New Rower

[sidbayless]

Following much of the above advice. I'm now rowing 6.5K/day, and have gotten down to 22 s/m. I just read a post about damper levels on the main page that said try for 26-28 s/m. Why are they suggesting such a high s/m? At any rate, feeling good, increasing time and distance.

[Dangerscouse]

I can only assume that the 26/28 suggestion is for a TT at a longer distance, (probably 5k-10k) also damper levels are referring to drag factor not stroke rate.

Higher rates are still important but they need to be used in context. Steady state sessions are best at 18-22 as they invariably will be longer distances but if you want to try and set a PB you will need to increase the rate.

Also don't forget that there will always be some people that work better, and achieve more, not following the usual rules. It's all about finding what works best for you, but mastering a broad range of stroke rates is very important as you can then decide from experience rather than assumptions.

[sidbayless]

Thanks, makes sense. Did my first 10K today. Probably was around 23 s/m avg. I'm exhausted.

[jimmyshand]

Thanks, makes sense. Did my first 10K today. Probably was around 23 s/m avg. I'm exhausted.

Sounds like you are making good progress. 18-22spm feels really weird and unnatural at first, and impossibly slow but I do about 80% of my rowing at about that. Once you do it for a week or so and for longer distances, it should become second nature and with more metres your fitness will really improve and your stroke will too.

But it does feel really weirdly slow at first!