Concept2 Forum

Again, probably already asked... I recently competed in an Indoor Rowing event, and increased my 500m row by 14 seconds, to 2:00mins. My problem is that I am 5 foot 2 inches tall, and don't have the benefit of 'long levers'. I wish to improve my time over several distances inclusing the 2k and 1k as well as shorter distances. What can I do to improve times with the obvious height distance? BTW have only been rowing for past 18 months. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Whatever our height weight age sex and shape there is only one method: learn to row using a perfect stroke containing plenty of work (which means long and hard); then pull as many strokes like that as possible. Use the rating to adjust the overall CV load, as to the task of the day.

There's lots of schedules to keep it interesting by varying overall time and ratings, but the basis is always a solid stroke that you can maintain for upwards of ½h a day.

By the look of your 500 time (200W) and weight guessed from your height (50-60kg?), you've been doing this already, as you are pulling around 3.5 - 4 W/kg. Keep going.

I'm curious about this way watt/kg way of framing things...being a scrawny should-give-it-up-and-be-a-cox myself (1.6m, 47k). What is a reasonable target w/kg for a serious amateur?

Gluedance, I am in awe of the 2:00 split; I can keep up 2:20 for a good long time, but I am finding it hard to break past that for more than half a minute or so. What's your training regimen, if you don't mind me asking?

3km/h in, 10km/h on

dear jamesg -
would you please translate the above for me ?

3 km/h swimming freestyle (in it). At my favourite campsite I used to swim to an island at about 900m and back in around 35'. No stops.
10 km/h (on it, sculling a 1x). I scull around my lake, about 9km, in 50 minutes, stops included.

teampbandj wrote:I'm curious about this way watt/kg way of framing things...being a scrawny should-give-it-up-and-be-a-cox myself (1.6m, 47k). What is a reasonable target w/kg for a serious amateur?

Gluedance, I am in awe of the 2:00 split; I can keep up 2:20 for a good long time, but I am finding it hard to break past that for more than half a minute or so. What's your training regimen, if you don't mind me asking?

My current training regimen is one long row a week at around 2:20/500m for about an hour, one row that will be a selected distance (such as 1000m at race pace) and then easier row to a total of 30 mins and then one hideous 30 minute interval row (eg. 500m at race pace and then 5 mins at around 2:25/500m) - this is "supervised" by my Personal Trainer, whom I think enjoys the look of pain on my face). I also do weights twice a week, and do 2 spinning (cycling classes at the gym) classes that last 50 minutes. However for much of the last year I have not always managed 3 rows a week as I have had bursitis in my hip and so have had to drop out the long row.

At 47K, be a cox. There are differences, and a great cox is rare. Still training hard will let them know you know what they are going through.

If you can get the most out of a boat, and know their limits so you don't ask too much, you should mostly have open water and a happy crew.

LJWagner wrote:At 47K, be a cox. There are differences, and a great cox is rare. Still training hard will let them know you know what they are going through.

If you can get the most out of a boat, and know their limits so you don't ask too much, you should mostly have open water and a happy crew.

There was a message on the UK forum in which the writer expressed surprise that the cox of an olympic winning crew got a gold medal along with the rowers. I was surprised that he was surprised. In some crews, the cox could well be voted as "the most valuable player" if crews had such a designation.

The one such crew that I am familiar with is the U.C. Berkeley crew that won gold in London in 1948. The cox, Ralph Purchase, at over 30 years of age, was a lot older than the usual college cox, but then several of the oarsmen themselves were well into their twenties. Ralph had been a combat infantry platoon leader in the South Pacific and knew how to get the best out of the men in his crew. In a sense, it was like having a second coach, right in the boat. He was still the varsity cox in 1949. I was on that crew and we won at the last IRA regatta held at Poughkeepsie. It has always been my feeling that he was the major factor, not only in our win, but in staying ahead of our JV, which had two of our six returning gold medal winners.

I really wonder at the wisdom of using a bow seated cox. Certainly they can see better for steering, and, I suppose, there is less wind resistance, but it eliminates the opportunity for the cox to do any real coaching, which I regard as one of a cox's main assets — if he/she has the skill.

Incidentally, both of our coaches, freshman coach Russ Nagler and varsity coach Ky Ebright, were coxswains. Russ trained most of the rowers from scratch (there wasn't much pre-college rowing on the west coast in those days) and Ky made them into winning eights, including the Olympic gold medal winners of 1928 and 1932, as well as the 1948 crew. With regard to the concept that you have to be good at a sport to teach it— I think that their records blow that concept out of the water, so to speak.

Bob S.

the best guy on my team is only 5'8" , that pretty short when it comes to varsity rowing. theres still hope for you, dont worry!

jamesg wrote:3 km/h swimming freestyle (in it). At my favourite campsite I used to swim to an island at about 900m and back in around 35'. No stops.
10 km/h (on it, sculling a 1x). I scull around my lake, about 9km, in 50 minutes, stops included.

A runner friend of mine was quite proud of teaching himself to swim while vacationing in Florida quite a few years ago. There was a lake by the house and each day he'd swim out a bit farther and then back. His goal was to swim to the other side of the lake.

Each day he went out a bit farther and then back, then the next day a bit farther and then back. Finally he was able to swim 1/2 way across the lake and then back.

He was telling his story to one an older fellow sitting on a porch, how he had carefully built up by swimming a bit farther each time, finally had made it to 1/2 way and was ready to swim all the way across the lake next time. The fellow listened quietly and finally asked, "so, the gators didn't bother ya then?" Alas he never did finish that swim.