Hi, and a couple questions.

foolsquirrel · Post by **foolsquirrel** » April 4th, 2006, 10:44 am

Hi, all. I am a newcomer to erging. I first took up erging because the rowers in the gym were the only equipment I could always use without waiting. But I like it very much now, and would like to improve my time. I sit in front of a computer maybe 10 hours a day, and haven’t been working out for several months (I wasn’t very fit before that). All in all, I am not in a very good shape, which reflects on my erging. I did a couple of 8:00 rows yesterday, and could only manage an average of 2:22/500m at 24-25spm. I hope I can improve and get sub-8 for 2k in a couple of months, by first trying to get down to 20spm and get my technique right, and then lowering the split time from there. Does this sound realistic? Any advice?

I also have a question about my back. After the workout yesterday, I am feeling fine except for a sore back. I tried to pivot from the hips and keep my back straight. But I don’t know if I did it right. Or the back sore is caused by using my back muscles correctly, I am not sure. I often slouch in my office chair, and I know my back muscles are not strong. I just want to know if anybody else has had back sore caused by using the muscles, not by poor form. Or should I find someone to look at my technique?

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

Ning

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » April 4th, 2006, 11:31 am

Yes I think going under 8:00 is realistic, most people make huge gains when they start out.

I would consider the almost standard advice given here: lower the damper lever on the side down to 3 or so. Most new rowers in gyms seem to row at 10. Think of 3 as a fast boat and 10 as a slow boat. The lower damper setting/drag setting should reduce strain on the back, and require you to be quicker (a good thing).

Also, I would try rowing strapless. Don't strap your feet in. They will give a good clue as to how your technique is, and also enforces good back posture. Many of us row strapless for all or almost all training.

Getting advice on technique is a good idea. There are many posts here and on the older forum on this. Xeno's DVD, or even the C2 video, would be a good to view. Xeno has a clip of him rowing in his signature too.

Ben Rea · Post by **Ben Rea** » April 4th, 2006, 11:33 am

2:22 is just fine! if you want to get your 2k sub-8 in a couple months I recomend not going down to 20spm, it may only hurt your score, your spm are fine right now, mayb some of the guys in here could get you set up with a nice 2k plan.

RowtheRockies · Post by **RowtheRockies** » April 4th, 2006, 11:44 am

foolsquirrel,

I am a relative newcomer to erging as well (Dec. 2005) so I am by no means an expert or as experienced as some on the forum. As far as your back goes, it could be a form problem but I know for me I had a soar back for about two weeks and then it went away so you may just want to give it some time. Having someone knowledgeable about proper technique look at your form would be a great idea if you can find such a person.

As for improving your 2K time, what has worked for me is to do a couple of speed sessions a week. If 2:22/500 is your fastes pace right now for 2K then do 4 X 500M at 2:22 or a couple of seconds faster with about a minute rest in between. The minute rest works for me as I wear a heart rate monitor and it allows my HR to get back down to about 120 before starting the next 500M. You may need more time. Try working up from 4 to 6 reps. One strategy is to do the first 5 reps at your current 2K fastest pace and then let it rip for the last rep. Then the next time you do it, use your average for all 6 reps from the previous session as your time for the first 5 reps then let it rip again on the sixth and so on. Re-test yourself every couple of weeks and readjust your average for your speed sessions based on your new PR

Good Luck!

foolsquirrel · Post by **foolsquirrel** » April 4th, 2006, 2:13 pm

Thank you everyone for your kind words and excellent advice. I should've included more details in the original post, so that I don't waste everybody's time (sorry, michaelb). I have learned a lot about erging since I stumbled onto this forum last week, and I have benifit much from it.
In the last two sessions, I lowered the resistance to 2-3 from 10 (:oops:). Being a small build, I am working at a DF of around 110. I have also tried rowing strapless in the last two sessions. The first session was a disaster: I was unbalanced, couldn't really drive with my legs because I couldn't compress enough at the end of recovery, almost fell off from the seat on occasions. I had a hard time just keeping a 2:30 split time at 26-27spm. In the second session, just one day later, I felt much more coordinated, and managed a better split time at a lower spm.
I think I will give my back some more time to get used to the workout (RowtheRockies, it's good to know there are people who had the same experience as me), and maybe shoot some videos for you guys to critique when I get my hands on a camera(the mirrors in my gym are all in the weight-lifting section, so I can't see myself rowing.

) The speed sessions is a good idea, I will incorporate them in my workouts. More advice are welcome. For now, happy erging.

RowtheRockies · Post by **RowtheRockies** » April 4th, 2006, 2:20 pm

foolsquirrel,

I am a relative newcomer to erging as well (Dec. 2005) so I am by no means an expert or as experienced as some on the forum. As far as your back goes, it could be a form problem but I know for me I had a soar back for about two weeks and then it went away so you may just want to give it some time. Having someone knowledgeable about proper technique look at your form would be a great idea if you can find such a person.

As for improving your 2K time, what has worked for me is to do a couple of speed sessions a week. If 2:22/500 is your fastes pace right now for 2K then do 4 X 500M at 2:22 or a couple of seconds faster with about a minute rest in between. The minute rest works for me as I wear a heart rate monitor and it allows my HR to get back down to about 120 before starting the next 500M. You may need more time. Try working up from 4 to 6 reps. One strategy is to do the first 5 reps at your current 2K fastest pace and then let it rip for the last rep. Then the next time you do it, use your average for all 6 reps from the previous session as your time for the first 5 reps then let it rip again on the sixth and so on.

Good Luck!

Hapa · Post by **Hapa** » April 4th, 2006, 2:47 pm

Ning,

As has been suggested, if you can find someone knowledgeable to critique, that's always a good thing. If you're focusing on technique, unless you're missing something (which will help to have someone critique), it is quite possible it's just the normal soreness/pain associated with starting up a new activity. To avoid overdoing it and possibly injuring yourself, make sure you're warming up really well which could be up to 15 minutes just on a warm up, very light pressure, slow pace, stretching after your warm up and also making sure you stretch after every workout. When I started erging again after about a year break, I had to be very careful as my back was having some pain in a specific spot where I strained a muscle before (not fun, thought it might be herniated). So, I was pretty paranoid about not having that happen again. Forcing myself to make sure my muscles were properly warmed up and stretched out, and stretching afterward helped me get through the first month or two until my back remembered what it was like to be in shape.

(Also helps when I work on my posture at work since I'm also in front of a computer for 8 - 10 hrs a day)

Aiko