Brand new to rowing - 7 min 2k possible? Effect of damper?

[thewagster]

Hello whippet,
Whilst I can't really offer too many words of wisdom - I can say that in the last few weeks I to have decided that I may attempt this feet.
This is after starting rowing in earnest in June 2018. I have rowed 1.1mill metres , and done lots of work so far. I am 56, and slightly heavier than you around 195lb, and 190cm.
My first 2km was 9.03, and I can pretty comfortably now row 7.40 , and repeat 3 2km at around 7.50.
I have just attempted this week a on and achieved a 7.33. I feel I am on the cusp of a move to 7.20, and feel I can row 4 lots of 1.50.
You will to start interval work of 500m and reduce the rest times - whilst also rowing at a rate faster than your goal. In between do lots of slower endurance rows and throw in a few lbs as well at other distances to give you motivation.
I am really stoked as today I realised that I can blue tooth my phone to the PM5 monitor and actually look at my splits.
For example today I rowed 6 500m with a 90s r each one around 1.51. Some more work and a reduced rest time down to a minute will hopefully see me able to do 10repeats at 1.50.
This is still a world away from 10 repeats at 1.45!!
Anyway good luck - and enjoy the attempt - I know I am.

[jimmyshand]

Will I do my next row and see my time go down a lot just by moving to a lower setting - given what I have done on 10?
Is a 7 min 2k totally doable for a 5'10" skinny guy - if I put the effort in and train, of course

Many thanks for any pointers/reassurance!

I am no expert, and it's hard to answer the question without knowing fully the current situation but if you were REALLY unfit now then taking big chunks of time off will be possible, but a whole minute is a huge job. No harm in aiming high though.

Anyway, you've seen what everyone else has said and it's good advice so I will just say a couple of things.

1. Get used to figuring out the relationship between drag factor and damper setting because it can vary hugely between machines. On some machines in gyms you can find they are very poorly maintained and I even found some with a drag factor of under 100 on damper 10. This is caused by dust built up. I am a bigger guy but I like about DF115 for the 2k. Take some time to experiment with what feels best.

2. I think it might be better for motivation in the short term for you to look at the rankings for your age and weight category and then filter by country or whatever else and then you could shoot for, say, the 50th or 75th percentile and try to beat the times of the people immediately above. I tend to find it helpful to think in terms of 5 second chunks, now that I understand how big a leap it is from e.g. 7:00 to 6:50 in terms of power. I look at people pulling sub-6:45 and consider myself to be miles away from that, even though I'm only just over 6 seconds away from them.

Enjoy the pain!

[Carl Watts]

I would say that rower your using is in desperate need of a clean.The flywheel cover needs to come off and all the dust removed, especially from the flywheel cover.

You state your on a damper setting of 10 but what is the drag factor on the monitor coming up with ?

I'm rowing with a DF of about 134 on the monitor which is like a damper setting of 5 1/2. The fastest pace I can hit is 1:28 going at 42spm because its too low for sprint work but great for regular training rows of 30min to 10K.

The damper position is not directly related to the actual drag factor the monitor uses to do all the pace calculations. The damper is adjusted to give you your DF which you can then keep as a constant moving between different rowers in various states of "Clean"

[OregonERG]

I have randomly decided I'd like to work towards rowing a sub 7 minute 2k - a goal I read somewhere as being a good benchmark for fitness. I've never rowed before, not a big guy etc.

Did you ever do another attempt at sub-7? How has the last year been going for you?

[mitchel674]

I have randomly decided I'd like to work towards rowing a sub 7 minute 2k - a goal I read somewhere as being a good benchmark for fitness. I've never rowed before, not a big guy etc.

Did you ever do another attempt at sub-7? How has the last year been going for you?

The OP hasn't posted anything since the original two posts in February, 2019. Trying to engage him in conversation at this point would seem a futile endeavor.

[OregonERG]

I have randomly decided I'd like to work towards rowing a sub 7 minute 2k - a goal I read somewhere as being a good benchmark for fitness. I've never rowed before, not a big guy etc.

Did you ever do another attempt at sub-7? How has the last year been going for you?

The OP hasn't posted anything since the original two posts in February, 2019. Trying to engage him in conversation at this point would seem a futile endeavor.

Thanks! I was drawn to this thread because I was the opposite type of rower... coming into the sport from marathons and swimming, so I thought sub-7 would also be a good goal for me too. I rowed 7:08 on my first real attempt and thought I would progress a lot. It has taken me massive amounts of effort to go 6:59 (three times total) but even that has been brutally hard. Yet, all my longer distances improved nicely through training... I think the power side of the stroke (all the stuff under 1:45 pace) is very hard for me while the endurance side of Erging (1:50ish) is in my wheelhouse. Anyway, I always sniff around these sub-7 threads since I have a lot to learn.

p.s. I row with the DF and damper in the "normal range" so I don't think I need to worry about that.

[Dangerscouse]

Thanks! I was drawn to this thread because I was the opposite type of rower... coming into the sport from marathons and swimming, so I thought sub-7 would also be a good goal for me too. I rowed 7:08 on my first real attempt and thought I would progress a lot. It has taken me massive amounts of effort to go 6:59 (three times total) but even that has been brutally hard. Yet, all my longer distances improved nicely through training... I think the power side of the stroke (all the stuff under 1:45 pace) is very hard for me while the endurance side of Erging (1:50ish) is in my wheelhouse. Anyway, I always sniff around these sub-7 threads since I have a lot to learn.

p.s. I row with the DF and damper in the "normal range" so I don't think I need to worry about that.

At least part of the issue is just getting used to the effort and discomfort of a 2k. It's a different feeling compared to a 60 mins TT for example, and does need preparation.

You're naturally more suited to endurance and the longer distances, so it will be a bit harder for you to adjust. Do you do much training in the 5k - 10k range?

[Simeone1324]

Hey there, this is useful info. I'm 49 and male. Been rowing around 3 weeks and just burnt myself on a 2k @ 7m 40.9. Went off a bit quick and ate like shit yesterday.

I have to say I used to cycle a lot, like up mountains and shiz, and I think that has helped, though I've not ridden for a few years.

I'm aiming for sub 7m 30 in the shorter term but sub 7m in the medium. Thanks guys