How to set target SPM/Stroke Cadence?

[MediumRare]

I have seen conflicting information on the ideal SPM for rowing on the Concept2. Some say 22-27 is ideal, but I see some record holders (at least in sprints) are up to 47 or even 50. Personally, I find it hard to row any speed much different from 30 to 32 for very long, although I haven't really played with the DF much to see how that might affect my rowing. What are your thoughts?

[Bob S.]

I have seen conflicting information on the ideal SPM for rowing on the Concept2. Some say 22-27 is ideal, but I see some record holders (at least in sprints) are up to 47 or even 50. Personally, I find it hard to row any speed much different from 30 to 32 for very long, although I haven't really played with the DF much to see how that might affect my rowing. What are your thoughts?

There is no ideal, since it depends on other factors. Long rows, short rows, races and time trials, warm ups, cool downs, training for various purposes, just plain exercise - each can call for different SPMs. For some training rows, the SPM can be varied over a wide range. I've used as low as 12 as part of an early morning wake up piece, as high as 40 in a 500m time trial, and as high as 60 just to see how high I could go using the dynamic model.

Another factor is the anatomy of the rower. Rowers who are short and/or have short limbs will have relatively short stroke lengths and will use a higher stroke rate to compensate for that. For very heavy rowers, high rates are a disadvantage in that there is more unmeasured energy used in switching the the body's momentum back and forth. This last factor is less important on the dynamic model or a regular model on slides than it is on a static machine, since there is less movement of the body.

For the most part there is no good answer to your problem other than doing a lot of personal tests.

For my own exercise, I try to match my SPM to my intended pace, using what I have determined to be my optimum work done per stroke, i.e. wattage divided by SPM (in my case a paltry 5 watt-minutes/stroke which equals 600 joules/stroke).

[MediumRare]

Bob, thanks for your comments.

To clarify/simplify, let's assume we're looking for maximum performance (race or TT) at 500m and 5,000m. If you feel body type is a major factor, let's just say 5'10" and 160 lbs. That should be about average for fit LTs, I think. But please feel free to be more specific if you think it's important.

[gregsmith01748]

Here is a related thread where folks posted the stroke rates for their PBs at different distances.

http://www.c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11603

Your mileage may vary, but as a 5'10" rower they should be pretty close.

I tend to do my endurance rowing at 19/20, 5K between 26 and 28, 2K at 32 to 34. I'm not a great sprinter, but with some practice, I got my stroke rate up to 40 for a half decent 500. Some sprinters are able to be efficient at even higher rates, but I just thrash about madly and go more slowly.

[MediumRare]

Greg, thanks for that great link. It seems several folks are noting a general trend with a slower spm for longer events and higher spm for shorter events. I understand better how this applies exclusively to TTs, where head-to-head races would have a totally different dynamic.

As more of a sprinter-type myself I will look into experimenting with higher rates.

[jamesg]

Rating or stroke rate is the ratio between the amount of power you want to produce and the amount of work you want, or can, put into each stroke. Your training schedule will provide these numbers as also the distance or time to go.

For example your coach or your Interactive might say something like: 30 minutes, rate 20, 150W.
http://therowingcompany.com/training/interactive

Ratings are usually 18-20 for warm-up, 20-25 for Lactate work, 25-30 for race-cruise, 30 up for short intervals, starts and sprints. Power (Watts) in proportion.

Low drag will help you pull a long and effective stroke without exhaustion, and can make you sweat plenty even at rate 20. This is called LSS and is the backbone of Lactate training.