Where to set the damper control?

[hev]

I am pretty new to rowing, but already feeling competitive - with myself anyway. The thing is, is there an optimum place to set the damper control? I am setting it at 8 which feels comfortable to row at and have managed 8:30s for 2K and just under 46m for 10000m. However I would like to go faster obviously, and I was going to move up to 9, but then read somewhere ( I,ve been having a good nose around the forum ) that in competitions people tend to set the damper somewhere between 3 & 6. Doesn't this mean you have to row faster rather than using power?Anyway any help would be gratefully received.

[jamesg]

Lower settings (2-4) let you take a faster but longer stroke, so help to make each stroke effective, because the work we do is proportional to the length of the stroke. This means that at low DF you can do more work. It's sustainable if the strokes are relaxed, smooth and stylish. The extra work will show up on the monitor as speed, and in you as sweat; and in due time as fitness too.

However don't worry much about speed, most training is done at low paces, say 1.5-2 W/kg body weight and at low rating, 18-25 according to height.

[Citroen]

Which monitor do you have? http://www.concept2.com/us/support/monitors/


If PM2 press [REST] & [OK] together. (You need to remove your HR belt if you have a HR interface.)
If PM3/PM4 choose more options then display drag factor from the main menu.

Row a few strokes to get the flywheel spinning and the monitor will display the drag factor number.

Then adjust the damper lever so that you're in this range:

Male hwt – 125-140
Female hwt – 120-135
Male lwt – 120-135
Female lwt – 115-125

Drag factor depends on a number of things, the primary one being how badly your machine is clogged with dust bunnies. Altitude can have a significant effect.

[johnlvs2run]

in competitions people tend to set the damper somewhere between 3 & 6. Doesn't this mean you have to row faster rather than using power?Anyway any help would be gratefully received.

The damper doesn't make any difference to your speed, with the exception of short sprints where you'd need the maximum acceleration. For example, I recently did a 500m SB with the damper on 1.

Your speed is a combination of the resistance and the speed of the fan. A high damper has a higher resistance but less speed of the drive. A low damper has a lower resistance but the drive is much faster. These balance out as to the power and pace that shows on the monitor.

I prefer a lower damper, as the fan doesn't need to be accelerated as much with each stroke, though this does take a greater speed on the drive. As a general rule, the faster the pace the (slightly) higher the damper.

[hev]

Thanks,
I,m about to order my very own C2, so I'll have a play about and see what suits me best.
Thanks again!!

[Afterburner]

Then adjust the damper lever so that you're in this range:

Male hwt – 125-140
Female hwt – 120-135
Male lwt – 120-135
Female lwt – 115-125

Um, I'm afraid I have to disagree with the damper settings for women. I would definitely use lower DF's than this.
I'd say more like 105-115 for LW women and 110-125 for HW women.
Most people set the drag too heavy. Especially for people who aren't as strong and are new to erging I'd set it lighter.

[larkl]

I am pretty new to rowing, but already feeling competitive - with myself anyway. The thing is, is there an optimum place to set the damper control? I am setting it at 8 which feels comfortable to row at and have managed 8:30s for 2K and just under 46m for 10000m. However I would like to go faster obviously, and I was going to move up to 9, but then read somewhere ( I,ve been having a good nose around the forum ) that in competitions people tend to set the damper somewhere between 3 & 6. Doesn't this mean you have to row faster rather than using power?Anyway any help would be gratefully received.

Kick hard on the power stroke. The air resistance firms up under you if you kick on it. Then you control the recovery, so you don't end up going terribly fast. The "Flip Luisi" video on YouTube gives good information on rowing form (look it up with Google).

I asked on usenet about a month ago about the supposed lack of resistance on a Concept 2 and people told me about this kicking secret.

Actually a good emphatic arm draw also helps both with the pace and to get my heartrate up.

I work out with the damper at 3, at a stroke rate of a little faster than 30. I can actually go at a faster pace/500 M by setting the damper at 2.5. But then my stroke rate is higher and it's not so fun whipping one's body along so fast. I did a 500 M dash at damper level 3 in less than 2 minutes. So you see one can go quite "fast" with a low damper setting. By kicking hard :)
Usually when I go to the C2 in the gym, the damper's set to 10. And I think - yet another person who doesn't know to kick :cry: Maybe they're just a guy with Arnold Schwarzenegger legs and arms. But probably not.

Although your times are quite good. Maybe I'll try a really high damper setting and see how I do. :) I don't go as fast at damper 4 as at damper 3. But maybe damper 8 would be faster.

Laura

[Citroen]

I work out with the damper at 3, at a stroke rate of a little faster than 30. I can actually go at a faster pace/500 M by setting the damper at 2.5. But then my stroke rate is higher and it's not so fun whipping one's body along so fast. I did a 500 M dash at damper level 3 in less than 2 minutes. So you see one can go quite "fast" with a low damper setting. By kicking hard
Usually when I go to the C2 in the gym, the damper's set to 10. And I think - yet another person who doesn't know to kick Maybe they're just a guy with Arnold Schwarzenegger legs and arms. But probably not.

Although your times are quite good. Maybe I'll try a really high damper setting and see how I do. I don't go as fast at damper 4 as at damper 3. But maybe damper 8 would be faster.

Laura

Can you check what drag factors you get at those damper settings as it's largely meaningless to talk about damper numbers due to the potential for extreme variation between machines depending on a bunch of variables.

I found a machine that gave a drag factor of 108 on damper 10. The normal drag factor for that should be up around 200 (unless you're 5000ft above sea-level like Bob Spenger).

For short sprints I'll use a df of 160. For normal rowing I'm using df of 125.

[grams]

Hi ladies,

I think the guys are promoting settings too high and stroke rates that are too fast for everyday ladies rowing. If your drag factor and stroke rate is too high you might hurt yourself before your abs are in shape enough to protect your back.

Here are my 'lose weight, don't strain your back' settings. Assuming your machine is relatively clean of course. If you are rowing at a gym I can guarantee that the macho guys have set the machine at '10' when it should be at "2-3". I have seen way too many old ladies in gyms trying to row at that resistance. They can't get a full stroke in because it is too hard.

To lose weight you need to row for 30 minutes-45 minutes minimum. That should be more or less non-stop. Coach Paul recommends 8000 meters 5 times a week. You will have to work up to this long of a session.

For everyday training I row with a df of between 95-105. (dial setting 2 1/2 to 3 1/2)
20 strokes per minute
10 meters per stroke (you can figure this by watching the meters)
The drive (push) should take about 1/2 as long as the return/recovery. I count 1-2-3 to get that rhythm.
Get your breathing in sync with your stroke. exhale on the push and inhale on the return.
When you get this stuff down begin to loosen the straps in your sessions until you are rowing strapless.

Rowing strapless makes you use your body more to control your movement back and forth. That helps with your rowing form and abdominal flab loss too.

After you have done 2-4 weeks of this long slow stuff you can up the drag factor a bit ( 105-115) and do some speed/time work for your rankings on C2 and the Nonathlon. Then put it back for the training. Your stroke rate should be faster for speed work. You may need to breathe faster too. Still exhale on the push and then inhale-exhale-inhale on the recovery

Get a seat pad or some bubble wrap to sit on so you don't get a sore tailbone. I use a really cushy one. And some glide stick applied in the places where you might be getting some friction. Don't forget the music or a dvd.

I'm a great-grandma and I still row. And lose weight with this formula and don't hurt myself in the process.

grams

[Surf Scoter]

Hi Grams, thanks for the good discussion. When I read the earlier posts I had my DF around 105. I have since lowered it to 98 and it feels nice and easy. I've been putting in about 10,000/day 5X/week. At 58 and fit, I DO NOT want to have an injury prohibit me from rowing, cycling, etc. I think moderation is a good thing. thanks

[larkl]

Hi ladies,

To lose weight you need to row for 30 minutes-45 minutes minimum. That should be more or less non-stop. Coach Paul recommends 8000 meters 5 times a week. You will have to work up to this long of a session.

Doing the same distance in short intervals raises your metabolism more after the exercise, I've read, than doing the distance all at once.

e.g. instead of doing half an hour straight, do 3 10-minute intervals with a somewhat higher total meters and it'll probably be more effective for weight loss, as well as maybe easier.

Since the total meters are a measure of how much power you put out, you would actually have put out more power and thus burn more calories while you were rowing, if you do intervals. But from I've heard, you would also be burning up calories more after rowing.

I've been doing some of this. I'm not trying to lose weight, actually I'd love to gain :!: some (muscle) weight. hm, I could be lots faster if I gained 5 pounds of muscle and I'd still be a lightweight. :) Rather, for training for 2K and 500 M distances. For 2K training Concept 2's guide suggests doing intervals as well as straight 30 - 40 minute rows. They suggest resting 2-3 minutes between the intervals.

It is fun doing intervals, at a pace that isn't terribly strenuous but still faster than my 30 minute pace.

Abdominal work is very important to prevent back pain, I've heard.

It seems to have helped me. I added one or two sets on an abdominal exercise machine to my workout and my back seems to have been happier with rowing. Also don't heave with your back - the motion of your torso backwards during the power stroke should come from momentum from the leg drive. Heaving with your back muscles is very hard on your back.

The guys who row with a damper of 10 or 8 mostly just don't know how to do it. They are usually rowing at a slower pace/500 M than me at a damper of 3.

Laura, who's exercised no end (it seems) today. worked out on rowing machine, went shopping on my bike, took dog to the vet on a bike .......
whew whew whew.

[npmorton]

I have a Model B and the drag factor is scary. With the damper all the way closed, the lowest drag factor I can get is 165. I checked with Concept 2 and they say that's about right. I've browsed some other threads here and got lost in some technical conversions of drag on Model B to drag on Model Cs. I got nothing out of that conversation unfortunately.

So, lightweight women, what would you recommend for workouts with that much drag? I've been doing 10 min intervals with 3 min rests and I am wiped out, heart rate way up, out of breath, dripping sweat by the end of each interval. 3 mins is enough recovery to go again. I'm in good condition for a middle-aged broad, rowed on the water all summer and do plenty of other exercise. Is this going to get easier? Other workout suggestions?

[Bob S.]

I have a Model B and the drag factor is scary. With the damper all the way closed, the lowest drag factor I can get is 165. I checked with Concept 2 and they say that's about right. I've browsed some other threads here and got lost in some technical conversions of drag on Model B to drag on Model Cs. I got nothing out of that conversation unfortunately.

Damping is just a means of reducing the air flow, either flow of air in from the side where the regular damper blocks the flow into the middle of the circle or the flow of air out from the periphery of the cage. C2 sells (or used to sell) a ring that covers the outer portion of the circle on the side. I don't remember what it is called. But it is not too hard to block the air flow, either in or out, by the use of duct tape and cardboard. Just make sure that there is nothing sticking far enough into the cage to hit the flywheel.

Bob S.