Lower that 2k! (among other things)

When I get to row in a brand new boat

When after we've already launched I discover my rigger is loose 

When a novice has their first erg test

Haha no problem. Umm, it really depends on how serious you are about it. If you give your all to every scheduled workout, rowing session or race, the answer is yes. Especially if you are not noticeably muscular now, you will certainly be more so in 2 semesters.Even if you don't give it your all, but still put in what is required of you in order to be competitive, you should still see some improvement, but not nearly d's much.Just don't be a slug. And take winter training very seriously. You will get ripped over winter training if you follow all the workouts. I'm sure you'll find out more about it when the time comes.

A "2k" is a 2000 meter sprint race. Typically they are prevalent in the spring time. An erg 2k in my opinion is worse than an on-water 2k, because it is death indoors. When people refer to 500s, usually they are within the 2k piece. For instance, the third 500 is of course the 1000-1500m piece of the 2k. Most people find it the worst part of the 2k, due to the fact that you feel like you're on fire but you still have 500-1000 meters to go.So in short, they are very painful not quite as short as you would think sprints. The competitive aspect itself is nice though.

Hmm tough question. As far as expectations go, you will probably spend pretty much the entire first semester "learning" how to row. That's not to say that you won't be racing and what not, but you will be steadily and substantially learning and improving your technique. Most likely by the end of your freshman year you will have good enough technique to seriously compete with varsity rowers, especially if you are a strong rower. This is based on personal experience, but I find that that is generally the case.I really would not be too concerned about mishaps such as ejector crabs. While you almost certainly will catch several crabs during your rowing career, and some possibly at very tragic moments, they are harmless and you have little to no chance of ejecting. In my 4 years of rowing I have only seen one person catch an ejector crab, and that involved extenuating circumstances.Really, my message to you is: have fun! Rowing can be a very painful sport, but a well rowed boat on a beautiful river keeps us all coming back for more. Enjoy your novice season, do your best to listen to your coach and improve as fast as possible, and have fun competing. It should (and indeed I think will) be a great experience for you. Hopefully you will stick with it for the long term! Also, here is a random beautiful quote from the book The Boys in the Boat: "Harmony, balance, and rhythm. They’re the three things that stay with you your whole life. Without them civilization is out of whack. And that’s why an oarsman, when he goes out in life, he can fight it, he can handle life. That’s what he gets from rowing."

When I didn't follow the workout plan at all over the summer and I find out we have an erg test a week after returning to school

When it's the start of the fall season and our coach makes us do a 2k erg test

When I see a post on social media about rowing

When I meet a girl and she tells me she's a rower

Hi all. After a lengthy unannounced summer vacation I am back. Let the gifs commence!

Oh, nice! My coach in high school rowed for RIT. Awesome team! Yeah, they got hit super hard. Their coxswain couldn't see anything at all so they were going blind down the course. But they ended up winning gold so it worked out fine in the end!

When the regatta is delayed due to weather conditions

When I see people turning the erg resistance up to 9 or 10 because 'it's too easy otherwise.'

When I have to wake up at 3:30 am to travel to a regatta

When I see one of our boats walking on another team in the final 100 meters

When I find out one of my teammates and their coxswain committed boat-cest.