How many meters did you row/erg today? - Page 38

I'm sitting a heavier 190 or so (competitive powerlifter in the 181's these days) though I could lose 20-25 just in my chest/triceps which is what I intend on doing at some point and get back out racing.  I didn't row in college (recruited by princeton/dartmouth and other various lightweight programs though) and attempted to start a team at my university.  Unfortunately getting up early and being sober didn't coincide very well with the student body during my time there and though we had boats donated to us we were unable to fill them and ended returning them to their respective clubs (sad huh?).

 

Right now I coach high school rowing and hop on the erg every now and then but my main physical competition is powerlifting.  This weekend I'm hoping to improve my world ranking in the squat at APC Nationals.  I'm a firm believer that increasing max wattage is paramount to pulling big ergs, especially as a lightweight where leverages are not nearly as beneficial as with most heavyweight rowers.  Think of it this way:

 

If a 350 lb squat/deadlift allow you to generate say 650 max watts on the erg and you get your squat/deadlift up to 400 and you're now able to generate 700 max watts.

 

At 650 watts maximum a 1:35 split is 62.8% of max.  At 700 a 1:35 split is now 58.3%.  1:35 split = 408.2 watts.  So, what do you think is easier to maintain, the 62.8% or the 58.3%?  Yes, rowers need an aerobic base, high VO2's, high AT levels BUT a very large missing link right now is maximal strength.  Rowing is quite far behind in the strength and conditioning world in terms of adaptation compared to other sports.  Football picked it up first, then basketball, then baseball, lacrosse, even golf has started to get ahold of it.  Unfortunately many rowing coaches simply ignore this aspect of it.  I'm hoping to start working with the national team post-olympics if a few of my contacts can get me involved or at least meeting with those who I'd need to do so.  I think my own erg test is reflective of the results.  I doubt I could run an 8 minute mile right now and distance in general sucks for me but I can power out anything short and last through a 2k.  That is the power of maximal strength.

Learning quite a bit from this thread - just bought a concept 2. In the past I've typically used rowing as part of an overall met-con workout, and haven't rowed many intervals above 500M - but I'm looking forward to building up some endurance and rowing longer intervals once a week or so.

I'm fairly new to the concept 2, but I managed to churn out 14k in an hour today. Felt a little ill afterwards tbh.

Hello.

I've posted before about my decision to go for a Waterrower over a C2 but now I wonder how comparative the timed/distance results are between machines.

I will be taking part in an Indoor rowing championship in November that will be held on C2 machines.

This morning I pulled a 6.20.5 2K on my WR with 16L in the tank.
How would that compare on a C2 machine?
What is the 16L in C2 Damper level terms?

Can anyone comment on these questions?

Thanks

I don't know the answer to above question, but I have trained on a water rower once. It seemed to give comparatively fast times (and had a harsh start-up at each stroke). Perhaps this can be changed with the water volume.

Finished up the season pretty poorly last year. Got mono during the winter and never recovered enough to PR. Now I'm coaching for a high school club and personal training. Been erging a bit the last couple weeks to get ready for an alumni race this weekend. We're going to get rocked. Did a submax 5k and broke 19:00. Not something to be proud of, but definitely relieved I could.

Wmmk, pretty solid results last spring, keep up the good work. A Williams boat is starting behind my alumni 4+, we're hoping to hold them off for a couple of minutes!

LM, that's some pretty incredible strength! I definitely agree that strength training is undervalued in rowing, but at the same time a 2k is 80% aerobic. From my personal experience, as a borderline lightweight I could pull 750 watts, but I was never able to break 6:40 because I didn't have the aerobic power.

BobD, You really can't compare the times. Completely different machines.

Surprised to hear there is no comparison available, but I guess that reflects the lack of me easily finding anything via Google.

I'm not sure where I will get access to a C2 machine before the event to try it out. I used to train on them, but have not for a few years now.

For the event in *December* I'm training to a C2 training plan focused on a 2k.
Doing the work, so hopefully I won't embarrass myself at the comp.

Think of the aerobic:anaerobic:strength paradigm as a venn diagram where when any one circle increases it will overlap the other two more and more.  The total area of the diagram doesn't get much bigger as one singular circle overlaps more however, if the other circles start to expand then the area increases much more.  There will be times in training where the opportunity benefit from aerobic work exceeds that of maximal strength and times where anaerobic work exceeds that of aerobic, so on and so forth.  It is the coaches job to determine what is needed where that opportunity benefit will be greatest (one reason why I handle a lot of off-season rowers training due to being one of the few coaches around that seem to understand the third component and how it relates to the other two in rowing).

 

In rowing, more often than not it is wattage that often times stands to be the most improved since it is usually the least developed system.

I did an ergatta this weekend as part of a fundraiser, it was my third time on an erg. I rowed a men's masters 2k and a 500m father's race.
I got my ass kicked in the masters, my average pace was 2:09.2. I came in 2nd for the 500m with a pace of 1:49.6, this race was 15 minutes after the 2k.

My daughter's coach said these were pretty respectable numbers for an untrained rower (age 46). I thought it was terrific fun and am seriously thinking of taking rowing lessons this spring. I used to row as a kid (big old aluminum Mirro-Craft fishing boat, not a shell). I've always loved rowing, and being involved in the local crew team just stokes the passion.

We have several Concept2 ergs at the local YMCA that I'm going to start training on. The first time I tried an erg, I did a 6K to see what my daughter practices, I thought I would die. Dang, those kids are tough.

Any suggestions of a good workout? When you say "20 seconds 80% 40 seconds easy but still rowing x5", how do you determine the 80%?
Thanks!

erg guys,
I'm starting to use the Concept 2 at my gym more and more to increase my general level of fitness. As someone without any form of training, who plans to use this machine daily, do I need to get some form of professional instruction? I sense the goal is that each stroke should look identical....as a total noob I doubt that's the case for me.

Like you said, it's the coach's job to determine what is needed. I would have seen a lot of benefit from lifting more as I was built more like a lightweight. But you have to use a common goal for your coaching plan.


I think that I had good aerobic but lacked strength. Wide grip pullups are great for strength training.


I'd say do long steady pace. That will build your aerobic base. Go to Concept2.com for some help on workout suggestions.

You should check out the videos on Concept2.com for what you should look like.