How to Set Up ErgManiac with Your Concept2 Ergometer

Getting started with ErgManiac takes less than five minutes. By the end of this guide, you will have an account, your first workout logged, and a dashboard that actually makes sense of your rowing data.

Step 1: Create Your ErgManiac Account

Head to ergmaniac.com and click Get Started. You can sign up with your email or use Google login. During signup, you will be asked for a few basics:

Your current fitness level (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
How often you row per week
Your primary goal (general fitness, racing, weight loss)

These details help the AI coach calibrate your training recommendations from the start. You can always update them later in your profile settings.

Step 2: Log Your First Workout

After your next rowing session, open ErgManiac and tap Log Workout. You have two options:

Option A: Photo Scan (Recommended)

This is the fastest way to log a workout. Simply take a photo of your Concept2 PM5 monitor screen after your session. ErgManiac uses AI to read your workout data directly from the photo, including:

Total distance and time
Average pace (split)
Stroke rate
Calories burned

Point your phone camera at the PM5 screen, make sure the display is clearly visible, and snap the photo. The AI extracts everything in seconds.

Option B: Manual Entry

If you prefer typing or your monitor is a PM3/PM4 without a backlit display, you can enter your data manually. Fill in the distance, time, and average split. You can also add stroke rate and heart rate if you have that data.

Both methods get you to the same place. Photo scan just saves you the typing.

Step 3: Understanding Your Dashboard

Once your first workout is logged, your dashboard comes to life. Here is what you will see:

Recent Workouts

A chronological list of your sessions. Each entry shows the date, distance, time, average split, and stroke rate. Tap any workout to see the full breakdown, including AI-generated analysis of your performance.

Personal Bests

ErgManiac automatically tracks your PRs across common distances: 500m, 1000m, 2000m, 5000m, 6000m, 10000m, and half marathon. As you log more workouts, these update automatically.

Fitness Score

A single number (1-100) that represents your overall rowing fitness based on your recent training load, consistency, and performance trends. This score updates weekly and gives you a quick pulse check on your progress.

Training Volume

A weekly and monthly view of your total meters rowed. This helps you monitor whether you are building volume gradually or need to scale back to avoid overtraining.

Zone Distribution

A breakdown of how much time you have spent in each training zone (UT2, UT1, AT, TR, AN). Most rowers should see the majority of their time in UT2 (easy aerobic). If your chart is skewed toward high intensity, you are probably rowing too hard on easy days.

What to Do Next

With your account set up and your first workout logged, here are your next steps:

Log 3-5 more workouts to give the AI enough data to start making useful recommendations
Connect Strava if you want your rowing sessions to appear in your Strava feed
Explore AI Training Plans to get a structured program tailored to your goals
Check your training zones to make sure you are rowing at the right intensities

The more data you give ErgManiac, the smarter it gets. Every workout you log helps the AI coach understand your strengths, weaknesses, and where to push you next.

Welcome to ErgManiac. Now go row.