Concept 2 training tips?

silverharp

I have been using the Concept2 for the last 4 or 5 months, started as simply a warm up if I hadn’t cycled to the gym. Settled on the 2000m which would take average people about 7 to 10min depending on fitness/effort. Interestingly 2000m is a proxy V02 max test (link below) , Started cranking the pace time down by 4 seconds a week ( 1 second off the 500m split time) , getting close to max effort now so dropping to 2 seconds per week for the time being. The advice I’d seen online was that doing it twice a week is the sweet spot , what Im doing lately is to pop into the gym on the way home to split it off from anything else. Using the calculator Im about 15 seconds off having an “excellent” V02 for my age, so that’s my 1st target.

So 1 question, is there anything to switching it around a bit and do 1 2000 per week and clock up the other 2000m as interval training split up over 2 days? Realistically I wouldnt get in two concept 2 sessions and internals in a week.

damper settings , I just stick it in the middle, I havnt worried about that yet, on the couple of occasions I forgot to change it, I didn't notice much of a difference.

How is anyone else using it? Start / end?



https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/training/calculators/vo2max-calculator

Mellor

Learn proper rowing technique. The sequence of legs, arms hips.
Check out the force curve on the display. The Concept2 site should tell you what it means and what it should look like.
If you want to do the other 2000m over intervals, you'd manage it in one sitting. 4x500m, 2-4x1000, etc

I do 1000m x 2-4 once a week. And they another session of short intervals. 150-500m. My longer sessions I do on the bike or whatever.

Poorside

Do you do a racing start? Short quick strokes to get going.
And training wise, try and do a longer piece of you can, boring but really builds the V02 max quickly.

Mellor

Poorside wrote: »

And training wise, try and do a longer piece of you can, boring but really builds the V02 max quickly.

VO2 max training is typically shorter hard pieces at or above the lactate threshold. Longer pieces build endurance not VO2 max

False Prophet

Good plan to follow but requires 3 sessions so might not be suitable for you.
https://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/beginner-training/

Alf Veedersane

Garage Athlete has a free 5-session plan on his website. It's just a sample and you can use the principles to suit however you fit it into your week. You'd need to know your 2000m time to base the pace on.

Key thing is to get technique right as said above. Makes a massive difference.

silverharp

I used the output chart function, doing the 2K it was more Table mountain than a Bell curve, I got the “bell curve” when I did 30 second intervals so was guessing I was doing too many strokes with not enough power. Adjusted at the weekend and slowed it down a bit using more force for as long as I could and it seemed to work better, my heart rate bpm was down by about 8 points at the end, so meant I probably had some gas left in the tank. Sticking with 5x30 seconds intervals twice a week and a 2000m at the weekend for the time being. Generally prefer having the pace boat option in front of me though so as not to see the meters left to do.

DuckSlice

Recently started throwing rowing in st the end of my weight sessions. I’ve no idea what V02 is. My best time for 2000m is 8:25 on setting 10, is it just your time to do 2000m?

silverharp

etxp wrote: »

Recently started throwing rowing in st the end of my weight sessions. I’ve no idea what V02 is. My best time for 2000m is 8:25 on setting 10, is it just your time to do 2000m?

yeah pretty much, there is an 80 year old with a record time for his age of 7:26 :pac:

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/racing/records/world?machine=1&event=2000&gender=Male&age=75&weight=All

2000 80-84 Paul Guest M Hwt 80 AUS 7:26.6

stratowide

silverharp wrote: »

yeah pretty much, there is an 80 year old with a record time for his age of 7:26 :pac:

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/racing/records/world?machine=1&event=2000&gender=Male&age=75&weight=All

2000 80-84 Paul Guest M Hwt 80 AUS 7:26.6

That's very impressive at 80 years old.He must have his technique near perfect.
Brilliant.

My best at 50 is 7.36.Fell off and crawled into the foetal position for while afterwards.

silverharp

stratowide wrote: »

That's very impressive at 80 years old.He must have his technique near perfect.
Brilliant.

My best at 50 is 7.36.Fell off and crawled into the foetal position for while afterwards.

thats a great time, did it take a lot of focus? if i get down to that time . ill let you know, it might take me til the spring

DuckSlice

stratowide wrote: »

silverharp wrote: »

yeah pretty much, there is an 80 year old with a record time for his age of 7:26 :pac:

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/racing/records/world?machine=1&event=2000&gender=Male&age=75&weight=All

2000 80-84 Paul Guest M Hwt 80 AUS 7:26.6

That's very impressive at 80 years old.He must have his technique near perfect.
Brilliant.

My best at 50 is 7.36.Fell off and crawled into the foetal position for while afterwards.

That’s an impressive time. Something to aim for. I don’t have much technique tho I just pull like a dog!

basill

Youtube....Dark Horse Rowing is a good one. Rowing WOD is another. The latter has guided videos for timed 2k rows - sub 9, 8.30 etc. Its by an ex British Olympic rower.

Mellor

silverharp wrote: »

I used the output chart function, doing the 2K it was more Table mountain than a Bell curve, I got the “bell curve” when I did 30 second intervals so was guessing I was doing too many strokes with not enough power.

You want the curve to rise quickly, level off then fall smoothly. Basically you want as much area under the line as possible. Avoid an up and down curve (I think that's kinda what you mean by table mountain.)
A proper bell curve rises too slowly, but this is an deal curve.

etxp wrote: »

Recently started throwing rowing in st the end of my weight sessions. I’ve no idea what V02 is. My best time for 2000m is 8:25 on setting 10, is it just your time to do 2000m?

V02 max is the max rate of oxygen consumption during exercise.

Sprints are mostly anaerobic, so you aren't using peak amounts oxygen.
Endurance cardio is a lower output, so peak oxygen is lower too.

A 2000m row is around the hardest pace that's mainly aerobic. So it a good way to estimate the max level of oxygen uptake. A 2.4km run is similar.


Also for all rowing, the setting isn't a difficultly setting. A 8:25 at setting 10 is just as fast as 8:25 at setting 4. The like gears on a bike.

silverharp

Mellor wrote: »

You want the curve to rise quickly, level off then fall smoothly. Basically you want as much area under the line as possible. Avoid an up and down curve (I think that's kinda what you mean by table mountain.)
A proper bell curve rises too slowly, but this is an deal curve.

thats clear! my "table mountain" was more a low flattop from memory, so there should be a recognisable leg peak.

DuckSlice

Mellor wrote: »

Also for all rowing, the setting isn't a difficultly setting. A 8:25 at setting 10 is just as fast as 8:25 at setting 4. The like gears on a bike.

Does it mean I've worked harder to get the 8:25 at 10 as opposed to having it on setting 4?

stratowide

silverharp wrote: »

thats a great time, did it take a lot of focus? if i get down to that time . ill let you know, it might take me til the spring

I would normally do 500m × 5 sprints.id try to keep them around the 1.40ish time with loads of rest in between sprints.

Would do maybe one 2000m twice per week.keeping the time around 7.50 to 7.55ish.

Then do one all out 2000m once a month to check progress.

No real technique as such just pull like a dog stuff.

I play a lot of astro soccer which helps too.

Purchased a concept 2 a few years back which is a great help too.using the same rower all the time with no variation in resistance helps too.

silverharp

etxp wrote: »

Does it mean I've worked harder to get the 8:25 at 10 as opposed to having it on setting 4?

not really unless one setting makes you more inefficient. An endurance athlete will tend to work better with a higher setting and a power athlete with a lower setting. At the low setting the flywheel spins faster so you need a more powerful stroke to engage it.

silverharp

stratowide wrote: »

I would normally do 500m × 5 sprints.id try to keep them around the 1.40ish time with loads of rest in between sprints.

Would do maybe one 2000m twice per week.keeping the time around 7.50 to 7.55ish.

Then do one all out 2000m once a month to check progress.

No real technique as such just pull like a dog stuff.

I play a lot of astro soccer which helps too.

Purchased a concept 2 a few years back which is a great help too.using the same rower all the time with no variation in resistance helps too.

your sprints seem like a good approach Ill keep something like that in mind if I hit a plateau, the 30 second interval I do is a bit on the short side, I'd get more bang from the Assault bike.

stratowide

silverharp wrote: »

your sprints seem like a good approach Ill keep something like that in mind if I hit a plateau, the 30 second interval I do is a bit on the short side, I'd get more bang from the Assault bike.

I find the head is the first thing to want to give in.Its very much a mental thing.

When you are around the 500m to go mark and the body is seriously stressed.

Some serious pain involved then..:)

Just pull like a dog as they say.

silverharp

stratowide wrote: »

I find the head is the first thing to want to give in.Its very much a mental thing.

When you are around the 500m to go mark and the body is seriously stressed.

Some serious pain involved then..:)

Just pull like a dog as they say.

I try not to look at the distance remaining and just focus on the pace boat. At one stage I was closing my eyes and counting 50 strokes at a time before I looked. 1500m to go or the half way point can give me a sense of panic coupled with mild fatalism....

stratowide

silverharp wrote: »

a sense of panic coupled with mild fatalism....

Well put.

Mellor

etxp wrote: »

Does it mean I've worked harder to get the 8:25 at 10 as opposed to having it on setting 4?

No. Your output was exactly the same.
It takes 175 watts for that pace, regardless of the setting