Aargh my eyes

[CarlNY]

Does anybody have any tips for stopping excessive sweat getting in the eyes on longer rows. I’m finding my eyes are sore for days and I’ve yet to find anything that really stops this including head bands.

Any advice gratefully received

Carl

[faach1]

Sweatband around forehead, not that I personally wear one.

[Dangerscouse]

100% recommend headbands. Every tough row I use one

[Carl Watts]

I used to use a bandana.

Fold in half to form a triangle then roll it up and tie it like a sweat band, worked really well.

Now I use an industrial floor fan, did a reasonably hard 30minute on Monday and left 2 drips of sweat on the floor mat.

So far the fan has also allowed me to row in ambient air temperatures over 30 Degrees C, where as before with no air flow it was pretty much not possible to maintain any degree of performance.

[Ombrax]

If you sweat a lot you could try a Halo headband: https://store.haloheadband.com/

I use them for hot-weather cycling and they've always worked for me.

For the erg a regular terrycloth headband has been fine.

[winniewinser]

Definitely a bandana or similar. I had similar issues and as a glasses wearer it was hard to quickly wipe them during rows.

I use a ski buff rolled up into a headband.... cheap and cheerful.

[CarlNY]

I used to use a bandana.

Fold in half to form a triangle then roll it up and tie it like a sweat band, worked really well.

Now I use an industrial floor fan, did a reasonably hard 30minute on Monday and left 2 drips of sweat on the floor mat.

So far the fan has also allowed me to row in ambient air temperatures over 30 Degrees C, where as before with no air flow it was pretty much not possible to maintain any degree of performance.

Thanks Carl - I've tried various sweat bands and always find they are overwhelmed during longer rows. Might have to do what you did and pull the trigger on a bigger fan. I have a desk fan at the moment.

Carl

[Tsnor]

I used to use a bandana.

Fold in half to form a triangle then roll it up and tie it like a sweat band, worked really well.

Now I use an industrial floor fan, did a reasonably hard 30minute on Monday and left 2 drips of sweat on the floor mat.

So far the fan has also allowed me to row in ambient air temperatures over 30 Degrees C, where as before with no air flow it was pretty much not possible to maintain any degree of performance.

Thanks Carl - I've tried various sweat bands and always find they are overwhelmed during longer rows. Might have to do what you did and pull the trigger on a bigger fan. I have a desk fan at the moment.

Carl

+1 on the fan. This will help your heart as well as your eyes. Rowing generates a ton of heat, and moving the heat away without creating a lake under the rower lets you sustain work. You see this with cyclists racing on zwift, its even more true for rowers.

Or move your erg to garage like mine. Temps 37F to 45F turned out to be perfect for rowing once you get warmed up.

[Carl Watts]

Its just science, moving air takes away about 5 times more heat than no airflow at all.

It lowers your heartrate for sure, not to mention your always breathing in fresh air.

Used to get a river of sweat down the slide, this also stuffs your rower over time. The sweat runs off and wicks under the stainless monorail track as well goes into your seat roller bearings. Sweat is extremely corrosive as it contains salts.

Those desk fans don't cut it, the 750mm diameter one I use only needs to be on the minimum speed and angled at me from the front of the rower so your always in the stream.

[CarlNY]

100% recommend headbands. Every tough row I use one

Impressed to see you rowed a 12hr session Stu

I did a marathon and found two problems, my butt got pretty tender and I ran out of juice. How do you deal with the need to fuel on that distance? Do you have to keep the flywheel spinning somehow?

[Ernits]

If OP has not been using fan at all, then even a desk fan is a game changer!

[Dangerscouse]

100% recommend headbands. Every tough row I use one

Impressed to see you rowed a 12hr session Stu

I did a marathon and found two problems, my butt got pretty tender and I ran out of juice. How do you deal with the need to fuel on that distance? Do you have to keep the flywheel spinning somehow?

I'm lucky that I don't get any butt ache until about circa three hours. As for fuelling, I stack it all up close by, row one handed and drink every 20ish minutes. You can stop and drink, but I don't like stopping unless I really have to.

I can do circa 32k without any fuel, but that last 10k is what you're training for, and it very quickly tips, so it's very important to make sure to keep on top of the fuel and hydration.

[CarlNY]

If OP has not been using fan at all, then even a desk fan is a game changer!

I use a desk fan. Might switch up to a floor mounted larger fan though as doesn’t seem to stop excess sweating