How to row to music?

[DPlan00]

Hi, I am relatively new to erging having logged around 100km. Most of my learning has come from online videos and forums like this. I spent a great deal of time on technique and have been focusing mostly on sustained SRs over time.

I have found the most trouble keeping my SR steady for extended times. I am a drummer and have a great sense of timing, so this is pretty frustrating. I have read that the catch and recover are at a ration around 1:2. I found some music this morning and tried rowing for 5 minutes at 20 SR with music that should work at that pace.

I found that it indeed did work and helped me lower my split, get my heart rate up, and get a better workout. However, I also noticed I was splitting my catch and recover pretty equally within a measure of music on the beat. For example, catch 1 and 2 of the measure of music and recover on 3 and 4.

If I am rowing to music, should I be finishing the catch in one beat and recovering over 3 beats? For example, complete the stroke in 1 and recover for 2,3,4. Does this seem like it might be pretty difficult and less efficient on the recover and following catch?

Does anyone else row to music?

[hobbit]

I always row to music. It keeps the boredom at bay. However, I haven't paid much attention to the relation between the music's rhythm and my rowing. When some lively song from my youth comes on, I do occasionally speed up to go along with it, but that's all. And I do chose lively stuff for sprints & tempo sessions with more relaxed stuff for steady state.

[mitchel674]

Perhaps you need to row to a waltz or some other selection in 3/4 time.

[Dangerscouse]

I ALWAYS row to music and I used to DJ too so I know what you mean re rowing to the beat but it gets way too complicated so I just enjoy the music and concentrate on rowing

[lancecampeau]

I find that the sound of the erg's mechanical parts and the tone of air moving through the fan housing offer a different form of real-time performance info (along with the PM).

For that reason, I rarely ever listen to anything when rowing on the erg.

[Allan Olesen]

The 1:2 ratio is in my opinion misleading and should not be considered a target in itself.

If you row at the pace or power you intended, and at the stroke rate you intended, your ratio between drive and recovery will pretty much be given, with quite small room for variation. (There is of course also some dependency on the drive length and the power distribution during the stroke, but if you have good technique, those are also pretty much given.)

So in my opinion it is better to focus on keeping your stroke rate (which you already do) and pace or power at the desired targets.

The golden rule here is that you use the duration of the recovery phase to control your stroke rate, and you use the duration of the drive phase to control your pace or power - a shorter drive duration will give you higher power / faster pace.

Also, you should always be in motion forwards or backwards - if you have to stop to get the timing right, you spent too little time on your recovery.

And then for some extra information on your stroke quality, you can switch the bottom half of your PM to show the force diagram. This diagram will show a smooth arc (you can find videos showing the shape to aim for) when your timing and intensity of leg power, hip power and arm power is right.

I haven't mentioned any specific power or pace to aim for. This is personal and will depend on your current ability. But there are plenty of training plans online where you start out by testing yourself, usually on the 2k distance, and from your resulting time, your target paces or powers for training can be calculated.

[DPlan00]

Perhaps you need to row to a waltz or some other selection in 3/4 time.

Hahaha! I agree! I was waiting for this very reply!

[DPlan00]

The 1:2 ratio is in my opinion misleading and should not be considered a target in itself.

If you row at the pace or power you intended, and at the stroke rate you intended, your ratio between drive and recovery will pretty much be given, with quite small room for variation. (There is of course also some dependency on the drive length and the power distribution during the stroke, but if you have good technique, those are also pretty much given.)

So in my opinion it is better to focus on keeping your stroke rate (which you already do) and pace or power at the desired targets.

The golden rule here is that you use the duration of the recovery phase to control your stroke rate, and you use the duration of the drive phase to control your pace or power - a shorter drive duration will give you higher power / faster pace.

Also, you should always be in motion forwards or backwards - if you have to stop to get the timing right, you spent too little time on your recovery.

And then for some extra information on your stroke quality, you can switch the bottom half of your PM to show the force diagram. This diagram will show a smooth arc (you can find videos showing the shape to aim for) when your timing and intensity of leg power, hip power and arm power is right.

I haven't mentioned any specific power or pace to aim for. This is personal and will depend on your current ability. But there are plenty of training plans online where you start out by testing yourself, usually on the 2k distance, and from your resulting time, your target paces or powers for training can be calculated.

All great info. It is much appreciated by this newbie.

I saw on here a guy posting video of for critique. That might be something I need, as well. I think it's ok, but I don't have anyone to provide feedback.

[patrickschmidt]

I row to music all the time, and (because I'm old school in my basement where my rowing machine is), I burn mix CDs for rowing. (Yes, I have Spotify and other services elsewhere... ).

If you want to emphasize pairing your rowing to a steady beat, you can find lots of people who have created mixes that match a very specific beats per minute. E.g., go to Youtube and search "exercise 90 bpm" "workout 90 bpm" or "running tracks 90 bpm", e.g., or you can buy such CDs. Somebody who is skilled enough can normalize a bunch of their favorite music to one tempo, within reason. Find out what rate you want to aim for, set a playlist or youtube track, and go.

But I don't think that's really necessary. The joy of music with rowing is the just the pick-me-up or a new mood that a new song introduces, as long as it is either upbeat (pop, punk, reggae all work well, e.g.) or soaring, like anthemic/stadium rock. Tonight my music took me from Men Without Hats to the Sex Pistols to Chicago to Guns N Roses, and it was all good. Sometimes you'll slip into the groove or notice a consonance between your stroke and the beat, and other times you'll fall out of it, but then the next song is there to carry you along.

[jamesg]

If I am rowing to music, should I be finishing the catch in one beat and recovering over 3 beats? For example, complete the stroke in 1 and recover for 2,3,4. Does this seem like it might be pretty difficult and less efficient on the recover and following catch?

Basic rhythms are 2,3,4 and 5 beat according to the type of work: sprint, row, paddle hard, paddle light, which correspond roughly to 18-20, 20-24, 24-30, 40 spm and to UT2, UT1, AT, Max.

With music you'd probably want the catch at the first beat, so in low rate distance training, UT1, the bar would be 4-beat and 2.5 to 3 seconds long.
Catch 1, release 2, swing 3, slide 4, 1 next catch.

[KeithT]

If I am rowing to music, should I be finishing the catch in one beat and recovering over 3 beats? For example, complete the stroke in 1 and recover for 2,3,4. Does this seem like it might be pretty difficult and less efficient on the recover and following catch?

Does anyone else row to music?

Others have answered pretty well but I was a drummer too so a little different perspective. It's hard to find music that will allow for differing ratios but you might find that at a certain pace with the music you are using that you hit the down beat every so many measures and you can focus on that. For me, while I always listen to music (including Rush with Neil Peart my drumming hero) it is more background noise and occasionally "psyche up" material. I also will at times decide I wont look at the monitor for an entire song just to distract some.