Stroke Rate/Damper Rating

[surf4life]

I have been rowing for several months now...still a newbie though.....I currently have the damper setting at 5 1/2 stroke rate is usually 28-30 for a 10,000m session...hr rate is at an aerobic pace....I have found several different workouts that have stroke rates 22-25 for power intervals? Should I be increasing the damper to 7 or so for these? I am 50yr male 5'4 138lbs....What would be correct?

[wjschmidt2]

I know my technique was terrible for the first few years of my erging life so, I am sure yours is in the same situation (27 to 28 spm for 10k is on the high side, 22 to 24 would be better). For your ht & wt I would recommend a lower setting, however, the key is to figure out what is the drag factor not the damper setting. A dirty machine could make your damper setting a misleading base mark. A good drag factor for us light weights is any where from 120 to 140 drag factor. If you have a drag factor of say 125 and can pull a pace of 2:00 per 500 meters at a stroke rate of 24 then you are doing really well (this is an aerobic pace). If not then your techniqie still needs more work.

So, first check your drag factor. Report back and there are many better experts than I that can give you even more insightful tips.

Bill

[Bob S.]

For your ht & wt I would recommend a lower setting, however, the key is to figure out what is the drag factor not the damper setting. A dirty machine could make your damper setting a misleading base mark. A good drag factor for us light weights is any where from 120 to 140 drag factor.

Bill makes an important point there. For further details, you may well find this site useful:

Understanding Drag Factor:

http://www.concept2.com/us/training/adv ... factor.asp

Bob S.

[hjs]

I have been rowing for several months now...still a newbie though.....I currently have the damper setting at 5 1/2 stroke rate is usually 28-30 for a 10,000m session...hr rate is at an aerobic pace....I have found several different workouts that have stroke rates 22-25 for power intervals? Should I be increasing the damper to 7 or so for these? I am 50yr male 5'4 138lbs....What would be correct?

Lower rating gives the fan more time to slow dow, thus havier on the body, so no you should not increese the recistance, lowering it would make more sence.

[rluk]

I have started doing rowing erg workouts as cross training for canoe and kayak. I read quite a lot that you should lower the damper setting, but whenever I do I seem to drop speed.

I mainly do 40 to 60 mins sets at 7 or 8, with occassional 30 minute and 2km trials at 8 and 9 settings respectively. If I drop the damper I can't get the speed up (although it is easy to maintain what I am doing).

Is it a technique thing? I tend to row like I paddle - max power on the catch and ease off a bit through the stroke. I read you should accelerate through a rowing stroke. I tried this on lower dampers, but no luck yet.

Any help appreciated. The erg cross training is getting competitive and addictive in our paddle club!

[Carl Watts]

Look at the actual Drag Factor on the monitor itself when your rowing as the damper position has no direct relationship to this. You move the damper to get the drag factor on the monitor constant from one rower to another depending on how much dust there is in the fan cage that is restricting the airflow. A "10" on one machine that is full of dust can be a "3" or "4" on another that is clean so it is meaniningless to compare the damper setting.

[hjs]

Is it a technique thing? I tend to row like I paddle - max power on the catch and ease off a bit through the stroke. I read you should accelerate through a rowing stroke. I tried this on lower dampers, but no luck yet.

The lower the drag, the faster the stroke should be to keep the same pace, but if you feel fine at higher drag and have no trouble who bother changing?

[Carl Watts]

Yes your technique and power changes over time. Typically you need to start on a slightly higher drag factor, then you can reduce it over time. Started here on 165 now row on 135 with far better results than I was able to obtain 5 years ago.

[Raoul]

I have started doing rowing erg workouts as cross training for canoe and kayak. I read quite a lot that you should lower the damper setting, but whenever I do I seem to drop speed.

From a logical point of view, changing the drag factor is like changing the gear on a bicycle.
The concept2 is measuring the resistance (by measuring the speed loss of the flywheel) each time between the pulls and calculates the drag factor.
The PM3 multiplies the count of the flywheel rotations with the drag factor to calculate your speed.

If the drag factor is to low or too high for your rowing technique then you will loose speed.
It's helpful to play around with the drag factor from time to time. I started (like almost every beginner) with setting the damper to 10. Now it's set to a drag factor between 130 and 140.

Raoul

[AJx]

I don't know if this will help but, I set my drag factor to around 110-115 for lower rated pieces (20-25) as this tends to put more emphasis on the legs at the catch.
for quicker intervals (such as 8x500m, 5x1500m etc.) which rate higher (28-32) I set the drag to lwt (as i'm ~68kg) so around 125-130.

[mikvan52]

(late comer to the discussion)

I have found that it is often good training to keep the drag factor quite low (below 110) in order to see if my form is up to engaging the flywheel quickly at the catch... (higher drag disguises bad catches {novices})
RenownedcCoaches Gluckman & Muri (C2 gurus) 1st suggested this to me years ago... It has helped stay on top of my (older) age/wt. group..

I also hear that the the US National team uses such a prescription in their training... and.. they row on sliders... or used to...

By the way, my erg scores do not vary much either way. (mid or low drag)..... I really like the lower load that low drag factor affords.... it feels more like the 1x...