the Ergatta platform. They challenge you to hit and maintain personalized split targets, strokes-per-minute (SPM) targets, or both split and SPM simultaneously. 

Pulse workouts range from 2 - 90 minutes, with difficulty ratings from low to very hard. If you’ve gone through our calibration exercise, each workout in the Pulse library will be personalized to your fitness needs. 

Your main goal in Pulse workouts is to keep your avatar – an orange or turquoise ball – within a highlighted zone on screen. There are some differences between split, SPM, and Hybrid (split + SPM) workouts, but this general principle applies. 

The Intensity Zones in Pulse are arranged horizontally, as demonstrated below. (Compare this to Meteor, where the Intensity Zones are arranged vertically.) 

Visual Game Experience

Split-based workouts feature an orange avatar. The target split ranges from your Paddle pace to Sprint pace. In the image below, the orange avatar is to the right of the highlighted zone. This indicates that the rower’s split time is too fast for this interval.

SPM-based workouts feature a blue avatar. The target SPM ranges from 18 to 32 strokes per minute. In this image, the blue avatar is to the right of the highlighted zone. This indicates that the rower’s SPM count (26 in this case) is lower than the target SPM count (28).

Hybrid workouts feature both the orange and blue avatars, each with their own respective targets. These workouts are the ultimate challenge to test your rowing mastery. In this image, both the orange and blue avatars are within their respective highlighted target zones. This indicates that the rower’s split time and SPM count are matching the targets. 

Once your avatar is within the target zone, you'll see a bar pop up at the top of the screen labeled “Maintain,” with a countdown clock next to it. This shows you how long you’ll need to stay in that zone in order to proceed to the next interval. If you move outside the target zone, the “Maintain” bar will disappear until you’ve made the proper adjustment to return to the highlighted zone. 

If you stay in the highlighted target zone for the full amount of time in the “Maintain” bar, you’ll have successfully completed that interval. Your overall score in the workout is calculated by the percentage of intervals that you hit successfully. 

Recommendations

We recommend that structured Interval workouts – like Pulse and Meteor – comprise about 80% of the workouts you do on your rower. Most Push Programs have this ratio baked into their structure. You can think about this like training for a sport: Interval workouts are your “practices,” and Competitive workouts (like Vortex and Races) are your “games.” The most frequent sessions throughout the week should be practices, where you’re building up your strength and endurance. Then after all of that hard work, you get to showcase your progress in a game.

There are workouts in the Pulse library that are suitable for everyone, regardless of prior rowing experience. Mastering Pulse can be challenging though, as it’s designed to level-up your rowing efficiency and timing – two critical variables for improving rowing performance.

Currently, the Pulse library has hundreds of different workouts and the catalog is ever-expanding, with new workouts being added each week. The workouts within the Pulse library differ according to the following variables:

• Focus: target Split, target SPM, or Hybrid (Split + SPM)
• Category: HIIT (high-intensity interval training), Conditioning, Endurance, or Recovery
• Duration: 2-90 minutes 
• Difficulty level: low, moderate, high, and very high 

As you progress on the Ergatta platform, we'll recommend specific workouts that we believe you’d like based on your workout preferences. These recommendations will be shared in the My Library feature on the Ergatta touchscreen and in the Ergatta companion apps.

Questions? Reach out to us at support@ergatta.com and we'll be happy to help.