How do you focus?

[old wobbler]

OK.

As a 'newbie' to training in the modern age, I am struggling.

Way back in the 1990's all we had was the PM2 on the rower to see time, distance and time/500 meters and watts. We didnt have heart rate monitors or smart watches. You just jumped on the rower and rowed. Kept at what felt good and that was that. I learnt over time to keep a steady pace on the time/500 meter info.

Roll to today and theres the PM5, heart rate monitors, smart watches, Apps etc etc etc

The last 12 years I have been a couch potato! So I am very unfit. Add in i'm 5'10", heavy, have old injuries and 63 years old so please don't judge my data I am sharing.

12 years ago I was time trailing on a racing push bike. 10 miles in 29 minutes at 53. (Standard time was 26 minutes so I was slow.) I could sprint at 37 mph over a mile. (My legs were much stronger then too without the knee injury.)

Today....I've been back on a rower 29 days.

I can jump on and row at 2.40 minute 500m breathing through my nose and row that pace for an hour quite happily. Drop to 3.10 and I find its way too easy. I go up to 2.30 for 500m and I can keep that going for 30 minute but I am breathing though my mouth, getting a sweat on. Push up to 2.10 for 500 meters and I can only keep that going for 5-10 minutes before I am a bag of jelly and want to drop back. I can row a 1.37/500 meters rate but my chest wants to explode, I'm out of breath for less than a minute and I cant hold it any longer or faster.

I am using a Polar A370 smart watch. (Its a hand down from the wife.) I've used it for the last 30 days. It has set a heart rate score as per the 220-age for heart rate zones. So if I row in zone 1 on the watch I am 3.16/500 meters and wonder why I am rowing. Zone 2 is 3.00/500 meters and its way too easy. Zone 3 is my 2.45 minute/500 meter range. 2.30/500 meter is zone 4 and above 2.10 is zone 5.

If I dont turn the PM5 on and just row my row I seem fine. If I put the PM5 on but cover it so I am not following anything just rowing I cant hold any steady pace at all. Adding in the Polar watch I cant see anything on my wrist and it wont attach to the Pm5. I've tried. Add in a Polar OH1+ (I couldn't afford a H10) I can see heart rate on the Pm5 and App.

I've notice that the slower I go the less watts I use and the worse my stroke gets. If I row how I feel I can keep a set time OK but my stroke float between 20 to 23 a minute. If I row and watch the watt counter I try too hard to get the strokes and watt up to 5 or higher and then I am pushing too hard. If I watch the length of meters per stroke (I go by 10 meters per stroke ) I can find that the most consistent way to keep my row calm and effortless.

So adding all the info has caused me a problem. I now have data overload. What should a 'Newbie' like me be looking at to keep focused while rowing but using the technology to help them and see improvements?

Please remember I am only rowing to raise my heart rate for 30 minutes a day to help with general health and lose weight.

[Sakly]

Please remember I am only rowing to raise my heart rate for 30 minutes a day to help with general health and lose weight.

Set the PM5 to the "easy screen" only showing pace and distance/time and row by feel, that's it.

I do blind rows very often, covering the screen and flipping the smartphone, so I don't see any metrics, except remaining distance/time (and HR if I am interested in a specific zone for that piece).

[PleaseLockIn]

For being a month into rowing, even if you had consistent, good training in that month holding 2:10/500m for 5-10 minutes is not bad. Especially for your age. It's even more impressive if you managed it despite piss poor technique and old injuries.

I started the 2:02.x 500m in mid Sep and after a couple random tries on the rower, got an 8:39 2k (holding a bit under 2:10 split for 8 min 39 seconds). And I am much younger than you (though back then my technique was piss poor).

For the 1:37/500m, is this your low pull or a 250m or 1 minute? Even if it's your low pull, that isn't a bad low pull especially just starting out. If 250m then you probably have a cardio issue.

220-age as heart rate zones is flat out inaccurate. The way to measure your max HR, after getting used to the machine, is either doing a ramp test and then going all out (Free rate), or intervals of 2k with 2 min rest. Alternatively, a 30 minute test with a sprint for the last 1-2 minutes. When I did 3*2000m 4R my HR got up to 199 and I still had some in the tank... so in a max HR test make sure to push everything, ignore that central limiter, put some music on. Some rowers pass out and collapse after max HR tests -> that's their real limit (though... probably see a cardiologist first)

Using heart rate reserve (Max HR - rest), then use training bands by UT2 = 55-70% HRR, UT1 = 70-80%, AT = 80-85%, TR = 85-95%, AN = 95-100% may be better suited. Use the talk test - if you can recite around 30-40 words entirely comfortably you probably are at UT2 (below the 1st threshold) if not then above.

I would use the watch, but analyse the HR data after the workout, not before.

The Beginner Pete Plan could very well suit you. 24 weeks. If you row for 30 minutes only in 1 session, I think you can afford to let the HR drift up to UT1.

Anyways as Sakly said, these blind rows like that. Hopefully it helps. If not... well... keep rowing and eventually you'll get the muscle memory

[old wobbler]

For being a month into rowing, even if you had consistent, good training in that month holding 2:10/500m for 5-10 minutes is not bad. Especially for your age. It's even more impressive if you managed it despite piss poor technique and old injuries.

Dont get me wrong, I am done I I keep that pace up. 10 minutes would be an absolute max for me.

For the 1:37/500m, is this your low pull or a 250m or 1 minute? Even if it's your low pull, that isn't a bad low pull especially just starting out. If 250m then you probably have a cardio issue.

I have done one row in the last month when I did the 1.37/500 meter pace. I covered 174 meters and I wish I hadn't. Took a while to come back to normal. I had seen a guy on youtube try to beat Steve Redgrave's pace and wanted to see. I shouldn't have done it.

When I did 3*2000m 4R my HR got up to 199 and I still had some in the tank... so in a max HR test make sure to push everything, ignore that central limiter, put some music on. Some rowers pass out and collapse after max HR tests -> that's their real limit (though... probably see a cardiologist first)

It was one of my issues with cycling and a coach. I will never push myself to 100% max. Its why I was never a pro sports person.

Using heart rate reserve (Max HR - rest), then use training bands by UT2 = 55-70% HRR, UT1 = 70-80%, AT = 80-85%, TR = 85-95%, AN = 95-100% may be better suited. Use the talk test - if you can recite around 30-40 words entirely comfortably you probably are at UT2 (below the 1st threshold) if not then above.

UT2, UT1, AT, TR, AN = Training Zones? Not heard them called this before.

I would use the watch, but analyse the HR data after the workout, not before.

I was thinking more of being able to watch it on the screen and row accordingly to what it shows. I know I cant do it looking at the watch. (I tried and failed.)

The Beginner Pete Plan could very well suit you. 24 weeks. If you row for 30 minutes only in 1 session, I think you can afford to let the HR drift up to UT1.

Anyways as Sakly said, these blind rows like that. Hopefully it helps. If not... well... keep rowing and eventually you'll get the muscle memory

I will look up the Beginner Pete plan (on here I guess.)

Cheers.

[p_b82]

I use the force curve as my goto metric - and the top screen with average pace. My smartphone I have average watts and some duplicates - but the watts are the only thing I look at on that one normally.

i find it helps if I have a plan for the row before I start - whether that's a just row, and "over under" pacing/rate swapping, set time/distance etc; It helps me keep more consistent with my stroke rating and power.

if my force curve is smooth and I've hit my target pace/wattage then it's all good, my HR will end up where it will - I'm not rowing every day, so can do 3xhard efforts a week so do tend to press on; it's normally 2x hard 1x medium though. The few times I do row daily I tend to do 2xhard and then 3x gentle*. I very rarely row on a weekend as i have other chores to crack on with or take myself off hiking.

*gentle being: could do for an hour every day so not ending up as a puddle of sweat at the end, but I will have been breathing through mouth (I always do) and I will have been sweating a bit (again always do). For me that's a HR peaking at 170 (of my observed max ~190). this is right at the tope of zone 4 on the charts, but the effort doesn't feel like that for me, more like a RPE 6/10.
If I'm backing down the pace to 4/10 effort - can go for hours, it is because I am doing just that - which becomes a hard row due to the volume not the pace itself.

I always put music on when rowing, listening to the music and watching the birds in the garden through the window helps me zone out on the easier stuff - quick glimpse to make sure I've not slacked off - if I let my mind wander completely I always slow down.

I got new scales this week, and my weight is now 13st4 (186lbs or 84.3kg) when I got my erg June '22 I was 205lbs/93kg and had gone up 2" on my trousers - I feel I've got my calorie intake a bit wrong recently + work stress and my weight has dropped a bit and I'm feeling a bit flatter and not sleeping as well, so I'm expecting a weight uptick again as I adjust my food intake a touch.

I had been ~192lbs for 18months though - which I feel is about where I should be.

So you don't "have" to row every day to lose weight, but you do need to keep an eye on what goes in more - just a few sweet things will negate 30mins of exercise....

[old wobbler]

I use the force curve as my goto metric - and the top screen with average pace. My smartphone I have average watts and some duplicates - but the watts are the only thing I look at on that one normally.

i find it helps if I have a plan for the row before I start - whether that's a just row, and "over under" pacing/rate swapping, set time/distance etc; It helps me keep more consistent with my stroke rating and power.

if my force curve is smooth and I've hit my target pace/wattage then it's all good, my HR will end up where it will - I'm not rowing every day, so can do 3xhard efforts a week so do tend to press on; it's normally 2x hard 1x medium though. The few times I do row daily I tend to do 2xhard and then 3x gentle*. I very rarely row on a weekend as i have other chores to crack on with or take myself off hiking.

*gentle being: could do for an hour every day so not ending up as a puddle of sweat at the end, but I will have been breathing through mouth (I always do) and I will have been sweating a bit (again always do). For me that's a HR peaking at 170 (of my observed max ~190). this is right at the tope of zone 4 on the charts, but the effort doesn't feel like that for me, more like a RPE 6/10.
If I'm backing down the pace to 4/10 effort - can go for hours, it is because I am doing just that - which becomes a hard row due to the volume not the pace itself.

I always put music on when rowing, listening to the music and watching the birds in the garden through the window helps me zone out on the easier stuff - quick glimpse to make sure I've not slacked off - if I let my mind wander completely I always slow down.

I got new scales this week, and my weight is now 13st4 (186lbs or 84.3kg) when I got my erg June '22 I was 205lbs/93kg and had gone up 2" on my trousers - I feel I've got my calorie intake a bit wrong recently + work stress and my weight has dropped a bit and I'm feeling a bit flatter and not sleeping as well, so I'm expecting a weight uptick again as I adjust my food intake a touch.

I had been ~192lbs for 18months though - which I feel is about where I should be.

So you don't "have" to row every day to lose weight, but you do need to keep an eye on what goes in more - just a few sweet things will negate 30mins of exercise....

Thanks p_b82

My surgery want me to be 72kgs!!!! I haven't been that since I was in my 20's. 85/90 kgs or 14 to 15 stone was my riding weight 10 years ago. My 1990's bodybuilding weight was 100kgs and I was huge then! (Muscle bound. Not good.)

As for what goes in, I am tea total since 1981, I don't smoke either. Food wise I have less than 2000 calories a day. I have had to change my diet, learn how to cook and drop my favourite food. Crisps!!! I have done all the right things the surgery wanted me to do but nothing helped with the weight loss. Getting the rower gives me the work out I can do with minimal impact that helps burn the fat off. I have to be careful as too much impact on the knees will speed up needing new knees. At 115kgs they wont do an operation so its a catch 22.

10 years ago I was told by the specialist 'what the hell have you do with yourself. You have knees of an 80 year old!' I was 53 at the time. I was told then to stop all sport and just be a coach potato so my knees would last my life out. As I have said before, 10 years later I am now diabetic, over weight so something has to be done while trying to not damage me any more.

Pre covid I could ride my sports motorcycle 200 miles and get off without issue. Last year my bike did less than 20 miles all summer! It's just too painful to ride. Walking the dogs in the winter I do about a mile and my knees are screaming in pain from the walking and cold. 30 years ago I used to run a fishing boat. It was launch and recovered from a shingle beach. Think nothing of running up and down the beach working. Now I struggle to walk up the beach from the low tide line without stopping. Today as its warm I managed 3 miles without pain. I've rowed today 4,498 meters in 25 minutes at my personal feel Zone 2 without issues.

[old wobbler]

At the end of every row I take a photo of the PM5. I could post a few pictures but my knowledge of this website and posting pictures online don't seem to coincide to do it.

27th Feb 2025.
7012 meters in 36 minutes and 48 seconds.
2.37.5/500 meter average.
22 s/m ave

This was just with a PM5 and polar watch.

I try and match 2000 m every 10 minutes or as close to that as I can so a lot of my rows are just that target.

[MPx]

Cant help feeling from your posts that you may be expecting a bit too much too quickly from all this.

Erging is a long game - changes happen over months and years - relatively little in a handful of weeks. So the goal here is to find ways to get through the frequent steady state sessions in as enjoyable way as poss, keeping you coming back for more. I'm not talking Time Trials - they require huge focus - but the vast majority of erging time is done at steady state. Stu does a lot with eyes closed, listening to music. Sascha majors on the music and occasionally eyes closed. Nick does an unbelieveably accurate consistent rate/pace - which I assume means concentrating on the numbers. I believe Justin watches films. We are all different. I'm a numbers erger and focus entirely on the PM5 with no distractions (although I do listen to music on the rare occasions I do an hour or HM). I'm always watching and adjusting targets - balancing how I'm feeling, vs original session plan, vs revised plans and target very specific numbers be that Pace, finish time or distance, HR zone, or whatever. Just keeps my mind active and not dwelling on things like why not just stop....

[Nomark]

Please remember I am only rowing to raise my heart rate for 30 minutes a day to help with general health and lose weight.

That may be why you started but it sounds like you've caught the bug a little.

If that statement was still true then the only data you need is your HR. Get it up to the value you want and row for 30 minutes. Easy as that. Pace doesn't matter. Stroke rate doesn't matter. Watts/stroke doesn't matter.

Now, if you actually have started to care about those values and improving in a more systematic way then you might choose to concentrate on some of your technique and pacing. Bear in mind if you raise your HR to a certain level every day for 30 minutes, the pace you go at to get to that level will increase month by month as you get fitter anyway.

So I suggest you reevaluate what you actually want, because you are doing very well already and the information overload doesn't matter for your stated goal. Then you can get some better advice on rating and power and even intervals if you want to go that far.

[Joebasscat]

I think Sascha said it best. Just put the least amount of data on the Erg Data screen and row. Any gadget (HR Monitor, Watch etc.) or data that doesn’t add to your enjoyment of rowing get rid of it. It’s not necessary. I like watching hr because it makes the row more interesting to me. Certainly not required. Music, videos, whatever distraction you like is worth a try.

As for general health, your heart doesn’t know or care if you maintain a steady stroke rate or a steady pace, stroke length, or any other cool metric people chase on the rower. Work is work and your body appreciates it. Concentrate on proper form for now to avoid injury. How’s your resting heart rate? Changes in your general fitness will be reflected in a gradual decline in resting heart rate. Again, not required to know or monitor.

Congratulations on making the effort.

[old wobbler]

Please remember I am only rowing to raise my heart rate for 30 minutes a day to help with general health and lose weight.

That may be why you started but it sounds like you've caught the bug a little.

If that statement was still true then the only data you need is your HR. Get it up to the value you want and row for 30 minutes. Easy as that. Pace doesn't matter. Stroke rate doesn't matter. Watts/stroke doesn't matter.

Now, if you actually have started to care about those values and improving in a more systematic way then you might choose to concentrate on some of your technique and pacing. Bear in mind if you raise your HR to a certain level every day for 30 minutes, the pace you go at to get to that level will increase month by month as you get fitter anyway.

So I suggest you reevaluate what you actually want, because you are doing very well already and the information overload doesn't matter for your stated goal. Then you can get some better advice on rating and power and even intervals if you want to go that far.

Fair comment.

[old wobbler]

I think Sasha said it best. Just put the least amount of data on the Erg Data screen and row. Any gadget (HR Monitor, Watch etc.) or data that doesn’t add to your enjoyment of rowing get rid of it. It’s not necessary. I like watching hr because it makes the row more interesting to me. Certainly not required. Music, videos, whatever distraction you like is worth a try.

As for general health, your heart doesn’t know or care if you maintain a steady stroke rate or a steady pace, stroke length, or any other cool metric people chase on the rower. Work is work and your body appreciates it. Concentrate on proper form for now to avoid injury. How’s your resting heart rate? Changes in your general fitness will be reflected in a gradual decline in resting heart rate. Again, not required to know or monitor.

Congratulations on making the effort.

I have bought a cheap "Alexa" and play 1980's pop music through it.

Resting heart rate from the Polar watch shows I can be anywhere from 50 to 57!!! Today it say lowest heart rate today was 53!

Sounds like my reasoning mind has made it more complicated than just rowing and enjoying it.

[gvcormac]

There are much, much cheaper HR straps that work with the PM5. For example, the Coospo H808S.

Personally, I set the PM5 to show avg. pace and also split pace, along with HR.

In some ways I'd prefer watts over pace, but watts are rounded to the nearest whole number, which is too coarse to give quick feedback. Pace in minutes, seconds, and tenths is much more precise.

[Sakly]

My surgery want me to be 72kgs!!!! I haven't been that since I was in my 20's. 85/90 kgs or 14 to 15 stone was my riding weight 10 years ago.[...]

Food wise I have less than 2000 calories a day.
[...]
At 115kgs[...]

As I have said before, 10 years later I am now diabetic, over weight so something has to be done while trying to not damage me any more.

That's all indicating you ate the wrong foods, not the wrong amount of foods.
T2D is clearly a sign of that and can be reversed with changes in diet. So can diet have huge influence on damage of body structures.
Sports activities cannot prevent bad outcomes from a diet not matching your body's needs.

[old wobbler]

My surgery want me to be 72kgs!!!! I haven't been that since I was in my 20's. 85/90 kgs or 14 to 15 stone was my riding weight 10 years ago.[...]

Food wise I have less than 2000 calories a day.
[...]
At 115kgs[...]

As I have said before, 10 years later I am now diabetic, over weight so something has to be done while trying to not damage me any more.

That's all indicating you ate the wrong foods, not the wrong amount of foods.
T2D is clearly a sign of that and can be reversed with changes in diet. So can diet have huge influence on damage of body structures.
Sports activities cannot prevent bad outcomes from a diet not matching your body's needs.

Salky, I have changed the diet greatly plus portion sizes. I've had to relearn eating habits, portion sizes, when to eat, etc etc etc. For anyone who has never been there it's a hard journey finding the keys and what you have done. I've been doing this for 2 nearly 3 years now.

From the age of 11 I have played sports. Football, rugby, cricket not to mention swimming and cycling. I had a very active life. What held it all at bay was my sport and exercise. Finding a way to exercise without impact with all the issues I have after the knee specialist said to stop exercising has been hard. For a person who has played sport for most of his life it was like taking a huge part away from me. I was in shock for months without the sport. That lead to the sitting watching films and TV eating crisps and pop (comfort food.) It's all my own fault and I am doing something about it now.

Yes, I agree and my diet changes have brought the levels down.

At home and work I stay very similar in weight. I go to Norway to cross country ski and in a week I can lose a stone! The key was more exercise.

No local gym would allow me to use a rower or be a member as the risk of injury on there site was too great. Even the gym I went to from 1990 to 1994. So it's been down to me. The final push was the last diabetic review in January 2025. I had to make the choice between sitting and doing nothing for exercise or find a way to exercise. The one I knew would be Ok was a rower. One came up locally to me for a small sum so here we are. It might only have been a dusty Concept 2 model C with no monitor and a squeaky seat........

Since getting it on the 6th February and rowing every day I have lost 4 Kgs. (Its too fast to keep off but its a start.)

1980 - 2 x motorcycle crashes
1991 - Broken right ankle at work
1994 - Gym injury, ripped front deltoid on right arm from bone while doing 120kgs squats!!
1994 - Cricket injury, throwing cricket ball right shoulder, rotator cuff.
1997 - Cricket injury, broken ankle. (Stepped on the cricket ball while running!)
2012 - Cricket injury, ruptured meniscus left knee. (I still rode 2 time trials in pain before diagnosis.)
2022 - Xray showed evidence of broken neck (old damage suspected done in one of the 1980 motorcycle crash.)
2022 - Diagnosed type 2 diabetic
2024 - MRI shows no cartleage and meniscus in left knee. Bone on Bone.