Rests during UT2 sessions

[Annisotropic]

I have my own erg at home, but I've recently joined a boat club, to meet people/have some extra accountability/possibly get back OTW some day.
The suggested erg session for tonight is 3x20mins @UT2 with 2-minute rests.
I thought that the point of UT2 was steady-state, without rests - but I've never really quite got my head around the different exercise zones. [Now I've got a reliable HRM, and the insight to convert pace to watts, I'm hoping to finally be able to settle on what the zones mean for me (I'm old enough that fitness gains, if any, will be very slow, so I won't need to keep recalibrating)] .

Is it usual to take breaks during UT2? Is this something else I've misunderstood, or is it a quirky thing to do?

[Dangerscouse]

There's two schools of thought on this, so I'd say it doesn't really matter. I don't like to add rests, but that's a personal preference, and I know of very good ergers who do add rests.

The only thing you need to take account of is keeping the pace / effort / HR at the right level. Broadly speaking, UT2 is 65-72% of your max HR, but it's not an exact science, so nudging this up to 75%ish isn't an issue. Possibly the bigger issue is that you need to figure out what your max HR is, which, if done correctly, isn't pleasant.

[Annisotropic]

... you need to figure out what your max HR is, which, if done correctly, isn't pleasant.

Ain't that the truth!

We did a brutal session last week that pushed my HR to 174, which is 10bpm more than I've seen before and not something I'm in a rush to repeat, so that'll do for now : O

[Dangerscouse]

Ain't that the truth!

We did a brutal session last week that pushed my HR to 174, which is 10bpm more than I've seen before and not something I'm in a rush to repeat, so that'll do for now : O

Haha, definitely no need to do it again. It's only a general guide anyway.

[pagomichaelh]

I'll do an 'active rest', 2 minutes, stroke rate<18, less than 30 watts, 20 seconds for a gulp of water, then continue. I think the theory is to keep your heart rate from drifting upwards

[reuben]

My understanding is that the idea behind such UT2 rest periods is to keep the heart rate from getting too high, becoming UT1. But in order to keep the overall session at UT2, the rest is short, ~2 minutes, allowing for a partial recovery, but not a longer recovery like 3-4 minutes. Let the heart rate come down, but not too far. You'd have to experiment to see if 1, 1.5, 2, or 2.5 minutes would work for you in UT2 sessions of various time or distance. Much longer than 2 minutes and you're probably verging into a normal interval session.

It's a bit of a balance or compromise between continuous/SS UT2 and a more traditional interval session. Slowing down a bit and doing a more normal/continuous UT2 session is a viable option.

An active rest, as suggested above, is another viable option as opposed to a complete stop.

Whatever works for you is good.

[Annisotropic]

My understanding is that the idea behind such UT2 rest periods is to keep the heart rate from getting too high, becoming UT1.

Oh that makes perfect sense, thank you! And fits exactly with my experience, so it should have been obvious to me...

[jcross485]

My own $.02 is that it doesn't really matter too much in the grand scheme of things, rowing the volume straight through vs. splitting it with short rests.

Rowing straight through might give a bit better mental strength and resilience, especially when it comes time to target longer distance events (ie. HM, FM).

Splitting it up with relatively short rests (ie. 3 x 5k, 1:00 - 2:00 rest) might make it a slightly better quality session with respect to the stroke and mechanics which I can see carrying over more to shorter events like a 10k or less.

You can always do a mix of both if you have the freedom to program your own training - alternate your steady state sessions with one being straight through, one being broken, then repeat.

[jamesg]

got my head around the different exercise zones.

For rowing training, we train our stroke. UT2 is rates 18-20, low enough for basic endurance work even with a good one.

Use the same stroke (in terms of Watt/Rate) you used in your preliminary 2k test. There'll be more tests later to reset the bands.

[Annisotropic]

For rowing training, we train our stroke. UT2 is rates 18-20, low enough for basic endurance work even with a good one.

Use the same stroke (in terms of Watt/Rate) you used in your preliminary 2k test. There'll be more tests later to reset the bands.

OK that's another interesting angle - my default stroke rate is low, around 18, so I probably need to put effort into keeping a similar watt/rate ratio at higher rates. Do most people have a sweet spot where they are most efficient? My guess is that fitter people have a higher default stroke rate? I'm tall for a woman, which I have blamed for my slow stroke, but obviously I'm not at all tall for a rower - is fitness most likely the biggest factor?

[jamesg]

probably need to put effort into keeping a similar watt/rate ratio at higher rates

That's how it's done. If you have a neat and efficient stroke at 18, and train it, you'll be able to use it for faster, shorter work, and coach will be happy. You might even hear the boat sing.

[Dangerscouse]

Do most people have a sweet spot where they are most efficient? My guess is that fitter people have a higher default stroke rate? I'm tall for a woman, which I have blamed for my slow stroke, but obviously I'm not at all tall for a rower - is fitness most likely the biggest factor?

You're right and generally speaking, higher stroke rates are good for fitter rowers and lower for stronger rowers, but this is a general guide only so it's not an absolute and it will ceiling due to technique, physiology and breathing patterns.

Mastering both higher and lower stroke rates is important as they both provide different things, but it does take quite a while to do as it needs to be done in fairly slow incremental steps. Too big a jump will be counter productive.