Only having the Technogym Skillrow - any advice? Any training advice for me?

[PleaseLockIn]

I am a casual, novice college rower who started this year. Unfortunately, in my university's fitness room there is no Concept 2 rower - only a Technogym Skillrow (well yes there is one in another fitness room in the university but the manager said we can't read the screen for it). How would I try to translate my times from the Skillrow (at resistance 4 in rowing) to the Concept 2?

I managed an 8:39:X 2k (not PB, just trying it with decent effort, okay technique) yesterday. Today I have started the Beginner Pete Plan and have gotten a 23:02:X (not PB, good effort) 5k.

I had a general fitness background - intermural badminton, club-level middle, long distance running. callisthenics, though nothing great. At best you could say I had okay times for my background.

I feel like I need to be more consistent with my times and splits. In the 5k I tried, I had 5 strokes from about 2:25/500m pace to 2:10/500m pace which is very inconsistent. I also need to avoid being bored, which reduced my time significantly and forced me to work harder to maintain ~2:18/500m for 5k.

If I bulk up a few kilos, train hard, would it be possible for me to get sub 8 2k and sub 20 5k by the end of the plan?

[JaapvanE]

I am a casual, novice college rower who started this year. Unfortunately, in my university's fitness room there is no Concept 2 rower - only a Technogym Skillrow (well yes there is one in another fitness room in the university but the manager said we can't read the screen for it). How would I try to translate my times from the Skillrow (at resistance 4 in rowing) to the Concept 2?

As the lead developper of OpenRowingMonitor (the open source counterpart of the PM5) I can tell from experience: you can't do it mathematically. The Skillrow isn't known for its credible metrics. And even if it produced credible metrics and you know all underlying parameters, it still is a different physical machine making it a physiologically different training.

Best approach is to find a place where you can row on a C2, say once a month, and know if you improve on the TechnoGym, you probably will on the C2 as well.

[iain]

If I bulk up a few kilos, train hard, would it be possible for me to get sub 8 2k and sub 20 5k by the end of the plan?

As stated we don't have credible metrics for your starting point. Would be useful to know your height, weight and sex to get an idea. However there is a world of difference between holding sub 2' for 2k and 5k. I suspect most men would hit the former at your age, but the latter is more challenging.

[PleaseLockIn]

In that case, I will attempt to find a place where there is a C2 Row. There may be some nearby gyms at other places in the university.

I am 5'9, 66kg, 18M. A little short compared to most rowers and definitely on the light side, but...

[Tsnor]

You are looking for performance gains. Don't worry about matching your Technogym Skillrow splits to concept2 splits.

Get your form right. (critical so your muscle memory is built on good form, hard to unlearn the bad stuff). If unsure, post.

Get your training right. Talk to your college coach. (1) that gives you access to someone who should know how to train (2) that puts you on their radar scope as someone willing to work. Log your training. Map your improvements using the Technogym Skillrow metrics, they should move in the right direction.

Google "base training". It works the same for cycling, running and rowing. Assuming you are northern hemisphere you are just ending the season (my master team last row was 11/2 - a nice long 17km piece). You'll want a lot of long/slow and 1 hard day per week and weight training. Your college coach can set this up for you.

Does your school have rowing tanks (big water tanks so you can row indoors and work on feathering, catch, etc)? If so see if you can join a coached training session. If your school has tanks they will be used in winter.

You will see a lot of improvement by spring. Good luck. And don't sweat the weird Technogym Skillrow metrics. As long as you can row with good form the Technogym Skillrow will work fine.

edit: FYI NCAA offseason rules are 8 hours/week for weight training, individual workouts/team activities and conditioning supervised by staff with no more than 2 of the 8 hours used for individual workouts/team activities and at least Two days off/week. So your coach will not be giving you a ton of work.

[winniewinser]

I used a Technogym rower for a while in a previous Gym and also had a work Gym C2 to compare it to. I found them to be fairly similar but never really fully tructed the Techno. The feel of the row was pretty good though and no wildly different results like you might get with a water rower.

The user interface was naff and the app never connected to the machine very well. They defo need to work on that.

[gvcormac]

I used a Technogym rower for a while in a previous Gym and also had a work Gym C2 to compare it to. I found them to be fairly similar but never really fully tructed the Techno. The feel of the row was pretty good though and no wildly different results like you might get with a water rower.

The user interface was naff and the app never connected to the machine very well. They defo need to work on that.

I've used them in hotel gyms. They are OK, but I don't like the feel as much. That's with the resistance knob at minumum. You can still feel magnetic resistance weirdness, even with the knob at the lowest.

That said, the experience is close enough that I'm sure there is almost complete crossover training effect. Just don't try to compare the pace numbers.

[winniewinser]

I used a Technogym rower for a while in a previous Gym and also had a work Gym C2 to compare it to. I found them to be fairly similar but never really fully tructed the Techno. The feel of the row was pretty good though and no wildly different results like you might get with a water rower.

The user interface was naff and the app never connected to the machine very well. They defo need to work on that.

I've used them in hotel gyms. They are OK, but I don't like the feel as much. That's with the resistance knob at minumum. You can still feel magnetic resistance weirdness, even with the knob at the lowest.

That said, the experience is close enough that I'm sure there is almost complete crossover training effect. Just don't try to compare the pace numbers.

Yeah I remember the same....close but not cigar.

I'll be using one again in March as the hotel we are going to has one.....so we'll see.

[PleaseLockIn]

Unfortunately I am not in the rowing team but I plan to join it. I do the Beginner Pete Plan - 3 times a week at least, with supplemental training. My school does not have rowing tanks but there are indoor ergs and even a dragonboat erg.

I am using resistance 4 on the Technogym rower - too much? Too little? To me it seems pretty decent although I don't like the magnetic stuff.

Up to now the Beginner Pete Plan seems very structured even for newbies like myself. You don't even need to have rowed 5k before the plan - all you need is an okay 2k and then subtract 6-8 seconds from the split time of the 2k to carry over to the 5k.

I managed to do general cardio (running) and 6x500m rows @ 2:09-2:10 r28 with 2 minute rest. It's not a great time, but now the technique seems slightly easier - less mental effort to have good technique. I often finished those rows with 2:00 strokes or even faster and my timing wasn't too consistent. I settled at a pace slightly slower than 2:09-2:10 (due to boredom) and have to sprint a bit to finish it (but still I had stuff in the tank). I should keep it at the same pace, right? How do I develop the discipline to keep the pace consistent?

[jamesg]

If the SkillRow shows Watts, an ISO standard unit, it has to be accurate. If no Wattage shows, it's guesswork. On a C2 with technique you would see about 150-200W when rowing at rate 20, or time 2+ minutes per 500m (=Pace 2:00 - 2:20) or maybe 1.5 to 2W/kg. Adjust for age or extreme weight.

Make sure you are using standard rowing technique; it's much easier if you know how. Training plans do not tell you how to row. Presumably there are coaches somewhere, since rowing, being a sport, starts with learning how it's done.

An 8 minute 2k should be easy. I got to near 7 minutes (300W) when over 60 with nothing more than a few months of 5ks and decent technique learnt at school 40 years before.

[JaapvanE]

If the SkillRow shows Watts, an ISO standard unit, it has to be accurate.

Sorry, as someone who has adapted OpenRowingMonitor to dozens of types of machines I can tell this expectation/statement is completely unrealistic. Even the C2 PM5 has significant accuracy issues, as University of Ulm's report shows.

Looking at the rest of the field (aside the usual suspects C2, RP3 and SmartRow) metrics displayed are typically complete nonsense. Most of them don't even measure dragfactor, including some well regarded brands. Even brands like NordicTrack/iFit have a fixed dragfactor that is only validated on the highest DF (450!), according to their manual. Displaying nonsense in some SI metric doesn't change anything of its credibility. For example Xebex machines are notorious as you can easily pull a 1:20/500m for an hour. People buy an excercise machine that gives some indication of progress, and an external developer on a tight budget delivered that. WorldRowing has started a certification process for a reason, and this is it.

[PleaseLockIn]

The Skillrow shows Watts although not directly comparable to the C2.

I did Day 3 - I went a little too fast, going 3707m in 17:00, then slowing down to 5000m in 23:01. A big problem that I have is being too bored in parts of the rowing so I slow down a bit too much, then when I realise I am falling behind i have to move faster. It's an issue as I use up more energy than I otherwise would need to use.

At least my rate is 23, lowering my rate, focusing on the efficiency of each stroke. But my CNS is tired. Should I try to keep the rate at 24?

Any help with mental discipline? Do you have any music to suggest for these long rows? It's not physically very demanding - but it does train my mental discipline. And that is most important.

[JaapvanE]

Any help with mental discipline? Do you have any music to suggest for these long rows? It's not physically very demanding - but it does train my mental discipline. And that is most important.

I use the EXR app on a tablet to keep me occupied, but I don't know if the skillrow is compatible.

[PleaseLockIn]

I'll try it tomorrow or next week, but if it's not compatible, do you have any music playlists for me to listen to for the long-distance work? Any apps that show how many meters above or below your target pace you are?

Do you have any advice for supplemental weight training with the erg to build up muscles not trained by the erg? Bench press, dips, hamstring curls, shoulder press and neck curls?

[JaapvanE]

I'll try it tomorrow or next week, but if it's not compatible,

It is compatible, see https://exrgame.com/support/technogym

do you have any music playlists for me to listen to for the long-distance work?

see https://exrgame.com/blog/article/rowing ... ns-anthems

Any apps that show how many meters above or below your target pace you are?

EXR can do that, just make a personal training schedule.

Do you have any advice for supplemental weight training with the erg to build up muscles not trained by the erg? Bench press, dips, hamstring curls, shoulder press and neck curls?

I do bench press schoulder press, biceps and triceps once a week, but I also practice Judo three hours a week, so my schedule isn't too much focussed on gaining strength.