Concept2 Forum

HI all,

I'm new here. Just bought a Concept 2 Model D PM5. I had partial knee replacement on January 4th. Today was my first day rowing. I did a 2000m workout. I'm not 100% sure what this means. Still learning. I focused mostly on form. Rowed slowly until I felt I had my form down, then rowed harder. When I felt my form get sloppy, I slowed down, got my form back and then rowed harder.

Here's the knees this week!

Not bad at all for this soon after surgery! Wow, those are some knees!
Stoke rate looks a little high, try for low to mid 20s strokes per minute, concentrate on a strong drive and slow easy recovery. Watch lots of videos, the C2 technique videos are about the best.
Post a video of yourself on YouTube, then put the link here, there is a lot of expertise here, willing to help you smooth things out.
Welcome!

Thanks, Cyclist2! I'm guessing my stroke rate is where it is because I was slowing down for form and then speeding back up, lather rinse repeat.

I'm not the most graceful of gals, as is evident by my knees! Don't think I will be taking any videos of me rowing. Too embarrassing!

paul45 wrote: Drop DF right down forget about pace at r22 - r24. for a few months

What's "DF"? How do I drop it down? (Drag Force?)

UACats70 wrote:

paul45 wrote: Drop DF right down forget about pace at r22 - r24. for a few months

What's "DF"? How do I drop it down? (Drag Force?)

well done so far - take it easy until your knee recovers but the erg is really good low impact exercise
DF = drag factor as opposed to DS which is damper setting
spend a few hours looking at newbie threads here and you will learn heaps. (there is a damper setting thread right here now)
If you look for information on the Concept2 site you will see stuff on what the PM5 can tell you and look also for drag factor 101
There are a lot of useful links to youtube technique videos as well though yours will be limited by knee flexion right now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ82RYIFLN8 may help

and http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/t ... etting-101

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4COPlfJfnuA

Hi,

DF stands for Drag Factor. It's controlled by the damper setting on the fan cage. You should set the lever to something around 2 or 3 for now. The reason that folks talk about Drag Factor instead of damper setting is that when machines get dirty, the setting of the lever doesn't always correspond to the drag factor that the machine has, but that's kind of a fine point.

For now, just setting the lever at 3 and leaving it alone will work out well.

By the way, impressive images of the inside and outside of your knee. I hope you heal up fast. I will no longer try to impress people with my arthroscopy story after seeing your pictures! I just had my right meniscus trimmed over the Christmas break.

Welcome!!!

Yes, please take it very easy for now. I would advise that anyway to any person new to rowing!!!! Never rush anything, but rather slowly build up gradually.

I hope you fully recover soon, and make sure not to do too much (plenty of rest)

Enjoy

You all are so helpful! I didn't even look at the lever on the fan cage! hahaha I will definitely check it when I row this evening. It was amazing, yesterday after rowing, my knee felt so much better. It wasn't as tight as it normally feels. This morning, it's a bit swollen but nothing major.

BTW - my knee history is due to playing softball, volleyball, racquetball nearly every day of the week for years and often playing injured. So, at 46, I have the "knees of an 80 year old" to quote my orthopedic surgeon. Luckily now I am BIONIC!

What's your ROM in both your knees? I'm 71 and have had two total replacements and a total quad tendon rupture (much harder rehab than replacements). I only have about a 110 degree ROM which severely limits my slide. I can barely do 3/4, thus increasing my SPM. I hover right around 33-34 for a 2K, but am able to do low 8's which isn't bad for my age and limitations. Good advice on the damper...2-3 replicates an on water feel much better. Keep up the good work. All I can do for cardio now is the Concept2, but all in all it's better than anything.

I too am recovering from knee surgery, had a total knee replacement on 12/12. Recently back on the erg, keeping it easy and a stroke rate of about 20 seems best for me. When I tried a little harder I really felt it the next couple of days. I was able to complete the Valentine's Challenge in three days, so happy with that.

My max ROM got to 117, although I think it has decreased a bit since I went back to work and have not been doing all my exercises religiously. Before I ended PT I asked my therapist about the erg, and she suggested that when I get to the catch to hold it for 3 seconds, that helps the flexion. I am noticing that my stroke length is very slowly increasing, so that seems positive.

I'm hoping to get back on the water this summer, but have much hesitation about getting into the boat.......could be interesting

Good luck to everyone!

I'd suggest trying to slow down stroke rate but stay with what's comfortable. 22-24 is fairly low for you IMO. Low rate is great if you have good form and feel good but I think to the extent it doesn't feel natural you could do more harm than good if you're trying to improve on pace/500m. My advice would be find a comfortable rate and just focus on form every stroke until it becomes second nature. With your knees especially you'll want to make sure your form is tight before you start to exert yourself.

-Steve

well... Looks like you have been in the wars - good to see you getting on the erg.
definetly one of the better 'low-impact' excersize devices, which should suit you to a tee...
slow down the Rating, lower df, no knees past the vertical all the stuff that has been discussed and of Course listen to your own Body

other than that it sounds like you are having great fun !

FWIW, I incline to Steve's suggestion that enforcing a low stroke rate may not be the best idea initially. I'm no PT but common sense tells me that your knee joint needs flexion at low load atm. More strokes=lower load per stroke. Over time, force/stroke will improve and you can delay considerations of optimum rate efficiency until it does. If you're relatively tall, dropping the rate to 26-28spm might be a start in the right direction. Drag factor (in the monitor) or damper lever setting (@ side of squirrel cage) should be set low meaning 90-105 DF or #1-3 for the lever pointer.