Concept2 Forum

Hello Everyone

I am 6'4 and I weigh 310 LBS

I own Concept 2 model E

this is my second day.

My first day was yesterday. I first warmed up and stretched a bit and then did 2000 M work out, my time was 9 minutes. I must admit it was very hard.

Today I did 15 minutes work out with different intensity meaning every 5 minutes I would do 1 minute of intense rowing push myself to the limit. I have rowed in 15 minutes 3500 meters.

I do have a lot of muscle but also fat, I personally would like to lose about 40 lbs and go down to 260 to 270 LBS.

I am thinking if anyone got any opinions on how many minutes per day or meters per day I should row and under what kind of intensity, low, moderate or hard?


Any comments you have that can help me achieve my goal are appreciated, any suggestions on rowing and stuff like that.

I do like rowing and I feel good now after just 15 minutes of rowing.

My exercise before rowing was 10 mile bicycle, 1 mile running and 100 push ups with mix of 20 punches of hooks jabs and uppercuts. I did this 3 to 4 times a week.

I rowed now for 15 minutes and I feel more tired then when I did my exercise routine I am used to doing.

right now on BMI meter I am considered Obese eventhough I dont feel like it, it states my body weight for my height should be max of 200 lbs. I believe if I was 200 LBS i would be a skeleton. So I am thinking if I did proper eating and maybe 20 to 30 minutes of rowing every day I can lose about 30 lbs in a year.

Maybe someone on here has done it I would like to know as it will give me more power to continue with rowing!

thanks a lot in advance

Nino

All you need do is pull large numbers (>500) of full length strokes, slowly, every day, against low drag: i.e. lots of low intensity (= low Power, Watts) but hard (work per stroke).

Slow refers to the rating (strokes per minute). At your height you can work very hard even at 20 spm, if the strokes are long. 20 means pull fast and return slow (which is why the drag must be low). Long means you get your hands to the chainguard, and then pull them into yourself with a little leanback, making full use of your legs first. Recovery in sequence: hands away, then swing forward, then up with the knees.

The backstop drill can help with the sequence: pulling first arms only for a minute or so, then arms plus swing, then arms+swing+legs; knees up after the swing. You'll see the rating drop from 60 to 20 and the power in Watts increase from 50 to 150-200. This is fine as a warm up too; after 5 minutes, just keep going.

If you all do this, the rating will be low, but your speed fast, as you'll see if you watch the Watts.

A first target could be 150W at rating 20; this will soon seem too easy, so 200W, again at 20, will be the next target. By then you'll know plenty about rowing and won't need any advice on how to carry on.

All this, as it amounts to say 500kCal a day, will keep you fit, but not thin.

I lost 6kg (13 lb) in three weeks, on a hospital diet: two normal meals a day totalling 2300 kCal and a coffee in the morning. No exercise at all; nor any wine. It's all down to quantity, not diet.

I would say you are so far away from really intense efforts. You are going to get hurt. I would think your workouts should be of the long and slow type - work up to 30 mins and beyond at a fairly comfortable pace. Introducing some faster pulls within such a workout is okay - just don't get carried away. Also concentrate on good form - in particular no lurching at either end of the stroke which puts large strains on the lower back. You need to pretty well forget number watching for a while. Get in shape first.

bmi does not say much, look what bodyfat percentage is.

at 6.4 weighing 300 lbs you should be very very strong if you have a lot of muscle, is that not the case, it simply means a lot of that weight is fat.
the erg can help loosing weight, but it takes time to get the body used to the movement. weight is mostly your eating, lower your carb intake, eat plenty of lean protein and veggies and the weight will drop.

Well I listened to your comments and I have done a 30 minute work out, concentrating on my technique the most, keeping my back straight, shoulders relaxed, letting my hands go before my body etc.

30 minute work out was good, my heart rate was hovering around 135 = 140

my resting heart rate is 65 to 70

i have rowed 6000 meters.


Three days on concept 2 and I have rowed more than 10 000 meters.

I believe in three months of every day 30 minute rowing I will be ready to try my hand at some records.

Sounds like you are on the road to improvement and enjoyment of rowing. Jim G

6000m is excellent for a 30' row at such a relaxed HR!