ERG... What is ERG?

Walking to the gym or a hard practice is like walking into a doctors office knowing you are about to get a shot that hurts, but that it will help you later in life so you do it anyway. It is like losing an hour of sleep to make an essay better because the return is a higher grade. In other words, we subject ourselves to pain in the present for long term gain. That is why we we workout and that is why I went to ERG HIIT class this week. (At least that's what I tell myself anyway)

Each step I walked toward the gym I wanted to turn around because what the heck is "ERG?" Like "ERG" this workout is so hard! Or "ERG" I am about to die! "ERG" what does "ERG" mean!!?

Well folks, I learned that it means working out on rowing machines. In some fitness workout lingo ERG=rowing machine. (Must have been lost in translation?) In case you don't know what a rowing machine is, it is a machine that mimics being on the water, but you're in a gym. I looked to my left  and right and everyone was rowing away as if they were in their imaginary boat cruising along. I closed my eyes and I could picture the splash of the sea, the salt in the air, and the artificiality of my current workout.

What I saw when I closed my eyes (Peep me in the middle)
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vs. what it actually looked like
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We all started out with a warmup row, a casual row, a nonchalant let's slowly get started pace. The class is set up on an interval in which you workout hard, hence the name HIIT, high intensity interval training for four minutes bursts with one minute breaks. Our first set was to row for 100 meters, sprint across the gym, and then do six burpees. Funny story, when I first wrote this, it autocorrected burpees to burps, so the set read, row for 100 meters, sprint across the gym, and then do six burps. Burps are the up and coming key to getting fit and a vital component of ERG HIIT, am I right, or am I right?

Inchworm Exercise! Credit

We did this HIIT set for four minutes twice, then we transitioned to another HIIT set in which we rowed for 100 meters and then did broad jumps (like a frog jump) and inchworms in which we walked our hands out to plank and then back up to standing (See GIF to right). Last week there was cat/cow in pilates and now there is frog and inchworm in ERG HIIT. Might as well start a zoo!

The last HIIT set consisted of rowing to reach a certain number of calories and then squatting the number of calories burned. This is where I accidentally fell. PRO TIP: the seat of the rowing machine moves out from under you, pay close attention. I know from first hand experience. The class ended with a team work session that was honestly the best part! The class split in half and each member had to do an exercise as fast as they could. Everyone was cheering and there was a camaraderie that I have never felt in any other fitness class.

ERG HIIT was a great class! I even saw a fellow RCL'er there... shout out Danieltta! Let me know if you have ever tried this class or if you know what an ERG is. Thanks for reading!