The Drive

By the Watta Team · Updated

The Drive: The drive is the power phase of the rowing stroke where the rower pushes with the legs, swings the back, and pulls with the arms to accelerate the flywheel.

What is The Drive?

The drive is the work portion of the rowing stroke. It follows a sequential pattern: legs push first (60% of power), then the back swings open (30% of power), and finally the arms draw the handle to the body (10% of power). This legs-back-arms sequence maximises power by engaging the largest muscle groups first. On the erg, the drive is visible on the force curve as the portion where force is being applied to the chain. A well-executed drive produces a smooth, bell-shaped force curve. The drive should be explosive but controlled — maximum force application through the middle of the stroke, not a violent yank off the catch. Common faults include opening the back too early (shooting the slide) and pulling with the arms before the legs finish.

How Watta Uses The Drive

The drive generates the watts that Watta captures from the PM5 display. Higher watts at the same stroke rate indicate a more powerful drive. The Work Output component of the Effort Score (35% weight) is directly calculated from the average watts produced during each drive.

Further Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the correct drive sequence?
Legs first, then back, then arms — in that order. Think: legs push the seat back, the back swings from 1 o'clock to 11 o'clock, then the arms draw to the lower ribs. The reverse (arms-back-legs) is the recovery.
Why do my legs push but the handle does not move?
This is called "shooting the slide" — the legs extend but the handle stays still because the back is opening too early or the arms are bending. The fix is to keep the arms straight and body angle constant until the legs are nearly flat.
How fast should the drive be?
The drive should be approximately half the duration of the recovery. At 20 spm, each stroke is 3 seconds: roughly 1 second for the drive and 2 seconds for the recovery. The drive is the explosive part; the recovery is controlled and slow.

Related Content

The CatchThe catch is the starting position of the rowing stroke where the blade enters the water (or on the erg, where the chain becomes taut), with shins vertical and body compressed forward.Force CurveThe force curve is a graph on the Concept2 PM5 that shows how much force you apply to the handle during each stroke, used to diagnose rowing technique.Watts (Rowing)Watts in rowing measure the power output on an ergometer, calculated from the pace using the Concept2 formula: Watts = 2.80 / pace³.The RecoveryThe recovery is the non-power phase of the rowing stroke where the rower returns to the catch position, following an arms-back-legs sequence.Ratio (Drive-to-Recovery)Ratio is the time relationship between the drive and the recovery phases of the rowing stroke, with an ideal ratio of approximately 1:2.The FinishThe finish is the end position of the rowing stroke where the handle is drawn to the lower ribs, legs are flat, and the body is leaning slightly back.Stroke Power (Peak Watts)Stroke power is the peak or average watts generated during a single rowing stroke, with the PM5 calculating power from the flywheel acceleration during the drive.Split to Watts ConverterErg Technique GuideFor Beginners
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