What your erg screen is actually telling you

The Concept2 PM5 is one of the most honest pieces of technology in fitness. No “levels”, no arbitrary points — just the raw truth of your output. Yet for many people the screen stays a best-kept secret: a set of flashing numbers that never quite connect to the effort in their legs.

Learning to read it is the first step from just rowing to training with purpose.

From split to watts

Most people watch the split — time per 500 metres. It’s the standard language of rowing, but it can feel abstract if you’ve come from a gym background. To understand your true power, switch the display to watts.

Watts measure the force you’re putting into the flywheel right now. Nothing hides: if your technique slips, your watts drop; when you find your rhythm, they steady. Training to watts lets you focus on consistent power rather than just surviving the clock.

What stroke rate really means

The number in the corner (s/m) is your stroke rate — how many strokes you take per minute. A common myth is that a higher rate always means more speed. In reality rowing rewards efficiency.

If your rate is high but your split is slow, you’re spinning your wheels — moving fast without moving the “boat”. For most training the goal is a lower, more powerful rate where every stroke is intentional and strong. That’s how you build stamina without blowing up in the first two minutes — for most steady training, that means somewhere around 18 to 24 strokes per minute.

Using the numbers to find your rhythm

The PM5 tracks more than it shows on the default screen — including your stroke length. Watch how the numbers change as you tire and you can diagnose your own technique: are your watts dropping because your legs are gone, or because you’ve lost the order of the stroke?

Elite rowing knowledge isn’t complicated formulas — it’s learning to read the feedback the machine already gives you. Once you speak PM5, every workout becomes a path to improvement.

Structured programs in the Row Nation app make sense of your numbers for you.