Concept2 Forum

From what I've gathered, I'll be sidelined from rowing for the next several weeks due to a possible rib stress fracture. Even if it isn't a full blown stress fracture, it will still take about 3-4 weeks. So I decided I'll do a lot of biking, and maybe a little running if I'm comfortable enough with it.

I've read that with cycling, you need to essentially double your rowing minutes to have the same effect. Does that mean that if I normally erg 45' on Monday, I now have to bike 90? Does my HR during this matter at all? If my hold a 160 HR for a 60' steady state does that mean to get the same effect from cycling, I will have to hold 160 HR for 2 hours?

No specific answers, sorry, but I know when I get out on the road, it's easily 2:1. A one hour bike ride is just a warmup. The variables in terrain, wind, etc. make it hard to make a direct comparison to the steady state rowing on an erg with regards to HR or effort. Someone might have some data they will share.

So I guess, my question is; are you riding on the road or on a trainer? If a trainer, then I really don't have an answer because the idea of sitting on a stationary bike for two hours is like torture, worse than an hour on the erg, and I've never done it.

Good luck with your injury recovery.

Cyclist2 wrote:No specific answers, sorry, but I know when I get out on the road, it's easily 2:1. A one hour bike ride is just a warmup. The variables in terrain, wind, etc. make it hard to make a direct comparison to the steady state rowing on an erg with regards to HR or effort. Someone might have some data they will share.

So I guess, my question is; are you riding on the road or on a trainer? If a trainer, then I really don't have an answer because the idea of sitting on a stationary bike for two hours is like torture, worse than an hour on the erg, and I've never done it.

Good luck with your injury recovery.

It's a stationary bike in my gym. Yeah it's brutal... I never thought I'd miss erging. I usually set a baseline of 118 RPM which amounts to 24MPH on this bike. No idea how accurate this is to a road bike but I don't think it matters.

If your bike does not show real Watts (price will tell), you can only go on HR and time, using close to what you see on the erg. The CV effect might be similar, but muscular effects differ. So then adjust to taste.
Otherwise just start low, say UT2 (likely forced anyway), then push after a week or so. Warm-up too can be exploratory.

jamesg wrote:If your bike does not show real Watts (price will tell), you can only go on HR and time, using close to what you see on the erg. The CV effect might be similar, but muscular effects differ. So then adjust to taste.
Otherwise just start low, say UT2 (likely forced anyway), then push after a week or so. Warm-up too can be exploratory.

It's definitely a cheap bike. The only reason I'm using this one is because my gym in college had the same model, and I always set the resistance to "8" and I can gauge any improvements I make. I guess for the time being, I'll try my best to stick to the 2:1 rule. Worst case scenario: I end up in better shape...

I do think the CV part will be the same, but the muscular will probably differ. I'll try to add in some lifting to supplement it but I still have to be careful that I don't strain my rib.

Removed since probably no longer relevant.