New member - wants to get leaner.

[mightymayesy]

Hello!

I'm 6'7'', 35 and currently 125kg. I'm looking at getting leaner via rowing. Aiming for 5 cardio sessions a week at 20 minutes.

The reason I am looking at rowing is that I have lower back pain. Basically, got too fat for my frame. Doctor says this pain is musco-skeletal and that I need to lose weight and build up my core again and that rowing - with some good form - and physio could help in the longer term. So here goes.

I (am used to) work(ing) out at home, alone, in my garage. So it's a really nice to see some competitive threads on here and a community that may motivate me somewhat.

I get my rowing machine delivered tomorrow. Hopefully this can be a lifestyle change! Can't wait to get a benchmark time and post my first stats.

Anyone else my height? Probably not.

Cheers,

Sam

[Ombrax]

Welcome to the forum, Sam.

You may have already seen them, but there are quite a few "Newbie question and info" threads here, and the C2 web site has tons of very useful information and videos - check them out.

1) Be sure you get your rowing technique straight. There are lots of ways to row incorrectly, and you don't want any of those bad habits to be ingrained at the very start. If you have the technology and are interested in doing so, post a video (side view works best) of you rowing somewhere on the web, start a thread on the forum with a link to the video and you'll get helpful feedback.

2) Investigate and understand the drag factor, and don't set it too high.

Let us know if you any questions and we'll try to help.

Good Luck

[Dangerscouse]

Welcome to the forum Sam.

Nav is 6'6" but no one else is as tall, that I know of, who regularly posts here. There are two 6'8" rowers in my virtual rowing team.

Best of luck with it and make sure to include some Pilates or core strength training in your programmes. Stay patient as there's no short cuts to hard work and lots and lots of metres, but with your frame you are well suited to rowing.

[MPx]

You certainly have some potential advantages being so tall but there are some others even taller who may help inspire (well I'm in awe of them anyway!). Richard (Le Grande Fromage on here) is 6'8" and a multiple British record holder and BRIC champion. Sadly he rarely posts these days but is still very active on the ergo. And back in the day I enjoyed following Phil Turnham who I knew quite well at the time and he held the British record for a while at 5:42.5 until Moe Sbihi recently went even better. Phil was 6'9" as was Gavin Stewart who stroked the True Blue boat (last century - google it) who I rowed next to at a charity event that I co-hosted and where he kindly helped raise the profile. He cruised to a 6:16 after years off the water on no training and was barely puffing whereas my 7:04 left me completely floored!

Take some time going slow enough to get your form right and you'll no doubt delight us all with the gains that will inevitably then come. Enjoy!

[jamesg]

Make sure your action sequence and posture on the erg are correct in each stroke, including during the recovery (coming forward to the next stroke: back straight, hands away, swing, then slide) since this allows use of the legs and can cure your back from Day 1. The only difficulty on the erg is in finding out how to use the slide; it's much simpler without and it can pay to begin fixed seat, if you've never rowed before. As do all oarsmen when learning how and warming up.

The erg is equipment for Work, just like moving a boat all day long. Boats move easily and keep going, so we don't need to pull hard or rush the strokes, but it can take a long time and a lot of strokes to get from A to B. So we use a simple clean stroke with no contortions or weak postures.

Your legs are already easily strong enough to overload your aerobic systems, so you don't need to use much else, or go fast. This would stop you too soon, before doing any work, like trying to climb stairs in a hurry.

[mightymayesy]

Hi all!

Thanks for your replies. I got my C2 PM5 delivered and set it all up.

I’m amazed with the build quality. I didn’t know what to expect to put it all together but it was a lot more than just tightening eight screws!

After setting up, I immediately put 500m on the clock to make sure everything is sturdy and smooth. 2m23s. It was probably a 4/10 in terms of effort level.

I’m now all set up so going to figure out the settings and try and row 2,000m later today.

Sam

[mightymayesy]

So I couldn’t resist and just did another 500m out of interest and came in at 1m53s. Set the thing to 8. Going to check out YouTube to see what 8 means.

Sam

[Citroen]

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... etting-101

[lindsayh]

So I couldn’t resist and just did another 500m out of interest and came in at 1m53s. Set the thing to 8. Going to check out YouTube to see what 8 means. Sam

Mastering drag factor is a really important step. As mentioned there is a heap of material on the training thread for "newbie" ergers.
8 on the damper of a new machine is way to high - a setting of 4/5 will give you a Drag factor (DF) of 125 or so and you should look in that range.
A nice thread is here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=185257&hilit=newbie

This is Eric Murray's spin on DF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEqWFHH1yeU

and this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uc2HQILJhU&t=41s

[Dangerscouse]

A high drag doesn't mean a better or stronger session, and don't forget no one cares what drag you used to get a PB.

As Lindsay says, 125 'should' be about right. I say should as you may prefer higher or lower, but I really think a damper setting of 8 with unrefined technique will lead to injury. I'm using 120 at the moment but I usually use circa 130.

FYI, when I did my ultra distances I used 115 and set quite a few PBs on that drag.

[mightymayesy]

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

I’m definitely experimenting. For example, I completed 5,000m today with the setting to 10.

This feels the best setting to slow me down. It’s almost as if I feel I’m going to fly off the end and can’t keep up with my motion in a lower setting. Does that make sense?

Because I’m experimenting, I will complete 5,000m tomorrow at the lowest setting.

Sam

[Dangerscouse]

Yeah, it will feel light to start with but I believe that is possibly an issue with technique. Try and row strapless too, that really does help to refine your technique as if you're not careful you will come off the back of the rower.

Having said that I do know of someone that performs very well on a drag of circa 200 so don't totally discount a high drag, but be careful; as you tire your technique fails and the high drag will give more chance of injury due to it being more like a deadlift than a rowing stroke

[Ombrax]

For example, I completed 5,000m today with the setting to 10.

This feels the best setting to slow me down. It’s almost as if I feel I’m going to fly off the end and can’t keep up with my motion in a lower setting. Does that make sense?

Edit: I see Stu beat me to it for several of my comments while I was typing.

Sam,

The "feels like I'm going to fly off the back of the erg" thing means that there are likely issues with your technique.

There's a relatively simple way to check that - row "strapless" for a while (i.e. don't put the straps over your feet) and if you are about to fly off the end without the straps you're doing it wrong. (Be careful the first time you try that, because you could find yourself on the ground after your first stroke.) This needs to be addressed because banging into the straps every stroke is a waste of energy, and unless you're rowing at a super-hard level you should be able to row strapless without any problems. For example, some folks (like me) never use the straps unless they're racing or going for a PB,

Another check: set the PM to display the force curve, and verify that it has a nice smooth single-hump shape. If it's a double-hump that means that you need to work on the sequencing of your legs, back and arms. (there's information on the force curve in the user's manual and on the C2 web site.

Bottom line regarding the damper lever and "setting it at 10" - The chances are nearly 100% that a very high DF is not the setting that's best for you for the vast majority of your training, and in fact may well be bad for you. If you're really having issues rowing with a DF down around 100-140 that's something you need to fix, because it means there's a problem.

Good Luck

[Dangerscouse]

Another check: set the PM to display the force curve, and verify that it has a nice smooth single-hump shape. If it's a double-hump that means that you need to work on the sequencing of your legs, back and arms. (there's information on the force curve in the user's manual and on the C2 web site.

This is a good suggestion and something that I forget about.

Regarding strapless rowing, I struggled to start with but I have managed a 1:45 pace. It's not a very sustainable pace but it's possible as your technique improves

[mightymayesy]

Many thanks - Sam