The finish is an agony of pain as the lactic acid builds up to ever higher levels. Part of the rowing training is in the lactic acid tolerance. Training to increase the aerobic power output. Higher power for a skilled athlete means higher performance for aerobic dominant competitions like distance running, rowing or any kind of sport exceeding 30 seconds of high effort . Increasing the maximum sustainable aerobic power is a big goal.
Aerobic capacity is enhanced by pushing the envelope of the maximum aerobic process of the body.
Doing so will increase the aerobic capacity of the body. Exceeding the aerobic capacity is sometimes called reaching the anaerobic threshold. That is, when the aerobic capacity is maxed out, bigger efforts require tapping into the type II muscles. Techniques to increase the level of power to increase the aerobic capacity is to excercise at the anaerobic threshold. This is monitored by an athlete by using a heart rate monitor.