Confessions of an ERG-aholic

Training With Power
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Hi. My name is Joel, and I am an ERG-aholic.

I just went back and searched the archives on here and I see that it seems most coaches frown against the use of ERG mode for structured intervals. So my question would be is there ever an instance in which they are acceptable?

For instance, on my weekend rides I’ll always either ride outside or if riding the trainer will not use ERG mode. However, tonight after a day of work and shuttling kids to and from, I just didn’t have the mental capacity to try and monitor output as the plan called for 3 minutes of Tempo then 1 min of Sweet spot 2x, and then repeat that 4 times.

Is it still frowned upon to go full cyborg and just ERG it to get it done?

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I agree, when I don’t have it mentally, ERG is what I default to in order to accomplish the WO.

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Nothing wrong with a little ERG here or there, that’s for sure!

Especially when you want to watch a movie or zone out.

The anti-erg pundits mostly advocate not ERG all the time. Many of our workouts are meant to be done on the ERG like our Cheetah Pounce & Sprint > Stalk > Catch, 1 - 5 progression:

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