Concept2 Forum

I'm back on the rail after a long hiatus, and it's tough rebuilding my tolerance for distance. So I'm wondering: do you have any little tricks that you use to keep yourself entertained while you're pulling? Other than software, I mean — NO amount of in-seat entertainment is worth switching to a PC.<br /><br />My game of choice during long, steady rows is Devil Boat, in which I try to keep the Calorie display at 666 for as many strokes as possible. That should be a nice languid pace, though in my current state of tune it borders on brisk. Calories are the lowbrow unit, I suppose, but whatever it takes... I can keep myself occupied for many, many meters this way.<br /><br />This game was not possible with my PM1, which seemed to display Cals in discreet increments, and 666 wasn't one of them. C2, am I dreaming about that?<br /><br />I'll be a little embarrassed if it turns out I'm the only person who resorts to trickery — maybe I should've posted somewhere other than "Training"? Guess I'll find out.

Sure, here are a few.<br /><b>Consecutive strokes displaying target Pace</b> (similar to your Calorie game, though no satanic references) <br /><br /><b>Never back down</b>: If you display a faster pace for even a single stroke it becomes your new target pace that must be maintained. (You will think up your own satanic references)<br /><br /><b>10 Strokes at a time</b>: We can always do 10 more strokes, right? Well this proves it, or not. <br /><br /><b>Trade Rate for pace</b>: Go to 9 meters per stroke without additional force on the handle and see what the pace does. Controlling the handle force is more difficult than one might think. 500 or 1k at a go, also try 11mps and see how your patience level is.<br />

Some people suggest listening to music helps. I'm following the UK training programme for interactive 2K right now, so I row at specified spm's. Following a suggestion of Ranger and others, I find a metronome helps me keep a steady spm with the correct proportion of drive vs recovery time during each stroke. In addition, I finally set up a long mirror so I can see myself rowing. I am constantly checking if my back is straight, and trying to correct some other bad habits (pointed out to me by Paul S.--Thanks again, Paul)<br />So with the mantra 1-2-3 to the metronome holding the spm steady and constantly looking at the mirror to see my technique, looking at the chain to see if it is steady (not bouncing around), etc., I am so busy with this stuff that time flies.<br /><br />Byron<br />

Im very new and very out of shape.<br /><br />I started doing a 5k a day. I get on and think Im so tired the baby kept me up late it was a hard day at work and I have worked out every day but one since I got the machine. After 5-10pulls I think why did I do the 5k instead of 2 2ks. So I give myself an out, I think "ok get to 2k and you can quit, you need the rest", then I hit 2k and I seem to be alive somehow still so now I think,"ok you wanted to do 2 2ks lets go and finish this one then you are all done", not I bust thru that 2k and I see I have less then 1k left so now I think, " ok, 1k thats like nothing after 4k can you look at yourself in the mirror if you cant do a little ole' 1k." At this point I pick up the pace and work on getting the best 5k time I can.<br /><br />Now this may not work for those of you who cant outsmart yourself. Somehow I always fall for my own rhetoric. Its amazing I never learn. This is truely my work out.

As I love numbers, I play a lot of numbers games in my head...<br />I'm 1/6th of the way, 1/5th, already 25% through, etc.,<br />Count strokes,<br />Do a sprint every so often, e.g. 5 or 10 min, for a certain time, e.g. 30 or 60 s, or number of strokes, e.g. 20 or 30.<br /><br />David<br /><br />(I also don't want to use a PC at home )

(I also don't want to use a PC at home ) <br />[/quote]<br /><br />I'm glad to see there is someone else out there who doesn't want to mix their PC use with their C2 time! I thought I was the only one.<br />

Math,math,math. <br />Calculate split required to get to next 500m by target time.<br />Divide the piece into the largest fraction possible and count down the fractions.<br />Count the number of strokes required to drop the average by .5, .1 etc and despair with the knowledge that the farther you are into the piece, the longer it will take. <br />Generally anything I can think of... but then, I'm the one that looked at the time remaining on the microwave one day (1:52) and then realized I'd started counting strokes...

Great stuff, thanks everybody!<br /><br />PaulS walks away with the Most Diabolical award for <b>Never back down</b>. Nice!

When just rowing for distance, I aim for keeping the pace even and keep the meters right on each 2 minutes.<br /><br />Aiming for a specific distance I use projected pace. This gives me more to keep my mind occupied, aiming to keep each projection the same or in a small range, which is more difficult in the first part of the piece.<br /><br />Besides this I do what David does, now and then dividing the distance into percentages or fractions. I like dividing the 10k into 2k's, and the half marathon into 7k's.<br /><br />I moved the erg to the other side of the garage a few days ago. Before, I had a cd and tape player by the erg but now have a great view and this openness helps to keep me more occupied.

Stick a film on TV to keep the mind occupied.<br />watch the ave pace and keep within .5 of predetermined plan on a long steady.<br />Break it into 10min slots and just count them down. One more done is one less to do.<br />On intervasl sessions, keep the ave pace steady and get just a little progressively fasster.<br />Again put something watchable on TV <br />RR

Here's a challenging one for those of you who likes to do math: <br /><br />From experience I have drawn the conclusion that the "ave watt" displayed is not actually the average watt. What is it then? <br /><br />What is diplayed as average wattage is the wattage corresponding to the even pace required to travel the current distance in the time rowed, that is the average pace. <br /><br />Unless you have given this some thought it might sound like crazy talk. I would love for someone else to verify this find. <br /><br />The diffence between actual average wattage and displayed average wattage is neglectable (less than .1 watt) if you keep within a few pace seconds or only do very short breakes/bursts to much lower or higher paces. <br /><br />Try calculating the difference between actual and displayed average wattage while rowing. You will get good practice in division, cubes and cuberoots and possibly the whole rowing piece is done before you are finished. <br /><br />Good luck!

Sometimes it is hard to keep on rowing. <br /><br />1) I try to focus on my average time on the 500 m.<br /><br />2) I just watch the pace boat sliding out of the monitor and I try to keep it away.<br /><br />3) Listing to the beat of the music.<br /><br />4) Set a goal and go for it.<br /><br />Greeting,<br /><br />Hennie<br /><br /><br />500: 1.39.5 1000: 3.33.1 2000: 7.25.4 5000: 18.40.3<br /><br />6000: 22.34.0 30 min.: 7805 m. 10000: 38.08.9<br /><br />60 min.: 15237 1/2 marathon: 1.23.43.1 marathon: like to do it in the future

Karl, I'm also sad enough to have thought about this - as you say, there's no way the PM2 can actually show average watts unless it had a large enough memory to remember every stroke you'd taken (which it clearly doesn't as mine only seems to be able to remember about 28 intervals!), as the relationship between pace and power isn't linear. I agree that all it can do is do a split to watts conversion of your current average split. <br /><br />How on earth would you go about calculating the difference unless you had as good a memory though?<br /><br />I actually find that the thing I like about rowing is that it switches my brain *off* and 10 minutes after a steady hour I tend to end up wondering what on earth I'd been thinking about the last 60 minutes . . .

<!--QuoteBegin-MarcusLL+Mar 9 2005, 04:45 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(MarcusLL @ Mar 9 2005, 04:45 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Karl, I'm also sad enough to have thought about this - as you say, there's no way the PM2 can actually show average watts unless it had a large enough memory to remember every stroke you'd taken (which it clearly doesn't as mine only seems to be able to remember about 28 intervals!), as the relationship between pace and power isn't linear.  I agree that all it can do is do a split to watts conversion of your current average split.  <br /><br />How on earth would you go about calculating the difference unless you had as good a memory though?<br /><br />I actually find that the thing I like about rowing is that it switches my brain *off* and 10 minutes after a steady hour I tend to end up wondering what on earth I'd been thinking about the last 60 minutes . . . <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Hi Marcus <br /><br />Th monitor would not need a great memory. It just needs to make an update to total energy delivered every stroke. The same principle could be used for a more accurate number in calories burnt as well. <br /><br />I'm sure c2 has thought about this and decided that it would be easier for the user if an average pace always corresponded to the same average wattage and probably also the same nr displayed as calories burnt for a certain time! Most users on the gym would probably think the monitor was flaud if this wasn't the case. Another reason could be that perhaps this is "the way it's done" in general in excercise equipment and if users are met by a new "interface" on a C2 they would be skeptical and avoid it. I don't know if this is the case with excercise equipment I am just speculating.<br /><br />

<!--QuoteBegin--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->You will get good practice in division, cubes and cuberoots and possibly the whole rowing piece is done before you are finished </td></tr></table> <br /><br />If you enjoy doing math while erging, there is an old-fashioned algorithm to take square roots that used to be taught to children. You arrange the work a little bit the way you do when you do long division. The algorithm is based on <br /><br />(x+y)^2=x^2 + 2xy + y^2. <br /><br />There is a similar algorithm to compute cube roots based on<br /><br />(x+y)^3=x^3 + 3 x^2 y + 3 x y^2 + y^3.<br /><br />I have never seen the algorithm written in a textbook, but you can take it as a challenge to figure it out. Of course there is Newton's method for computing square roots or cube roots, but that's too easy. <br /><br />So my suggestion is to do Paul's "never back down" along with mentally taking square roots and cube roots using the above algorithms I hinted at. That will keep the body and mind occupied. <br /><br />Byron