Rowers and coaches often wonder about the damper setting and/or the drag factor. Simply put, the damper setting is external on the rowing machine - the fan adjustment from 1 to 10. Ten offers the most resistance, and one the least resistance. The drag factor number is set in the software using the fan for minor adjustments. A higher drag "slows" the boat down quicker between strokes. There are no guidelines listed by national rowing authorities for the use of drag factor by age group or competition level. Here are some thoughts on it from my experience.
The common drag factor for heavy weight/senior collegiate men is 130. Traditionally, if you had a crew mostly rowing bigger boats like an eight or four they would typically erg with lighter drag to replicate the feel or weight of the boat in the water. As the boat class got closer to the single scull, the drag went up. Over the years this has become more of a right of passage that all rowers in this class to erg at 130 (or higher).
I think the most consistent organisation to publish drag factor recommendations is the Australian Institute of Sport and Rowing Australia. They published drag factor settings for different age groups based on their 7x4min step test for blood lactate testing published in 2013, and later updated in 2016 by Tony Rice. This context of testing is particularly important for drag factor because the drag you test at is the drag you should train at. This will result in better adaptations to training when using the test results to inform programming. These numbers from November, 2016, are listed in the table below for a stationary Concept 2 ergometer.
| Category | Drag Factor |
| Junior Female | 100 |
| Lightweight Female | 100 |
| Heavyweight Female | 110 |
| Junior Male | 125 |
| Lightweight Mae | 125 |
| Heavyweight Male | 130 |
There is much to consider as a coach when prescribing drag. What feeling do you want to prescribe? How are you managing load? Do you always want them working hard relative to drag, or relative to the effort they put in? I have asked coaches who I have learned from in the past about drag and one said that he typically uses a low drag and teaches the athletes how to work hard. This was an interesting perspective because it shows an insight into how we can develop rowers through the LTAD pathway without high burnout risk.
If you are unsure about what level of drag to set your machine at, or you need some advice for race strategy on any upcoming indoor rowing events, get in touch with me here and check out my coach education and rowing coaching pages for more info.