Concept2 Forum

Looking for a bit of advice here.

I have been physically active for 30 years (52 now). I have treated myself to a brand new Concept 2 E Model and love it. I have stopped all high-impact exercise due to pains in the knee.

I feel a little overwhelmed in trying to work out what is best for my goals. I am doing the C2 WOD for medium and long (about 12k upwards).

The main goal is a high-level aerobic fitness, and to put in respectable 2k, 5k times.

Should I stick with the long WOD on C2 or any other tips would be gratefully received?

Welcome to the forum and to the painful world of erging.

Technique is the most important part to get right. Play around with drag to find what works for you. It's usually advised to not go above 130ish unless you're sprinting but it can be quite subjective.

Try and mix up your stroke rates. Long sessions keep to 18-22 (I personally prefer 21/22 but you might like it slower) and shorter distances should be done at 28 or higher. I would recommend long steady state sessions 2 or 3 times a week and then try a variety of intervals at a high intensity 1 or 2 times a week e.g. 4 x 750m / 6 x 500m with 2 or 3 mins rest.

Be patient, no-one starts off as an excellent rower and a lot of us have been training for years so don't try and 'compare and compete' with everyone.

You will have bad days, as I'm sure you are aware given your background, but that's part of the fun.

If you search through the forum for newbie / noob you will find loads of great advice

Take a look at the Pete Plans (Pete Plan, Beginner Pete Plan, and 5k Pete Plan)

The message board is great for motivation and advice. Even of greater benefit, for me, is the fact I post my workout results there. It's pushed me to complete (or push harder through) workouts knowing I was going to post.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=165414

I decided to start with the Beginner Pete Plan and do all 5 workouts (3 core + 2 additional) each week. I'm on the final week (24) of the program. Yesterday was another 12k, so don't let the word beginner argue with your ego.

https://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/beginner-training/

Quite a few people have done several rounds of the PP since I've been doing BPP.

Mike recently started the 5k PP. It seems to be solid.

There's also a Wolverine Plan (WP), but I don't know much about it.

Great to have you on the boards!

sttony wrote: ↑

August 3rd, 2018, 2:33 am

Looking for a bit of advice here.

I have been physically active for 30 years (52 now). I have treated myself to a brand new Concept 2 E Model and love it. I have stopped all high-impact exercise due to pains in the knee.

I feel a little overwhelmed in trying to work out what is best for my goals. I am doing the C2 WOD for medium and long (about 12k upwards).

The main goal is a high-level aerobic fitness, and to put in respectable 2k, 5k times.

Should I stick with the long WOD on C2 or any other tips would be gratefully received?

Glad you have arrived here! I had to stop running because of dodgy knees caused by basketball career but absolutely love indoor rowing. I began not long ago (May 2017) and feel like I've learned so much but also so much to learn. I can tell you that I haven't stuck to a single training plan (too boring for me if I'm honest) but I do generally follow the advice of the experts on here and do most of my metres at about 20-22 strokes per minute and not too hard.

I mix it up a bit with some faster work and the occasional PB attempt but when I first began I was going for 2k PBs every time!

I think if I were to give advice I'd humbly suggest work on your form and on long slow rows with maybe a bit of faster stuff mixed in, to break up the monotony. For this, the Pete Plan workouts I find good. Also, make sure you take some time to figure out what drag factor you feel most comfortable with - that made a big difference to me and I mostly use DF115 or thereabouts unless it's a 2k PB attempt and I may go 120-130.

Anyway, happy rowing.

jimmyshand wrote: ↑

August 3rd, 2018, 9:08 am

I had to stop running because of dodgy knees caused by basketball career but absolutely love indoor rowing

Apologies as it's off topic, but this is the same for me, albeit it was when I was a youth that i hammered basketball and didn't have a career.

Dangerscouse wrote: ↑

August 3rd, 2018, 12:53 pm

jimmyshand wrote: ↑

August 3rd, 2018, 9:08 am

I had to stop running because of dodgy knees caused by basketball career but absolutely love indoor rowing

Apologies as it's off topic, but this is the same for me, albeit it was when I was a youth that i hammered basketball and didn't have a career.

Hesitate to use "career" but I did play for 15 years and of course the dunks were worth it, even if my knees are kaput now

Folks............... thank you much for all your comments

I had to stick my Oar in (;-)) with the basketball 'career' thing - me too! 25 years (none for the last 6, zero impact for that long after 3 ankle surgeries).

I am new to 'serious' rowing too and have started the 5K PP lite, early days but I like the structure and the forum helps with the accountability too.

Good luck - keep posting and let us know how you get on - I am back on the dark horse tomorrow for week 2. lol! Early days - my log book will clock past 50k next week, small fry for most but feels pretty good for me (3 weeks work - so nothing too long distant yet).

Cheers. Ange. x

angewes wrote: ↑

August 12th, 2018, 9:03 am

I had to stick my Oar in (;-)) with the basketball 'career' thing - me too! 25 years (none for the last 6, zero impact for that long after 3 ankle surgeries).

I am new to 'serious' rowing too and have started the 5K PP lite, early days but I like the structure and the forum helps with the accountability too.

Good luck - keep posting and let us know how you get on - I am back on the dark horse tomorrow for week 2. lol! Early days - my log book will clock past 50k next week, small fry for most but feels pretty good for me (3 weeks work - so nothing too long distant yet).

Cheers. Ange. x

Best of luck with it all Ange. 50k is a respectable total for a newbie, so you should feel good about it