Short Interval Workouts

[NavigationHazard]

IMO the main problem OTW with trying to raise the footstretcher is the potential to alter negatively balance in the boat. The higher the rower's center of mass, the tippier the hull is likely to be. And on a practical level, cutouts/ track placements/ stretcher arrangements may not allow much tinkering.

[Bob S.]

And, you know, if you really want the erg to go fast, you can drop it off a cliff.

Hey, now there is a point! Ergs may not float, but they can fly!

Bob S.

[mikvan52]

And, you know, if you really want the erg to go fast, you can drop it off a cliff.

Hey, now there is a point! Ergs may not float, but they can fly!

Bob S.

..... for short intervals only

[hjs]

And, you know, if you really want the erg to go fast, you can drop it off a cliff.

Hey, now there is a point! Ergs may not float, but they can fly!

Bob S.

..... for short intervals only

From 30.000 feet it will take a while

[Citroen]

From 30.000 feet it will take a while

Not if you mount a small jet engine on to the monorail.

[luckylindy]

From 30.000 feet it will take a while

About 1:14 according to Wolfram Alpha ... that would be a harrowing 500m row!

[Citroen]

From 30.000 feet it will take a while

About 1:14 according to Wolfram Alpha ... that would be a harrowing 500m row!

That's not the answer I got from W|A it gave me an answer of 43 seconds.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=ho ... 30000+feet

It gets complex when you add in mass and co-efficient of drag.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=ho ... withDrag--

[luckylindy]

Yeah, I used drag calc'd with my weight + erg's weight and approx cross-sectional surface area of me sitting on the erg. Big heavy guys will reach the ground a bit faster.

[Bob S.]

Yeah, I used drag calc'd with my weight + erg's weight and approx cross-sectional surface area of me sitting on the erg. Big heavy guys will reach the ground a bit faster.

and make a bigger splat

B.S.

[philwhite7]

I find that 10 sets of 1 min hard effort, 1 min active rest is a great little workout (with 5 to 10 mins warmup and the same for cooling down, plus stretching when done). I've even abbreviated this to seven or eight sets when pushed for time.

I try to focus on keeping a full-length stroke with proper form each time - the temptation is too use your arms too much and/or not get a decent extension.

I'm certainly not up to Mikvan's standards, but just letting you know what works for me.

Phil

[goblin]

My feeling is that, for rowers who want to excel on the water, to raise their footstretchers too high would risk the following result: They will develop neural pathways detrimental to a good OTW stroke. To do this in search of an artificial watts score would be sad.

The vector (directional) force of the drive matters too. A rower should not be attempting to push the bow of the boat down in the water. If the feet are high in relation to this hips and torso, this is exactly what will happen.

And, you know, if you really want the erg to go fast, you can drop it off a cliff.

Seriously, I love the erg. But, "tricking" the set-up? I get my best 500's with inferior form.. What good does that really do me in the long run?

I know Stephansen's feet aren't that small, and having watched him Crash B's - I know his ankles aren't that flexible. Indoor rowing is a different game, and even the top guys are gaming it a little bit. If you want to see your absolute max (particularly, on the low pull), this is how you would do it. I don't suggest training this way very much, unless your goal is to set a record for the low pull. But, it will give you your best score.

And really, you will never put out LP level watts on the water - even off of the start. Unless you have a truly exceptional physiology, you're writing a check you'll pay for later in the race.

[luckylindy]

My feeling is that, for rowers who want to excel on the water, to raise their footstretchers too high would risk the following result: They will develop neural pathways detrimental to a good OTW stroke. To do this in search of an artificial watts score would be sad.

The vector (directional) force of the drive matters too. A rower should not be attempting to push the bow of the boat down in the water. If the feet are high in relation to this hips and torso, this is exactly what will happen.

And, you know, if you really want the erg to go fast, you can drop it off a cliff.

Seriously, I love the erg. But, "tricking" the set-up? I get my best 500's with inferior form.. What good does that really do me in the long run?

I was curious about raising them because a pic in one of Nav's posted studies showed that the foot stretchers on an erg are positioned well below the stretchers on a boat. I really have no way to judge what is right or wrong ... which is why i asked.

[NavigationHazard]

Cheers - some things in rowing are reducible to right/wrong (e.g. don't pull the handle with your teeth while sitting backwards). A lot more are matters of individual preference, style, etc. If doing something works for you, then I say go with it. There's a reason that the footstretchers are adjustable, and the damper lever movable, and the monitor programmable. It's because people are variable, and training needs are variable, and no one set of prescriptions covers everyone all the time.

Somewhere Terry O'Neill -- former British Olympic rowing coach and C2 adviser -- once wrote that lots of great rowers row very very well, badly. By this he meant that to the outward eye they may be doing something notionally 'wrong' that actually allows them to do something else productively. If you're in a multiple-rower boat you have to match whatever you're doing to whatever the other rower(s) might be doing. On an erg there's just you to worry about. No synchronization/synergy issues, no boat balance issues, nothing except you and a flywheel. That affords quite a bit of room in which to optimize our idiosyncrasies.

[Byron Drachman]

I was curious about raising them because a pic in one of Nav's posted studies showed that the foot stretchers on an erg are positioned well below the stretchers on a boat. I really have no way to judge what is right or wrong ... which is why i asked.

My 2 cents: Yes, the feet are way lower on the C2 than in a boat. I am guessing that they put the feet so low as a concession to all the people in gyms who start the slide forward and therefore raise the knees before getting the hands past the knees toward the flywheel. I raised my footstretcher so the heels are about six and one half inches below the top of the seat. The problem is then you need to change the angle of the footstretcher. The angle on the C2 is about 45 degrees, which is too steep for the raised footstretcher. So I use a homemade orthotic, just a simple wooden wedge, to make the angle less steep: around 39 or 40 degrees. To me it feels better and I get better times on the erg. Everybody else who has tried it says it feels much better. I can return the arrangement back to the original configuration if I want to do a ranked piece. I can't say it is a superior arrangement for everybody but I can say it is more like the arrangement in a boat.

[rordan]

Hi,

I have been rowing for about six months. Originally, I was rowing 6x week 40 minutes. I read about intervals and started about three weeks ago. Not sure about how to gauge.

I started at 1 min work/30 rest for 10 intervals avg spm 50. Damper was set at 3 and at the end I was dying.

Then 500m(about 2min)/2 min rest for 5 intervals avg 48 spm. Very diffucult.

Should I use time or spm to gauge?

I also realized I need to take a day off every three workouts due to soreness.

Any help or advice would be great!