Meters: What To Log?

[old] giniajim · Post by **[old] giniajim** » November 6th, 2004, 2:02 pm

Is there a general consensus on what to enter in the log for meters rowed on the Concept 2? I'm thinking of the "rest" meters in interval workouts, or the "coast" meters in the Just Row workouts. I have been entering the coast meters under the theory that I've put workout energy into the 'boat' and that energy then shows up in the coast meters, plus there's no easy way other than eyeball to tell exactly when you've stopped. But I've just started doing interval workouts, and a similar meter-count shows up. For example, I did a quick 4x500 this morning and the meter count was 2073. Under my old reasoning, I would enter 2073, but now I'm not so sure; is 2000 a better number to enter? I'm a relative newbie, and this has no doubt come up before, so would appreciate any reference to previous discussions or other thoughts. Thanks!

[old] Coach Gus · Post by **[old] Coach Gus** » November 6th, 2004, 3:41 pm

This was last discussed on the old forum, so it's not a bad question to ask for the new forum. There is no rule regarding what meters you enter. Some argue that coasting meters shouldn't count. Some say meters that you erg that aren't "hard" are junk meters just to raise your log total. Others think think any revolution of the flywheel that comes from your efforts, even those coasting, count if they're counted by the PM. I'm in the "I enter everything" camp.

[old] brianric · Post by **[old] brianric** » November 7th, 2004, 4:34 am

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (Coach Gus @ Nov 6 2004, 02:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> I'm in the "I enter everything" camp.  </td></tr></table> Same here.

[old] GeorgeD · Post by **[old] GeorgeD** » November 7th, 2004, 3:18 pm

Sometimes I will sit and pull a few 100m setting up the drag at the gym and as I dont count these then I am more than happy to count the few extra that roll over at the end of something because of my energy input After all if you are counting down a timed piece or a distance piece then you dont get those at the end of your sprint so it all balances out. Its one of those things that if you cheat you are only cheating yourself !!! What interests me is how people who use active rest in intervals record that distance. If I am doing intervals then the timer is counting down the rest period and so shows no meters - is that right? - George

[old] giniajim · Post by **[old] giniajim** » November 7th, 2004, 3:47 pm

When you're rowing a distance-specific row, the PM doesn't record the 'coasting' meters at the end, as far as I can tell. But (!!), on the other hand, there is nothing that stops a rower from stopping at, say, the 1985m point, and coasting to 2000m. While that would be unusual, it could occur if the rower got a cramp, or was otherwise unable to complete the distance. But energy was put into the boat/flywheel, so by that logic the row should count as 2000m. Anything over 2000m in this case wouldn't count because the PM doesn't record it. Since our land-rowing environment is an artificial one based on the available technology of the Concept 2/PM-3, we're left with setting our own standards for recording distance rowed. In the absence of any better ideas, I'm tilting towards: "If the PM-3 records it, I'll log it". Another small bit of information for consideration. The few meters at the start of the row are very hard, and get the flywheel (boat) moving and up to speed. This extra energy can be thought of as expended in the 'coasting' at the end. Another thought is that coasting is very basic to rowing. Rowers exert energy during the pull, not during the recovery. Yet the boat is coasting between pulls and we happily and gratefully count that distance!!

[old] Courtney_G · Post by **[old] Courtney_G** » November 7th, 2004, 4:44 pm

To me, it seems natural that coasting meters should count. The flywheel isn't going to move at all unless you put some energy into it, so why shouldn't coasting meters count?

[old] Daren C · Post by **[old] Daren C** » November 8th, 2004, 6:35 am

If I were on a bike, and I rode 20 miles, 4 of which were freewheeling / down hills, I'd still say I rode 20 miles. I apply the same logic to entering erg metres. "Coasting" metres at the end of a session aren't a lot different from "coasting" metres between drives, especially if you're doing low SPM work. IMO. =) If the PM3 shows it, I'll enter it.

[old] Prufrock · Post by **[old] Prufrock** » November 8th, 2004, 9:20 am

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (GeorgeD @ Nov 7 2004, 02:18 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> Its one of those things that if you cheat you are only cheating yourself !!!  </td></tr></table> If you've done the work you get the credit! If you haven't done the work then who are you kidding? In the final analysis I row for my purposes and kidding myself is really just an alienation of those purposes. If the machine says I've done that then I've done that, in fact contradicting the machine and not counting these coasting metres is a missed opportunity to big up your efforts Prufrock

[old] TheHagueDragon · Post by **[old] TheHagueDragon** » November 8th, 2004, 9:51 am

newbie question: what are "coasting meters"?

[old] giniajim · Post by **[old] giniajim** » November 8th, 2004, 9:38 pm

TheHagueDragon asked on Nov 8 2004, 08:51 AM: "newbie question: what are "coasting meters"? I'm sort of a newbie myself, but since I started this thread, I'll attempt an answer. I think there are multiple definitions. For the purpose of my initial post, I was considering the case of a "Just Row" row. When you stop at 1000m, for example, the flywheel will continue to turn and you'll wind up with about 1020 meters. These last 20 meters are "coasting meters". Similary, when doing interval workouts, the PM-3 will continue to count meters between intervals much the same as above. And finally, a stroke is comprised of several 'parts', including the 'pull' in which energy is put into the flywheel/boat, and the recovery during which time the flywheel/boat 'coasts'.

[old] Coach Gus · Post by **[old] Coach Gus** » November 8th, 2004, 10:18 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (GeorgeD @ Nov 7 2004, 11:18 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> What interests me is how people who use active rest in intervals record that distance. If I am doing intervals then the timer is counting down the rest period and so shows no meters - is that right? - George  </td></tr></table> The PM3 keeps track of the meters during your active rest periods. They don't show up on the monitor as it counts down the time of the rest period, but they are shown when you view the workout.

[old] giniajim · Post by **[old] giniajim** » November 13th, 2004, 12:11 am

I'm sensing that the consensus is that if the PM-3 (or PM-2, -1) records it, we should feel comfortable with logging it!

[old] bw1099 · Post by **[old] bw1099** » November 26th, 2004, 10:26 pm

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE </td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>The PM3 keeps track of the meters during your active rest periods. They don't show up on the monitor as it counts down the time of the rest period, but they are shown when you view the workout.  </td></tr></table> So that what that number following the "r" means!! I never counted those because I didn't know what it meant. In the end, how much do all these controversial meters really add up to? For me, I can't see that it would be more than 1% of my total. bw

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