Newbie Questions and hopefully helpful answers:

[Wood_Duck]

Great Salt Lake Duck asked some great questions. I bet others either have similar questions or would benefit from a discusion...

We all come to erging from different perspectives and with different goals in mind so we might all have different advice (that might confilct) to offer. Try it out and see if it works for you. If not, try something else. The key is to keep at it!

Hi everyone! I am brand new to rowing - - have gone to the gym about 10 times now. Have 24,079 meters so far! I am amazed at how much I LOVE rowing! This is addictive for sure! Very Happy I have a few questions:
1) the name I picked is Great Salt Lake Duck - I live in Utah near SLC! I am not sure if this will show in the post or not. If it doesn't, how do I do that? Also, how do you add the Million Meters ticker to your signature?
2) I have downloaded the training manual, but it is confusing! What suggestions do you have for newbies just learning? Where to go for info etc. etc. I'm just not understanding how to read the stats, how to use the monitor to structure your workouts, just what all those numbers mean anyway....... Shocked
3) How do you find out if there is a rowing club or group near you?
4) I have been reading through the posts, and I have been trying to slow down my strokes per minute - was 29, today I got my average down to 26 with an av watt of 41. Other posters seem to list watts as 3 places ie: 400. Can anyone explain?
Well, enough for now. I am so excited to have discovered rowing! I hurt my ankle and have a fussy knee and can no longer do any type of impact exercise and this has just been great. I have never been very athletic in my life, (can't throw, catch or aim worth squat!) but I am health concious and have always tried to "workout" but this is the first time in my life I am having fun and actually looking forward to working out - not just forcing my self to go to they gym because I should. For the first time I actually feel comfortable and confident doing something "athletic". It' s amazing that it took me 45 years to figure out what people ment by a "runner's high" , but now that I know, I hope I never stop!

1) "Wood_Duck" appears for me on the top right because that is my log in. Other put it in their sig file at the bottom. Huni is the expert on the ticker...
2)Where to start?
a) Form: In my (very humble) opinion, the most important thing is to focus on form. Push hard with your legs until they are extended and then pull with your arms. The seat and the handle should move at the same speed until your seat stops. Grip the handle lightly using your hands as hooks (I used to grip for dear life and had the blisters to show.) I'll look around over the next few days for better technical information to paste in here.
b) stretch: for me the key has been to stretch after every workout. I mainly use the list in the training manual.
c) Go slow and steady: You don't want to burn out by doing too much too soon.
3) the number I focus on is the "split" it is the time/500m. What that means is how long it takes you to row 500 meters. As that time number decreases, it means you are going faster because it takes less time to row the same distance.

Hope this helps. I know you had many more questions and I hope we can answer them over time!

Susan aka Wood_Duck

PS: Check to see where the lever is set on the fan... most recommend between 3-5. (At my gym all the people who aren't familiar with erging put it to the max at 10...)

[seat5]

Form: In my (very humble) opinion, the most important thing is to focus on form. Push hard with your legs until they are extended and then pull with your arms

After you have started to drive with your legs, keep your upper body leaning forward. When your legs are almost extended, allow your back to "open" (swing back) and then pull with your arms. Pull your arms into your body with the forarms level. Your legs should be really close to straight, but not overextended (knees pushed down to the rail).

Now for the recovery: Next push your arms forward, swing your upper body forward from the hips, and go up the slide by bending your knees. Don't rush; it should take about twice as long to go up the slide as it did for you to drive down it. The forward body lean should be fixed by the time you start to move your legs. Keep that same body angle as you begin the drive, which should start when your shins are vertical or close to it. You can allow your heels to lift off the foot plates, loading the weight of your body evenly on your two feet, in preparing to drive hard with your legs on the next stroke.

If you have the PM3 monitor, you can set it to show your force curve, and if there are big bumps in the curve you should try to smooth them out. The bumps are places in your stroke where the sequence is not smoothly transitioning or where you are doing things slightly out of order. Also, row with your feet unstrapped, it helps your technique.

Something else I watch for on the monitor is that I'm driving each stroke on the same number each time, which means I'm getting about 10 meters per stroke. This is a very effective way of making sure you're not going faster just by rushing up and down the slide; it will keep your pace and stroke rate making sense. At 10 MPS, 25 SPM=2:00/500 pace. If you are going at a slower pace than 2:00, it would be good training for you to slow the rate down, and one of the easiest ways to do it is just drive on the same number of meters each time. As you get used to it, you can try to speed up by pushing harder with your legs, as opposed to going up and down the slide faster, in training. When you want to go for a really fast time, then go ahead and strap in and let your rate be unrestricted.

All of this was from Paul Smith or Tom Bohrer, both highly qualified coaches. I just hope I have communicated it correctly so as not to get you started wrong 'cuz I'm just a hobbyist! Good luck and keep coming on the forum for advice and encouragement, it's lots of fun!

[hunisu]

You can go to any ticker site to create a ticker. From there copy the bbc code and paste it into the signature area in your profile.

Haven't updated mine here lately, but I'm up to 196,828! Much more than I thought I'd be able to do in this amount of time.

Sorry I haven't been around to reply sooner.

[staylor13]

Thank you to all for replying to my post. I will try and use all the suggestions! I am so excited - - - I bought my own ERG!!! Whooopee!!
The bad thing is that I have been pretty sick with a bladder/yeast infection and when I came home from work the other night, my sweet hubby had it all set up for me as a surprise, but I was too sore to give it more than a couple of strokes!
I'm not 100% sure, but a month or so ago I bought a pair of nylon capri work out pants. They are a "slick" nylon type fabric. Most of the current styles of workout clothes feel like this fabric. Well, I really sweat when I workout and I have come to find out that this fabric doesn't breathe very well at all!!!! I really think this fabric is what caused me to have THE worst yeast infection I have ever, ever had!! So for all the newbies like me - - cotton, cotton, cotton!!!!!! And PTL for diflucan!
I got my s/m down to 22 today by not bending my elbows until my legs were straight. Feels a little odd, but it got easier! Happy Rowing All!

[voodoogirl]

Hi

Probably a dumb question, it feels like one of those math word problems I always hated. Anyway--yesterday my s/m was higher than this morning, but this morning I rowed longer with a faster split. Does this mean that I'm working harder when I go longer with a lower s/m? I was thinking higher s/m was better---if someone could explain this I'd appreciate it, and have a better understanding of what I'm doing and what to aim for.

Thanks

Laurie

[Alissa]

Hi

Probably a dumb question, it feels like one of those math word problems I always hated. Anyway--yesterday my s/m was higher than this morning, but this morning I rowed longer with a faster split. Does this mean that I'm working harder when I go longer with a lower s/m? I was thinking higher s/m was better---if someone could explain this I'd appreciate it, and have a better understanding of what I'm doing and what to aim for.

Thanks

Laurie

Hi Laurie!

You'll probably get better, more technical answers from others, but I thought I'd try...

Since the monitor measures the amount of work, you're "working harder" when the split is lower. You can reach that result through a number of variables, three of which I can think of right now:

1. Moving Faster (increasing the s/m)
2. Pushing Harder (what Xeno calls "torque"), and
3. Lengthing the Distance you Push (lengthening the stroke).

I think you can work harder (measured by the split) using any of them and to the extent you can combine them, harder still. I think it's up to you to decide how you want to combine them, which you want to focus on at any particular time...and how to manage the variables from time to time.

I don't think there are any absolutes. For instance you're right that higher s/m is "better" as it represents more work (assuming the other variables stay the same)...but it may not represent more work (lower/faster split) if the way you manage to get to a higher s/m is to not push as hard. How you manage to increase those variables is often a matter of technique...which is a whole 'nother subject!

Have fun!

Alissa

[voodoogirl]

Thanks Alissa. That resonates with how I feel when I row--I think, looking back now, that I can tell when I'm rowing "lighter" but faster vs. when I'm trying to row "harder" but slower. I'm not good enough yet to figure out exactly what I'm doing and break it down into something I can control, but at least distinguishing between the two and noticing the difference is a start down that road.

God knows if my technique is okay, I try to make it so.

I also found that rowing daily, or at least 5x a week, helps me tune in to what my body is doing and what I'm doing differently. Afternoon rows tend to be "lighter" but faster and mornings tend to be slower but "stronger."

All interesting!

Thanks again

Laurie

[grams]

Seat5 said it all about good form.

A good way to check your form is to prop up a mirror in fron t of the erg and watch what you do, vs what the good ergers look like on the C2 site. I discovered I was hunching too much with my shoulders and my back wasn't straight.

You can also play a rerun of the Crash Bs and watch races. The race form is different because the stroke rate is considerably higher during competition, but its great to watch anyhow.

If you are erging to lose weight you need to do longer slower sessions. The body uses up stored glucogon for at least the first half hour, and doesn't start seriously on fat breakdown until after that.

Join Nonathlon (www(dot)nonathlon(dot)com) and start entering times there Its a great motivator to do a variety of distances and times.

Set up your favorite entertainment next to the erg. I burn music mixes of classic rock with songs that have about the right beat to keep myself on the 20 strokes per minute rate.

Don't obsess over the numbers on the PM3. Now that I know how it feels to erg at 10 meters/second and 20 strokes/minute, I often don't watch it at all. Especially now that tennis and soccer (football for some of you) are on.

I'm an old soccer player myself, so I'm off to erg for a half. No commercials-great!

grams