Cardiorespiratory and Biomechanical Adaptations to Rowing: Implications for Athletic Performance

Indoor rowing is increasingly adopted in both training and physiological evaluation, as ergometers offer standardized, reproducible conditions for full-body exercise assessment. Building on this context, this study evaluates physiological and biomechanical responses to incremental indoor rowing through an integrated multisystem approach. The aim is to assess the feasibility and added value of combining respiratory, cardiovascular, and motion-derived data in a full-body aerobic exercise that has received limited attention in the literature. Two healthy subjects completed a stepwise, exhaustive protocol on a rowing ergometer, with respiratory data acquired via a COSMED K5 system and cardiac signals via a smart shirt with integrated ECG sensors. Movement efficiency was assessed through Jerk Variability using a markerless motion capture system. Consumer-grade wrist-worn devices were tested alongside the reference system to provide preliminary indications of their reliability as alternative heart rate monitors in the proposed context. Data analysis focused on identifying relevant physiological and biomechanical indicators for an incremental aerobic exercise, with results supporting the potential of the proposed multimodal framework for performance assessment and laying the foundation for future research on integrated performance assessment and personalized training. Keywords: incremental exercise test, rowing ergometer, wearable sensors, VO2, VCO2, ECG, motion efficiency, jerk variability, performance assessment, multisystem approach.