Drag Factor (resistance setting) for 2k

[iycgtptyarvg]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and new to indoor rowing (started 3 weeks ago). I read quit a bit of posts here in the last 2 days, but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I was simply stunned by the fact that 'champion indoor rowers' use a drag factor of about 130 or so, which coincides with a resistance setting of about 3 or 4, going at a pace of about 35 spm.

I particularly don't understand setting the resistance to 3 or 4. I simply set the resistance to 10, as I can put the most force into a stroke. I then go to do about 23 spm (with an end sprint of about 28 spm).
With this I've improved from 7:44 (my first row) to 7:14 (yesterday). Obviously, my times are totally pathetic seeing you guys do about 6:30.

I've tried setting the resistance to 3, but I simply couldn't row like that; it was way too light.

Any tips / suggestions would be most appreciated.

Sander

born: 1974
height: 179 cm / 5'10"
weight: 73 kg / 160 lbs

[Citroen]

If you learn to drive with the legs rather than hauling anchor with your arms then a lower drag will make more sense. Learn to measure the drag factor using the PM2/PM3/PM4. It can vary considerably depending on how clean and well serviced the machine is - a machine full of dust and crud may only have a drag factor of 108 on damper 10. Altitude can also have an effect.

I row everything on df 108 (round about damper 3). My 2K PB is 6:59.0 and I'm shorter than you by three inches and older by 11 years.

To reduce it you'll need to go in stages, drop the drag factor by about 10-15 points (no more) until you get used to a lower level.

[Snail Space]

If you learn to drive with the legs rather than hauling anchor with your arms.

To help with this, try to think of rowing as a pushing activity rather than a pulling effort. Imagine standing on the ground and trying to jump up to a bar that is beyond your reach. You will probably start by squatting on your haunches with your stretched arms near the ground. Then you push powerfully with your legs to initiate the jump. Almost immediately your back and body swing upwards as your legs drive off the ground. Finally you reach up with straight arms and complete the last few inches by grabbing the bar and making a brief but vigorous pull with the arms.

You see, from an evolutionary perspective we were designed to leap about in the primeval forests. It's merely happy coincidence that rowing harnesses our forebearers' strengths!

Cheers
Dave

[hjs]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and new to indoor rowing (started 3 weeks ago). I read quit a bit of posts here in the last 2 days, but couldn't find what I was looking for.

I was simply stunned by the fact that 'champion indoor rowers' use a drag factor of about 130 or so, which coincides with a resistance setting of about 3 or 4, going at a pace of about 35 spm.

I particularly don't understand setting the resistance to 3 or 4. I simply set the resistance to 10, as I can put the most force into a stroke. I then go to do about 23 spm (with an end sprint of about 28 spm).
With this I've improved from 7:44 (my first row) to 7:14 (yesterday). Obviously, my times are totally pathetic seeing you guys do about 6:30.

I've tried setting the resistance to 3, but I simply couldn't row like that; it was way too light.

Any tips / suggestions would be most appreciated.

Sander

born: 1974
height: 179 cm / 5'10"
weight: 73 kg / 160 lbs

The C2 is a substitute for rowing.
If someone rowes in a boat , the speed of the oar depends on the speed of the boat. The faster the boat , the faster you have to pull the oar to keep the boat on speed. This fastmoving oar means a low drag. Drag is not ment to be resistance but has to be seen as speed.

But on the other hand if you prefer to row with a high drag and don,t row on the water you can use that. You simply pull "slow" but for training/fitness purpuses this doesn,t matter much.

If you want to lower your drag put it down in little steps to get used to the faster stroke.

[iycgtptyarvg]

Thanks guys.

Today I did a test to prepare for an indoor sports event at my gym. The match is 2k rowing, 15k cycling, and 10k running. The clock continues when going from the rowing machine to the cycling machine, and then to the treadmill, so I have to switch machines as fast as possible.

Rowing: 7:16
To bike: 0:16
Cycling: 31:32
To treadmill: 0:06
Running: 37:48

I started slow with the rowing (to conserve energy for the cycling and running), but it went well enough to row 7:16. I did, however use resistance setting 10 (at 22 spm).
Yesterday I tried out a resistance setting of 6 and ended up with 7:20 (i.e., a comparable time). The downside of setting 6 was that my spm went up to about 28. With this speed I get much more out of breath, which will affect my cycling after the rowing (i.e., my recovery time during the start of the cycling takes longer, so my total cycling time will be higher).

Do any of you experience a significant difference of breathing between different resistance settings?

PS
I inhale at the recovery, and exhale at the drive.

PPS
I don't do any outdoor rowing, but do compete with my team in Dragonboat races.

[Nosmo]

Do any of you experience a significant difference of breathing between different resistance settings?

PS
I inhale at the recovery, and exhale at the drive.

You will breath harder at 28 with resistance of 6 vs 22 at 10. However, this should be a beneficial trade off. 28 is not that high. And if you are rowing at a 10, your legs should be pretty tired when you get on the bike. My guess is that you still have to work on technique. When your technique gets better it will be easier to row at a 28.

Just out of curiosity, at what RPM do you cycle?

Also do a search on breathing. There are a lot of treads on it.

[iycgtptyarvg]

Just out of curiosity, at what RPM do you cycle?

Also do a search on breathing. There are a lot of treads on it.

I started cycling at 80 to 85 for the first 2 minutes, then went up to 90 rpm, which is fairly similar to what I do when I cycle outside.

I have the feeling the lactic acid buildup in my legs is less at a lower pace (22 rpm), because of the longer breaks in the recovery phase of the stroke.
Ofcourse, I understand you guys don't care about these things because you can rest after the rowing.

[yehster]

Just out of curiosity, at what RPM do you cycle?

Also do a search on breathing. There are a lot of treads on it.

I started cycling at 80 to 85 for the first 2 minutes, then went up to 90 rpm, which is fairly similar to what I do when I cycle outside.

I have the feeling the lactic acid buildup in my legs is less at a lower pace (22 rpm), because of the longer breaks in the recovery phase of the stroke.
Ofcourse, I understand you guys don't care about these things because you can rest after the rowing.

We still care about those things when doing longer pieces.

Ideally, when raising your stroke rating, you should be doing so primarily with a faster drive. You should always try and keep your recovery relaxed.

Dropping the resistance to 6 from 10 and rowing 28SPM instead of 22 would be analogous to downshifting on your bike and spinning up a hill at 90RPM instead of 70.

Given that you can pull 7:16, it's clear that you are strong, but I suspect that your technique is suboptimal as you seem to be doing the equivalent of mashing the gears. Most of your power should be coming from your leg drive. An exercise you might try is rowing one stroke at a time focusing driving hard with your legs. Try it at both 6 and 10 (or even lower...) and seeing how you feel. Harder breathing does not necessarily mean more fatiguing/more lactate build up. It means more oxygen consumption, which can also mean more efficient use of slow twitch fibers instead of lactate producing fast twitch fibers.

In reality though, in trying to maximize your overall time, the erg is not the place to focus, not only because it's such a short segment, but also because it gives you the worst return on investment as far as energy expenditure. Speed on the erg is a function of the cube of the power when rowing, where as it's usually based on the square of the power on the bike and closer to linear when running on a treadmill.

Based on your splits, let me guess... Running is your primary/best event

[Nosmo]

Thinking about this again, you may be better of at a 22 rating, but still you want the drag factor much lower 120 to 130 (something like 4-5 on the damper)

When I do long pieces (60 minutes and greater) I tend to row at 20-24. For a 2K it is more like 32-36. Since your entire effort is over an hour, perhaps you should not row at a high rating: You want to keep it almost completely aerobic. To row fast at the lower drag rating, you want the drive to be very fast. Lower drag doesn't mean slower times, but it does mean a faster drive, which gives you more time on the recovery.

[Sean Seamus]

reviewing this thread, it is evident ( I think ), that

Damp, Stroke Rate, and "Work Output Levels" per Time Unit

3 deceptively simple-appearing factors - when static, single, inactive -

are, in motion, massively complex; and one should try many combos as they appear and appeal across a long and fascinating wonderance at the subtle marvel of the feel and the . . . power, in each and every stroke

------------

The Perfect Search For The Endless Stroke
(I Wish I'd Written That)

[iycgtptyarvg]

Ideally, when raising your stroke rating, you should be doing so primarily with a faster drive. You should always try and keep your recovery relaxed.

Hmmm, I haven't tried an asynchronous rythm yet. I'll give that a go today.

In reality though, in trying to maximize your overall time, the erg is not the place to focus, not only because it's such a short segment, but also because it gives you the worst return on investment as far as energy expenditure. Speed on the erg is a function of the cube of the power when rowing, where as it's usually based on the square of the power on the bike and closer to linear when running on a treadmill.

Aaahhh, but here comes the twist. I, as one of the organizers of the match, have come up with weight factors. This, so you'll have every reason to be competitive with every event!

Code: Select all

Event     Base  Factor
Rowing     7:30  5.33
Cycling   32:30  1.23
Running   40:00  1.00

The base times are the times that a very fit person (who isn't specialized in that event) should be able to do.
So, for every second someone rows faster, they win 4.33 seconds as compared to cycling or 5.33 seconds as compared to running. I hope to have made the competition more strategic like this.

Based on your splits, let me guess... Running is your primary/best event

Impressive, I am indeed mostly a runner. My running time of 37:48 is not indicative of what I can normally do; I can run a 1/2 marathon in about 1:20:00 (about 16 km/h).
I train twice a day. Sports I do are: running, cycling+spinning, swimming, dragonboat racing, fitness, aerobics. Occasionally, depending on the season, I also do snow boarding and climbing.