Rowing

I mentioned wattage before. As Mellor said you've got to use the drag factor reading when setting up. People talk about no.6 and so on but it's meaningless without drag factor displayed.

I row my long pieces at 155. I can go to 180 for shorts but it puts major stress on everything.

You should set up your monitor so it displays watts. So you're looking for max watts for a given stroke rate at a given HR. find sweet spot for X distance and go kill your body.
Simple.

I've been getting back to the gym the last few months after a while out with an injury and have been using the rower as the primary workout, really enjoy it. I'm sure my technique is pretty poor though, I find it hard to keep a consistent rate + split time. Does anyone have any tips for improving technique form ? I've watched some videos so I have good idea of what good technique looks like.. just putting it into practice !

Anyway, I've been tracking my progress over the past month or so with a weekly 500m sprint and I did my first proper 2k all out last night. Managed to get my 500m from 1.30 to a 1.23.9. Finished the 2K in 6.48 last night, but felt I had a little more to give so hopefully I can bring that down too, i'm still a long way off being in decent shape again but its nice seeing some decent progress at least.

Magill wrote: »

I've been getting back to the gym the last few months after a while out with an injury and have been using the rower as the primary workout, really enjoy it. I'm sure my technique is pretty poor though, I find it hard to keep a consistent rate + split time. Does anyone have any tips for improving technique form ? I've watched some videos so I have good idea of what good technique looks like.. just putting it into practice !

Anyway, I've been tracking my progress over the past month or so with a weekly 500m sprint and I did my first proper 2k all out last night. Managed to get my 500m from 1.30 to a 1.23.9. Finished the 2K in 6.48 last night, but felt I had a little more to give so hopefully I can bring that down too, i'm still a long way off being in decent shape again but its nice seeing some decent progress at least.

Those numbers are pretty good going.

These are impressive scores for a 'part-timer' with no proper training! You should consider a club tbh.

Thanks guys. They're probably not as impressive given my size (I'm 6'4, 255lb). Im enjoying it anyway.. Hoping I can get sub 6:30 and close to 1:20 in the next 6 months or so.. Will be tough though I'd imagine but I have a lot of room for improvement in just general fitness so probably do able.

There's only really clubs for actual water rowing in Belfast and I'm not so that'd be my thing unfortunately. If there was an indoor one that'd be awesome.

You'd be a great addition to a crew boat. They'd love someone like you walking in the door! I'd give it a go. Crew boats are great craic.

People have this idea of rowing being some elitist rich man's sport. In my experience nothing could be further from the truth. All sorts of people in rowing. Much more heterogeneous than many other sports tbh.

It is tempting, I might look into it when I get back to a decent level of fitness as i'm still a good 2 months from being back to normal.

Did a proper 2K yesterday, managed a 6:41.. had to take a 5 minute break afterwards though... shattered !

Magill wrote: »

I've been getting back to the gym the last few months after a while out with an injury and have been using the rower as the primary workout, really enjoy it. I'm sure my technique is pretty poor though, I find it hard to keep a consistent rate + split time. Does anyone have any tips for improving technique form ? I've watched some videos so I have good idea of what good technique looks like.. just putting it into practice !

Anyway, I've been tracking my progress over the past month or so with a weekly 500m sprint and I did my first proper 2k all out last night. Managed to get my 500m from 1.30 to a 1.23.9. Finished the 2K in 6.48 last night, but felt I had a little more to give so hopefully I can bring that down too, i'm still a long way off being in decent shape again but its nice seeing some decent progress at least.

Magill wrote: »

Thanks guys. They're probably not as impressive given my size (I'm 6'4, 255lb). Im enjoying it anyway.. Hoping I can get sub 6:30 and close to 1:20 in the next 6 months or so.. Will be tough though I'd imagine but I have a lot of room for improvement in just general fitness so probably do able.

There's only really clubs for actual water rowing in Belfast and I'm not so that'd be my thing unfortunately. If there was an indoor one that'd be awesome.

Magill wrote: »

It is tempting, I might look into it when I get back to a decent level of fitness as i'm still a good 2 months from being back to where to normal.

Did a proper 2K yesterday, managed a 6:41.. had to take a 5 minute break afterwards though... shattered !

You're making this all sound trivially easy!!

I did a 2k test last year, got a 6:38 and was barely able to walk for about 10 minutes after. Was in a huge amount of distress. If you're maintaining those splits despite shaky technique (maybe or maybe not) and being out of shape it's pretty extraordinary. Might just have a huge amount of untapped natural ability there.

Savage going though irrespective of whether you choose to pursue it further or not.

Alf Veedersane

Magill wrote: »

Did a proper 2K yesterday, managed a 6:41.. had to take a 5 minute break afterwards though... shattered !

I had to take a 5-minute rest after reading that just at the thought of how destroyed I would be.

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I had to take a 5-minute rest after reading that just at the thought of how destroyed I would be.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

You're making this all sound trivially easy!!

I did a 2k test last year, got a 6:38 and was barely able to walk for about 10 minutes after. Was in a huge amount of distress. If you're maintaining those splits despite shaky technique (maybe or maybe not) and being out of shape it's pretty extraordinary. Might just have a huge amount of untapped natural ability there.

Savage going though irrespective of whether you choose to pursue it further or not.

haha, I've been trying to do a timed all-out row once a week so maybe I'm just getting used to the pain !! I usually do it at the start of my workout too.. be assured that the rest of my workout on these days is anything but impressive !

I honestly have no idea how good/bad my technique is, I try to follow what the guides on youtube say but its hard to tell if I've actually got decent form. I might try and record myself sometime this week if the gym is empty enough.

biZrb

I row and we always set the drag factor on the ergs to 125 for the ladies and 130 for the men. We do all our tests; 2K, 5K, 30@20 etc on a the same drag rate.
You need to make sure you are doing your testing on a realistic drag rate, it really makes a difference to your score. (You set it under the More Information section on the Concept 2 ergs).
The stroke rate for a 2K should be well over 30 for guys and around 28 for ladies. It is tough and unfortunately it never gets any easier, you just get faster!

Also, make sure you've got the right technique on the erg. I see so many people in the gym rowing incorrectly. You'll never get a decent score if your technique is all over the place. Just remember its arms body slide, slide body arms. Slow up the slide and faster when you pull back using your legs (as that where the power is) to drive you back.

biZrb wrote: »

I row and we always set the drag factor on the ergs to 125 for the ladies and 130 for the men. We do all our tests; 2K, 5K, 30@20 etc on a the same drag rate.
You need to make sure you are doing your testing on a realistic drag rate, it really makes a difference to your score. (You set it under the More Information section on the Concept 2 ergs).
The stroke rate for a 2K should be well over 30 for guys and around 28 for ladies. It is tough and unfortunately it never gets any easier, you just get faster!

Also, make sure you've got the right technique on the erg. I see so many people in the gym rowing incorrectly. You'll never get a decent score if your technique is all over the place. Just remember its arms body slide, slide body arms. Slow up the slide and faster when you pull back using your legs (as that where the power is) to drive you back.

Please bear in mind that not everyone is trying to replicate the resistance offered by water when on an erg. While it makes perfect sense to use 'standard' drag factor settings for a crew erging as a supplement to their training, it doesn't make sense for me if I have no intention of ever getting into a boat.

My 2k PB was achieved with a stroke rate of 21. I think I'd be on a gurney if I tried to maintain 30+ on such a piece!

biZrb

Yeah good point, you're not exactly trying out for top boat

If people want to compare scores with indoor rowing standards then I think the resistance and stroke rate i stated above are important. People should definitely be using the same drag rate with all their training though and not wacking the dial thing up to 10.

Its great to see a thread on erging and 2ks here, its nice to know others share the pain of doing them

Inspector Coptoor

I did a 2km piece this evening.
Haven't been on a rower in a long time, save a 100m sprint in Dec @ 14.9s.

I just did 2:00/500m pace and got 7:56 for the 2km with a strike rate of 22 with damper set @ 6

Hope to get back to 7:05 standard within a couple of months

biZrb wrote: »

Yeah good point, you're not exactly trying out for top boat

If people want to compare scores with indoor rowing standards then I think the resistance and stroke rate i stated above are important. People should definitely be using the same drag rate with all their training though and not wacking the dial thing up to 10.

Its great to see a thread on erging and 2ks here, its nice to know others share the pain of doing them

I agree with attempting consistency in your training. But I strongly believe people should use a drag factor that suits who they are as an athlete. Worth bearing in mind that you can set the drag factor as you like in an indoor rowing competition unless you're in the high performance picture. I'll be setting my drag factor nice and high at the weekend!!

But even in a boat the rigging can be adjusted to lighten or increase the load. It's gearing. Angles, levers and fulcrums.

Ted_YNWA

Been lurking on this thread for a bit ( few days, not the 13 years).

Sub 8 is achievable.

Was just over 8:30 at setting 10, & around 8:20 when I changed to 5/6.

Makes challenge more real when thread is being followed.

Mellor

I think I've gone 3:40 for a 1k, not sure If I'm want to do a 2k right now.