waterrower

[larkl]

A magazine reviewer said about the waterrower that their friends had found they had a hard time maintaining a high heart rate on it, after their bodies were trained to it.
If you've used one, have you found this to be true or not?
I work out with my heart rate at 160, this is what feels like a good intense workout that doesn't leave me tired the whole day after.
I have no problem at all getting whatever heart rate I want on the Concept 2 at the gym and it doesn't feel like slogging. I've been experimenting with a Fluid Rower at another gym and I can get my heart rate up, but it's more difficult and when my heart rate is 160 I feel like I'm trying to power heavy industrial equipment. Like I have been reincarnated as a tractor.
I think the difference is that most of the resistance on the Concept 2 is at the start of the stroke when I kick. If my heart rate goes down I just kick harder and it goes right up again. The Fluid Rower has resistance all through the stroke, which apparently works weaker muscles, because it feels like harder work.
With the Fluid Rower part of the resistance comes from lifting water. This is resistance force that's independent of the velocity. I think it's this resistance force that I feel during the whole stroke, which makes the rowing feel difficult.
With the Waterrower you aren't lifting water, all the resistance comes from viscous drag. So in theory, the resistance ought to feel like the Concept 2, hard when you kick, easy on the rest of the stroke. Does it feel this way? If so, why would people complain they can't raise their heartrate enough? Are they just not kicking hard enough?
Ideally I'd find a waterrower nearby and see for myself how it feels. But I haven't found one yet. I live in Ithaca NY.
I have a magnetic rowing machine and it has been miserable. On that I can't get my heart rate to 160 at all. On that ALL the resistance is of the kind that doesn't change with speed you pull the pull-bar, and so kicking doesn't put out as much power as on a Concept 2. You can't raise your heart rate a lot by kicking on it.
The Concept 2 feels like running. Anybody who can run, can raise their heart rate to say 85% of max by running. The magnetic rower feels like biking. If you aren't super-trained on a bike it's quickly exhausting to get your heart rate to 85% of max. And the Fluid Rower, in between running and biking.
Please, I just want answers to the question I asked, not all sorts of other considerations (I know the other stuff, I just don't know the answer to
this question!)
I tried to subscribe to the waterrowerusers group on yahoo, that would be a good place to ask, but the yahoogroups server seems to be sleeping and hasn't responded.
Laura

[ckaiserca]

IMNKWITA, but it would seem to me that with any kind of cardio training you will always need to be working harder to maintain a certain heart rate over time as you train. As you condition your heart, it becomes stronger, and your cardiovascular system will have to work less hard to maintain a certain level of activity.

When you are weight training to build muscle, you have to train with heavier weights to build rather than maintain muscle mass. It would seem logical that cardiovascular training would be the same.

A magazine reviewer said about the waterrower that their friends had found they had a hard time maintaining a high heart rate on it, after their bodies were trained to it.

So this would seem to be a normal situation with any type of exercise equipment. You said it yourself:

If my heart rate goes down I just kick harder and it goes right up again.

Why would the Waterrower be any different?

If that is totally wrong, I'm sure someone will let me know. . .