Recommendations on how to get started?

[korichards]

Yay! Just picked up a Model C on Craigslist - $400, and really lightly used (as in, just a shade under 17000 metres). So, I'm well pleased with that.

About myself: 42 yrs, male, 6'5" and 245pds. Not fit at all, cardio-wise. Looking to get going with the erg to increase cardio fitness, and don't know quite where to begin.

I've found Pete's Plan through browsing this forum, and there's a "beginners" section there. Is this well regarded? Does anyone have another beginners' plan they'd be willing to share? I'm looking to row 3 or 4 times a week, to start.

Any and all advice appreciated.

[SirWired]

Wow... that C2 is pretty much brand new (I row about that much in a single workout), and that's a killer deal for it! The only maintenance I imagine it might possibly need in the near future is a new shock cord, since the one you have is simply old. (Elastic loses it's stretch over time, even without any work being done with it.) You also might want to oil the chain according to the maint. instructions with either C2 chain oil (available for cheap from C2, but you have to pay shipping) or 20W motor oil.

In any case, I'd start with the "Getting Started" stuff in the current Concept2 US training guide, available from the C2 website. Once you have gotten the hang of it for a few weeks, then you can consider starting one of the training plans... the beginner Pete's Plan, the plan in the C2 US Training Guide, the 2k Interactive Programme on the C2 UK website, or the 2k training plan in the C2 UK Training Guide. (The C2 UK Training guide is excellent, and far more comprehensive than the US version... you can download it free from www.concept2.co.uk )

Please, Please, watch all the technique videos on the C2 website also... technique is very important both for good times and to prevent injury. You can hurt yourself in a hurry if you try to row quickly with poor technique.

Speaking for myself (I'm also a bit of a beginner), my current "Training Plan" is a bunch of long rows at the so-called "UT1" training band. (From the C2 UK Guide.) Once my performance on those rows plateaus, I'll consider myself to have a usable cardiac and muscular base from which to start an actual training plan.

[korichards]

Thanks, SirWired! Didn't know that about the shock cord, so I'll look into it. I'll get some 20 weight oil tomorrow. Yes, I agree with you that the UK site is more comprehensive.

Technique is something I'm somewhat obsessing over now - I think it's so easy to row away with improper technique, but that the effort expended in getting it right will be well worth it.

Agree on the incredibly low mileage (kilometreage?). The gent I bought it from explained its history on the phone to me before I went over to buy it - his son was "into" rowing at Upper Canada College (one of the most prestigious private schools in Canada), and apparently trained on this after school. Well, I think the boy was spending his time on something else! There was a bit of a cloud I saw pass over the sellers' face when I said it was barely used . . .

[jamesg]

As said, technique. Training plans have no meaning if you don't first learn to row, because it's the rowing stroke that makes us work. The plans only tell you how many to pull.

The main topics in rowing are as follows; trust I've not forgotten anything critical that plenty of folks here can mention.

Warm-up. This is the first thing we do on the erg and always essential. As a stroke, just hands and swing forward can be enough, then slowly adding some leg use as you like, after the swing forward. This procedure is also called the back-stop drill. A good warm-up is a great help if and when we do decide to work hard.

Recovery. The recovery sequence is, with back straight at all times: hands away, then swing forward, then increasing knees up until shins are vertical. It's important because it puts us into a strong position for the catch.

Drag. Keep it low if not very low, just above zero, so that the pull can be quick and there's plenty of time to recover.

Stroke. A good stroke lets us work as hard as we like and get our HR up, even at low ratings (18-26) but will not be so hard as to stop us pulling at 40 (once we've learnt how).

Life. We'll all stop sooner or later, but the time before we can stop erging is measured in decades. Suggest you start your erg life by keeping the drag low, pulling full length strokes, without excessive force - hence the low drag. Do NOT try to work hard or to go fast to start with, long and slow is far better and more useful. Anyone can sprint 50 yards to catch a train; problems appear when the station is a two mile walk away.

Control. Can be HR, if you're unfit (keep it low but use HR range), or pace/Watts once you've learnt how and start to get fit.

[hjs]

Anyone can sprint 50 yards to catch a train; problems appear when the station is a two mile walk away.

It is more the other way around. Almost nobody can really sprint.

[korichards]

Thanks jamesg and hjs. I will focus hard on technique. So far, it seems as if my biggest issues are in the recovery. What type of stroke rate should I be targeting? Does it even matter, or should I just go with what's comfortable right now? (Which seems to be around 20 - 22 spm.)