watts per stroke vs stroke rate for max efforts

[Tsnor]

I'm curious - having not been on a boat I wouldn't know - but I would have assumed that the higher technical demands of being on a boat would make effective (very) high rating much more difficult than on an erg, no?

Agree with comments above that high SPM rates seem easier in a boat than on a erg.

Numbers seem to support it. Elite OTW rowers at 2K typically row 34-40 stroke/min. A random page of crash-b results showed the indoor rowers were running at a significantly lower rate. https://regatta.time-team.nl/crashb/202 ... 1c96bc.php

Strongly agree that only highly skilled rowing crews can hit a very high stroke rate. Rowing efficiency falls apart if anything gets out of sync. Boat SPM is limited by the SPM of the least capable rowers near the end of a race when everyone is tired and focus is hard. A good coxswain can help a bit here.

It's also true that only highly skilled rowers can hit a low stroke rate. Every technique flaw is highlighted at lower Stroke/min rates. During recovery the oars are out of the water. If there are any unbalanced forces on the boat (from poor technique) the boat will tip to one side letting oars hit the water during recovery (bad). Moderately high SPM cut the time the oars are out of the water and mask technique errors.

If you are anywhere near an OTW club do try rowing OTW. It's a very different/fun experience. The skills you need to pick up (feathering the oar, catch, release, following the stroke rower, a few coxswain commands) take a few sessions to pick up (and a lifetime to master). I like erging, its solitary and peaceful. OTW sweeps rowing is a team activity. Your boat against the world. No one is more competitive than rowers in boats rowing side by side which can make sticking to a training plan hard... but is a ton of fun.

P.S. love the story above about passing a boat when you are doing lower SPM. It's so true. Bonus points if you hear their coxswain telling them to up the SPM so you won't walk them, and then having the other boat fall back faster at the higher SPM rate. Tons of fun indeed.

[mjk]

You can get a feel for "elite ideal" stroke rate by looking the the Olympic stroke rate data. Oars can be adjusted to have greater or lessor mechanical advantage, so rower really can choose their stroke rate. To bad C2 doesn't publish SPM data for ranked workouts.

Olympic athletes experiment and choose what works the best. If they are typically 35-40 SPM over 2k then that's close to ideal.

There are year to year fluctuations and some trends. Wind (headwind vs tailwind vs crosswind) can impact boat speed which will directly impact stroke rate. Stoke rate have tended up until Rio where they came down a bit. The author here gave additional data at the usrowing coaches conf, google "Valery Kleshnev youtube usrowing" to find it. http://biorow.com/index.php?route=infor ... in%20lower.

FWIW I've never been in a boat that hit 40 (start/sprint) or based (most of race) higher than 32-34. We set the stroke rate based on what makes the boat faster (skill limited). Higher SPM is always slower at some point. You just end up waving the oars around and not getting any power.

I'm curious - having not been on a boat I wouldn't know - but I would have assumed that the higher technical demands of being on a boat would make effective (very) high rating much more difficult than on an erg, no?

Depends on the boat class and the crew.

Crew timing and technique, race conditions (headwind vs. tailwind), etc. all affect rate. Coxswain weight also slows down sweep boats on the recovery, so the catch is heavier and top rate is somewhat limited, a 4- can probably sustain a higher rate than a 4+.

In my experience a straight 4 (4 without coxswain) seems to be the boat that can maintain the highest stroke rate. I raced in a 4- that had all rowers under 6'2". We had a shorter drive than other crews but made up for it with higher rate. We started in the mid 40s and settled to a 39 for 2000m. Rowed a 6:03.2 in flat conditions and won Canadian Henley. We could not have sustained those rates in pairs or coxed 4s.