Rowing for about 10 days - not sure how good/bad my numbers are

[RobW]

I got a RowErg about 10 days ago. I watched a couple of videos on technique, practiced a little bit, then started. Did the stupid thing and went too fast too soon with bad technique. Stroke rate, watts, drag, all over the place. Sore hips, sore back, sore shoulders... learned my lesson for being stupid. Found some really good technique and 'do this, don't do that' type videos. Really paid attention this time and practiced longer until I felt comfortable that my form had improved. Decided to start slow and focus on my form instead of trying to break a world record. What a difference! My stroke rate graph changed from a series of peaks and valleys into an almost flat line. No more hip or back or shoulder pain. The problem is, I am not sure if the numbers I am getting now are 'decent' or not.

Data from my latest session:

Time - 1 hour
Distance - 8250 meters
Pace - 3:38.6/500m
Avg. Watts - 33
Avg. Stroke rate - 16/m
Stroke Count - 974
Drag Factor - 108

Personal stats - 5'11" and 96kg

Again, I am still working on technique and not trying to go all out. Any opinions / help / tips would be greatly appreciated, especially from some of the more experienced rowers out there! Thanks!

[Citroen]

You need to row harder.

At 5' 11" you should be able to better 2:30 pace - which is 12,000m for 1 hour.

Rowing is a legs sport, not upper arms. Drive the stroke with your legs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zWu1yuJ0_g

[JaapvanE]

Data from my latest session:

Time - 1 hour
Distance - 8250 meters
Pace - 3:38.6/500m
Avg. Watts - 33
Avg. Stroke rate - 16/m
Stroke Count - 974
Drag Factor - 108

Personal stats - 5'11" and 96kg

This is a pretty weird combo of data to be honest. Your pace is pretty low, stroke rate is a bit on the low side, but distance per stroke is way to short for the SPM (8.5 meters per stroke) to make sense. As Citroen said, push with the legs first, then body and then arms. Make sure you have a quick drive (the pushing bit) and a slow recovery.

[RobW]

Yeah I plan to push harder, I am just taking it easy right now until I am sure my form is good. I just have no frame of reference if the drag factor, watts, stuff like that are OK. I know I am doing the tortoise thing right now

Thanks for the comment about the stroke length and distance - I will concentrate more on that.

I appreciate the feedback!

[Joebasscat]

People will be reluctant to say you’re too slow as your only competition is yourself. Congratulations on your new athletic endeavor and congratulations on working to get your form correct right out of the gate. That will pay significant dividends. That said, you’re too slow! I jest. 18-22 SPM is a good rate for long training. As you take on faster paces take your SPM up to 24 to 32 or higher, or anything in between to see how that feels for you. Highly suggest you invest in a HR monitor to guide how hard you’re working. There is no right or wrong pace, all would depend on your goals. Check out the rankings on the C2 website for your age and weight grouping to get a general idea of what others are posting. Keep in mind those are times people mostly take some pride in so not necessarily what you need to do and not their daily efforts.

Keep scouring the web and reading this forum and you will learn a ton. That 2:30/500 pace mentioned earlier is a nice early goal for say a 60 minute piece. But that will depend on what that takes out of you. Maybe today that’s just a 10-15’ piece for you. That’s ok. Take your time and vast improvements will be in your future. Others will be along with more specific suggestions. Take it all in and above all read, read, read. Welcome to the forum and be sure and ask for assistance with any aspect of your training. You will find this forum to be super helpful.

[Dangerscouse]

Yeah I plan to push harder, I am just taking it easy right now until I am sure my form is good. I just have no frame of reference if the drag factor, watts, stuff like that are OK. I know I am doing the tortoise thing right now

Welcome to the forum

The drag factor is subjective, so have a play around with it as you might prefer a slightly higher setting (circa 120-130).

Don't worry about your pace atm, that will improve as you progress. Making sure you're rowing correctly is definitely the important part, as you'll leak power with poor technique as well as have a higher injury risk.

Give it a month or two and then start to assess your progress, as I'm sure that you'll be notably faster without too much effort

[jamesg]

Don't worry, the erg is a better place to sit than the couch. Just move that handle back and forth, every day a bit more, a bit longer the reach, a bit faster the pull, a bit slower the return. Enjoy the sweat when it comes.

You did well to watch Watts. A small increase shows up immediately and it's all true.

Mix it a bit, not an hour every day: start slow, then one day a minute, day after ten, then back to one, or maybe two. And so on. Getting fit thin tall wise learnt or anything else, takes time, but it works; and makes anything possible.

And never stop.

[dabatey]

I'd cut down to 30 minutes and push a bit harder as 3.30 is so slow as to be inadvertently affecting your trying for technique. I'm 60kg(so relatively weak compared to most) and short(ish) and when I first rowed it was more like 2.25 to 2.30 pace (from a zero fitness base like yourself) right at the start. I'm not saying you have to pull that, just that 3.30 is so slow. You can get technique right whilst still getting some meaningful exercise.

I'd say that 16spm is difficult to achieve correctly when starting out (without an awkward pause), and if you lift the stroke rate to 20spm or more then you will likely find things a bit smoother.

[Sakly]

I'd cut down to 30 minutes and push a bit harder as 3.30 is so slow as to be inadvertently affecting your trying for technique.

Fully agree to this.
To get a decent technique, you need a minimum of load, that is true for every strength exercise. 33W is near to no output at all, that means you do no significant work during your stroke. In fact that shows your drive must be very slow, but speed is a vital part of the drive and it's general technique.
As others have said, try to push harder in the drive and relax in the recovery, get the sequencing right and work at low rates like you already did.
Probably a video from the side can give more insight of what you're doing and more help can be provided.

[Dangerscouse]

Yeah, these are good points that I hadn't considered.

Do you pause at the end of the stroke, before starting the recovery phase? You want this to be a continuous flow so increasing the stroke rate is probably a good idea.

Rowing slowly enough to consider technique does make sense, but if it's too slow you're going to change it when you increase the pace as the load & effort will be a lot more and then sensibility goes out of the window and emotions kick in.

Imagine you're jumping horizontally to understand the drive phase as you need to build a mind muscle connection with your legs

[Joebasscat]

Here is a good post that was pinned over 5 yrs ago.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=185257

Likely some things in here you can take away for yourself.

[RobW]

Wow, was not expecting this kind of response! Thanks to everyone who has replied with their encouragement and suggestions. The overall feeling I get is ‘you’re too slow!’ and I can’t argue that point.

I had never thought of it from the perspective that going slow for too long could actually turn into a problem when I start pushing harder. Thanks for that.

Guess it is time to ramp it up and see how things go. Again, I truly appreciate all the info and encouragement.

[hikeplusrow]

I got a RowErg about 10 days ago. I watched a couple of videos on technique, practiced a little bit, then started. Did the stupid thing and went too fast too soon with bad technique. Stroke rate, watts, drag, all over the place. Sore hips, sore back, sore shoulders... learned my lesson for being stupid. Found some really good technique and 'do this, don't do that' type videos. Really paid attention this time and practiced longer until I felt comfortable that my form had improved. Decided to start slow and focus on my form instead of trying to break a world record. What a difference! My stroke rate graph changed from a series of peaks and valleys into an almost flat line. No more hip or back or shoulder pain. The problem is, I am not sure if the numbers I am getting now are 'decent' or not.

Data from my latest session:

Time - 1 hour
Distance - 8250 meters
Pace - 3:38.6/500m
Avg. Watts - 33
Avg. Stroke rate - 16/m
Stroke Count - 974
Drag Factor - 108

Personal stats - 5'11" and 96kg

Again, I am still working on technique and not trying to go all out. Any opinions / help / tips would be greatly appreciated, especially from some of the more experienced rowers out there! Thanks!

Rowing slower enables you think about what you're doing regarding technique and sequencing. There are limits to that, though, and you need to apply sufficient force to make it 'realistic'. My technique is rubbish if I row really slowly, but improves dramatically when I push on.

[Dangerscouse]

I had never thought of it from the perspective that going slow for too long could actually turn into a problem when I start pushing harder. Thanks for that.

I hadn't thought of it either and it did make sense to me on face value.

Practicing pick drills will also be helpful. These are essentially breaking down the fundamentals of the stroke, so you can ingrain the motion, feeling and perception of the entire movement but in component parts. Learning the hip hinge is important as it's different to a standard reach.

For a seemingly simple exercise it's surprisingly difficult,
but it does get easier after the first few million metres