Noob question on how to hit 7500m in 30min

[Boomer]

Hi
I bought a new model D 2 a few months ago having never rowed before. I was struggling to hit 6000m in 30min in May, but after reading some blogs, trying to get my breathing right and dropping SPM and drag, I have got my distance up to 7155m this week (drag 6, SPM 25)

I was hoping to hit 7500m in 30 min before the end of the year but my current rate of improvement has slowed to 10-15m a week and this might be missed. Does anyone have any advice on what I can do to start increasing the distance again? i currently train 2-3 times a week and general do a 5min warm-up and 30mins row.

[Mark E]

"general do a 5min warm-up and 30mins row"

Nothing wrong with a solid 30 minute effort, but most people see real improvements when they add a mix of shorter/harder intervals along with steady work like you're already doing.

One day a week (to start anyway), try something like 5 X 500 meters at a higher effort and stroke rate, with a few minutes of very easy rowing between the efforts.

Also, mix in a long, very easy row to your weekly routine. Like 60 minutes at your 30-minute pace + 20 seconds. Starts out feeling very easy, ends up being challenging. Loud music strongly recommended.

I'm just coming back to rowing myself after a long time away from it, but I can tell you that the training for all endurance sports is essentially the same. Be it running, swimming, cycling, rowing or whatever ... every training plan boils down to a mix of some intensity with structured intervals, some steady state medium efforts, and a few long low-intensity workouts.

It's all just different names for heavy breathing.

[Boomer]

Thanks Mark.
I’ll give your suggestions a go. It will be interesting to mix things up a bit.

[mdpfirrman]

Your Drag you mention at 6 is actually a damper setting. Drag factor depends on the rower (how dirty/clean the fan is). You can check DF on your machine by looking it up on the PM. This is how to do it for the PM 5.

https://www.concept2.com/service/monito ... rag-factor

You may be using too high of a DF. Most use between 105 to 115. Damper 6 might be a bit higher than that. That could certainly contribute to a rougher row. I'd also consider just varying your workout. Improvements will come with more rowing. If you don't do the same row 3X a week, you also might see improvement. For instance, maybe 5 X 5 minutes, 3 minutes rest one day, 30 minute hard row the next (maybe rate restricted one week, hard the next), an easier 45 minute row the next. Going hard every row will stagnate you. You need to push some days and other days not as hard. Obviously, the more days you can row (more meters), you'll see improvements quicker. 7500 is a nice basic benchmark to hit. It took me around a year (I think) to hit that mark and I still have never hit 10K in under 40 minutes (mostly because I'm adverse to pain!) but it's something I'm working on this year.

Goals are meant to be adjusted. You're improving and you're getting in better aerobic shape every row. Sometimes the progress sneaks up on you or you hit a wall and then break through it. Just be patient with it and try different workouts and find what you enjoy.

[G-dub]

You have good size for rowing and not too old yet (compared to many of us), so it should all come together with decent effort. As you mention, making meters is the key. 15K a week is on the light side, but we all have to work with what we can fit in. If you are doing 15K because you are getting tired, then you need to step the effort back and go slower to go longer (and ultimately faster). If you can muster the effort and time, I think doing some 40’ Rows at comfortable pace (as in breathing out of your nose or being able to talk) as many times a week as can would be worthwhile. I might also do something like 3 x 10’ with 2-3’ minutes rest between each interval once a week to work on increasing your pace, strength and tolerance. You might also work a little on technique, you want to be able to pull long strong strokes with a nice easy recovery. Good technique will let you pull more power per stroke.

But really, a 30’ row at 2:00pace is mostly about getting more aerobically fit, which simply requires time in the seat.

[lindsayh]

The easy answer is that you need more meters - 30' 2-3 times a weeks isn't enough to gain the level of fitness to maintain improvement yo have seen so far. Do 45-60 minutes 4 times a week - not continuous needed - could do 10-15'/2'R for example 3-6 times
Learn about drag factor rather than damper setting - on a new machine 6 is likely to be about 140+ and therefore too high especially for longer distance training as most are at say 110-125
Make sure technique is solid.
Read the newbie threads here - lots of good stuff.
Have a look at the 5k Pete Plan sessions for some good ideas.
Some shorter harder intervals at sub2:00 pace without racing the stroke will help habituate to what is needed

good luck - it is definitely achievable

[jamesg]

You need to learn to row. High drag is probably holding you back, forcing you into a short, rushed stroke. To see what we are doing, w have to look at Watts and rating; the ratio is Work. !0 should be easy for you.

As well as low drag, low feet for someone your height is essential. See the C2 tachnique video.

To get fit we have to work hard; and good technique makes the work very hard indeed, that's what it's for.

[Boomer]

Perfect thanks guys. So in summary:
lower the drag setting.
Do more sessions
Mix up shorter HIT sessions with 40-60 min sessions.

[JerekKruger]

lower the drag setting.

Yes, but read up a bit on drag factor and how to make the rower display it (see Mike's (mdpfirrman's) post for details). The same damper setting on two different rowers can give very different drag factors (due to build up of dust, differences in atmospheric pressure etc.) so checking and setting your drag factor is a good habit to get into (given it's your rower you probably don't need to do it more than once a week since it won't change much from day to day; in a gym you'd want to check it every session).

Don't get worried about getting it dead on however: you won't feel any real difference between 113 and 115 for example.

[jimmyshand]

Perfect thanks guys. So in summary:
lower the drag setting.
Do more sessions
Mix up shorter HIT sessions with 40-60 min sessions.

The good thing is that it sounds like you can make gains without too much more effort if you get the drag factor right. I personally found it useful to do one whole session experimenting with different drag settings (e.g. try 750 metres at at different drag settings to see how it feels - it should go from feeling too 'loose' to very sluggish). I normally use a drag factor of about 115 for 30 minute rows but it varies from person to person so it's probably best to experiment and find what feels best.

Working on your technique will help a lot too, including filming yourself and posting it here for diagnostic purposes. Doing longer sessions might seem tough at first but the way I looked at it was that if I was going to do 30 minutes and get hot and sweaty anyway then another 10 wasn't much more sacrifice, but of course we all have different time constraints.

With more metres, optimised drag and improved technique (if necessary) I'd be surprised if you didn't make significant gains in the relatively near future.

[Dangerscouse]

I agree with all of these comments. The only thing I will add is that you will need to accept it will hurt and you will want to stop, but you have to find the desire to accept it and push on regardless.

Those tough moments will pass fairly quickly. It won't feel like it at the time, but unless I'm really going at an unsustainable pace, it always improves eventually. The increase in pain isn't a linear path, as your mind accepts it's happening when it realises you're not stopping and it's not going to kill you, it changes from 'flight' to 'fight'

Best of luck with it

[jamesg]

Perfect thanks guys. So in summary:
lower the drag setting.
Do more sessions
Mix up shorter HIT sessions with 40-60 min sessions.

You also need to see what you are doing. 200 Watts at rating 20 could be an easy initial target. It will involve learning to row, using your height and potential stroke length.

Having no coach, we can know what we are doing only by watching the Watt and rating readouts.

[Boomer]

Thanks guys, I’m humbled by all your advice, it’s really appreciated.

I can see some big numbers and low times on your signatures so I get an idea of what is humanly possible with some hard work...and several years of training no doubt. I’ll let you know how I get on.

[Cyclingman1]

A key piece of information that is missing is the fitness background of the poster. For a person who has been reasonably active, 7500m in 30 min is not too tall of an order. Otherwise, it could be.

I think that it is only fair to the poster to say that there is no one way to tackle his task. Getting to 7500m in 30min can be done with definite variations in training. One thing is fairly certain, doing the exact row 2-3 times a week is definitely sub-optimal. However, I would contend that 90min a week is sufficient time, but the trick is in how the time is used. One thing to know is that the target distance is seldom done in training. Probably, once a week a 40' row should be done slower than target pace [2:00]. The remaining time is used in a series of intervals, generally faster than target pace, although some may be at target pace. The distance, pace, and rest time of the intervals need to be picked wisely. Different aspects of fitness are worked on based on those three parameters. No attempt is being made here to devise an exact program. But getting fit is work.

Re drag factor and SPM. One cannot be sluggish on a rower, which too high of a drag will cause. One needs to be zippy. As far as SPM, there are tons of people who do not row at 20 SPM and do just fine. Full, long strokes with good power are needed. Fitness, itself, is a factor in SPM. The fitter one is, the less recovery is needed. I personally would not be concerned with one doing close to 30 SPM assuming good technique is being used. However, in many cases a beginner cannot sustain that rate.

I'll just throw this out there for amusement sake. Ten weeks after I started rowing in Jan, 2012, at the end of March, I did 8295m in 30min at 33 SPM at 145 DF at age 66, 76", 195 lb. My training in 2012 consisted of an avg of 16K, 63 min a week. However, I was an athlete going into rowing. Many years of running and cycling, including years of competing in duathlons [run,bike,run]. Nonetheless, I did not follow the model particularly closely being suggested by many. One further note, I have become essentially disabled at the end of 2017. No rowing, which is killing me. Jim G

[Boomer]

A key piece of information that is missing is the fitness background of the poster. For a person who has been reasonably active, 7500m in 30 min is not too tall of an order. Otherwise, it could be.

I'll just throw this out there for amusement sake. Ten weeks after I started rowing in Jan, 2012, at the end of March, I did 8295m in 30min at 33 SPM at 145 DF at age 66, 76", 195 lb.

I thought I was quite fit until I just read that a 66 year old outrowed me by 1000m after 3 months training with a 145 DF!

Having said that I just took the advice on this thread and dropped to 115 DF and did 7360 so 7500 isn’t too far away!