New Rower 10k time and weight

[bigdugano]

I just recently started rowing. Like literally one time before I bought the model D this past tuesday. I'm severely overweight, 5' 10" 280lbs. October 1st,2019 I was 310 pounds. I hired a personal trainer and have been working hard. I recently decided to focus on rowing as my cardio as we don't do much in the personal training sessions.

Yesterday I challenged myself to do an hour on the rower no matter what it felt like. To my surprise i did 10.6k meters in that time. Probably the first time I've done any continuous cardio for that long. Also it didn't feel that hard. There were definitely tough moments but I didn't want to quit. I don't think I would been able to do this 3 months ago but I don't have a baseline.

My question is does anyone know where any information about rowing at a higher weight? I can find world record times pretty easily but that's not what I'm really looking for. Steady row sessions feel great but I think I can be working towards improvement in a better way. Some advice in that area would be appreciated. I linked an image of my splits.

[Ombrax]

Welcome to the forum.

Congratulations - you're off to a very good start.

The C2 web site has lots of great information for those new to rowing.

In your case, check these out:

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... eight-loss

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/training/wod

However, before you go too far down this path, be sure you get your technique squared away - if you have any issues you want to deal with them now, before the get too hard-wired into your muscle memory:

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... que-videos

Good Luck

[lindsayh]

My question is does anyone know where any information about rowing at a higher weight? I can find world record times pretty easily but that's not what I'm really looking for. Steady row sessions feel great but I think I can be working towards improvement in a better way. Some advice in that area would be appreciated.

good start indeed. Using the C2 rankings will give you comparisons with others of your age but IMO comparing to others is not that rewarding right now beyond giving some long term goals (particularly at WR level). The beauty of the erg is that it is so measurable that you can document your own progress and set your own goals. Comparing with others without knowing their fitness levels, history and training can sometimes be pretty demotivating unless you get to the competitive stage and are racing maybe. You can set goals around reaching a percentile of seasons rankings as a measure from the tables.
https://log.concept2.com/rankings

[Dangerscouse]

I agree with Lindsay, don't look for comparables at this stage, although I appreciate it's a natural human instinct to do so.

Get used to the technique, and general feeling, and just track your own progress to best your own personal records.

To do 60 mins already is a great start.

[mitchel674]

Great job! These long, steady rows coupled with proper diet are what you need to lose weight.

Have you considered rowing after fasting? Even rowing first thing in the morning before eating will signal your body to burn fat as your fuel for your exercise.

[bigdugano]

@mitchel764 fasting is probably one of my main major success factors to losing weight. I usually don't break fast till 2pm or after work. I try to do all my exercise fasted and get it done in the morning.

Otherwise thanks for the resources everyone. Before I tried that hour session I did 3 sessions focused on form and technique following YouTube videos and website guides. I will continue to track my progress and hopefully be able to drop a nice progress update in a couple months.

[left coaster]

early initial progress on the erg can be quite rewarding -- I expect your time for 10k is going to come down quickly. Each time you row the distance you learn something new, the learning on it's own will improve your times in addition to the fitness gains you'll make.

[ggumpshots]

Go slow and burn fat.
Go fast and burn carbohydrates CHO.
Without controlling diet your weight may see very little change.

Compare your self with others is fine .Dont compare your self to someone 27, 200cm and 108kg.Look at their profile as well when comparing.

Aim to break the world record for 90 year old plus (2000m is around 8min 40 from memory) if you are interested in world records. Then work your way down the age groups for both sexes!
probably better to see someone a few rankings above you world wide for your age group and focus on beating them.

But to loose weight just row slow regularly. You can always throw in a more intense row anytime but it will be burning more CHO than fat

[paf]

Hello, I am a 6’1” 295 lbs male, just recently did a few 10k.

I started rowing on 19th april with the acquisition of a new model d and have done about 61k meters so dar.

My first 10k time was 70mins. I have done four so far, my latest and best time was 1:02:44 and I felt I had to push myself in the latter half. Particularly, the last 2000m has been challenging for me.

I think you are doing rather well with your timings. I would be very happy if I manage to get my time to under 10k - thats my goal! I agree with others that it may be disappointing to look at other’s time. I keep reminding myself that right now I am just treading the water (no pun intended) and I should aim to do so for atleast a couple of months to develop regular workout habit before I even get into the whole competitive timing thing.

My HR usually averages around 150-155 and goes as high as 180 when I really push myself in short bursts of up to 40-60 seconds during the workout, not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. My goal is to lose weight.

I do feel quite tired at the end of the workout.

[Citroen]

My first 10k time was 70mins. I have done four so far, my latest and best time was 1:02:44 and I felt I had to push myself in the latter half. Particularly, the last 2000m has been challenging for me.

You have a massive technique problem. You are not using your legs.
In an hour you should be closer to 15K.

[lindsayh]

My HR usually averages around 150-155 and goes as high as 180 when I really push myself in short bursts of up to 40-60 seconds during the workout, not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. My goal is to lose weight.
I do feel quite tired at the end of the workout.

Welcome #paf
10k in an hour is very slow as Citroen has said and poor technique is often the cause - mainly not using legs appropriately as the power of our stroke is about 80% legs. 15k in an hour is 2:00 pace and is a worthy long term and achievable goal but there are lots of work to do to get there. Look at videos for technique tips the links are here too. You could think about posting a video here for advice as many do..
There is some very useful information for new rowers on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=185257

There is a lot of information about heart rate training zones on the Forum and especially this thread. Particularly if your goal is to lose weight you need to keep your HR down - not get it up. If you assume that your maximum HR is about 180 (it may be a bit higher) and your resting is about 60 then you should cap your sessions at 70-80% of your heart rate reserve. Your HRR is about 120 (180-60) so 80% of that is 96 + 60 = 156 and 70% = 144. So your training for weight loss should be capped in that range - 150bpm makes sense.
Feeling tired is ok and probably a good thing.

I wonder whether your drag factor maybe too high? it is really important to understand DF and set it low not high - a high DF could slow your down
What is your DF and stroke rate?

Mastering drag factor is a really important step.
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

[lindsayh]

………..and don't forget of course that you can't train to overcome a bad diet - 80% of weight loss is what we eat

[paf]

Thank you #citroen and #lindsayh for your comments!

Totally agree that II must have a bad form. I am a new user and though I have tried to follow very closely the techniques shown by Concept2 in their videos (supervised by my non-rower wife to confirm if I matched what was shown on the video), I have hit some practical difficulties (belly gets in the way) and some apprehensions: the biggest challenge has been to overcome the fear of grinding down my miniscus – I have had an ACL tear on right knee, when I was nearly the same weight, and lived with it for several months before I could get surgery done. During this time my gait changed because I wasn't confident in my right knee. As a result, my left knee took some toll as well. While researching whether rowing was right for me to lose weight, I came across articles suggesting that because of acute bending and flexing of the knee, there is risk involved in rowing at higher SPMs.

All of this led me to conclude that I might have to make some adjustments to make rowing work for me, one of which (my own conclusion) was that I would need to try something like 50/50 ratio for working out my lower and upper body during a stroke. I figured if I reduce SPM and increase DF, that would do it. So I have been rowing at setting 6-7 on my brand new rower, fully aware that I was probably working out my upper body more than I am supposed to, but with the rationale that this allows me to achieve higher drag factor during my workout (I made the mistake of not paying attention to actual DF number, I will target it to be around 120-130).

It appears I am maintaining a good HR. On diet, this month being Ramadan (muslim month of fasting) meant I had to automatically do better diet control than I have in the past attempts to kickstart my weight loss so the timing worked out well

Thank you for your generosity with your time and advice.

[lindsayh]

Thank you #citroen and #lindsayh for your comments!

Totally agree that II must have a bad form. I am a new user and though I have tried to follow very closely the techniques shown by Concept2 in their videos (supervised by my non-rower wife to confirm if I matched what was shown on the video), I have hit some practical difficulties (belly gets in the way) and some apprehensions: the biggest challenge has been to overcome the fear of grinding down my miniscus – I have had an ACL tear on right knee, when I was nearly the same weight, and lived with it for several months before I could get surgery done. During this time my gait changed because I wasn't confident in my right knee. As a result, my left knee took some toll as well. While researching whether rowing was right for me to lose weight, I came across articles suggesting that because of acute bending and flexing of the knee, there is risk involved in rowing at higher SPMs.

All of this led me to conclude that I might have to make some adjustments to make rowing work for me, one of which (my own conclusion) was that I would need to try something like 50/50 ratio for working out my lower and upper body during a stroke. I figured if I reduce SPM and increase DF, that would do it. So I have been rowing at setting 6-7 on my brand new rower, fully aware that I was probably working out my upper body more than I am supposed to, but with the rationale that this allows me to achieve higher drag factor during my workout (I made the mistake of not paying attention to actual DF number, I will target it to be around 120-130).

It appears I am maintaining a good HR. On diet, this month being Ramadan (muslim month of fasting) meant I had to automatically do better diet control than I have in the past attempts to kickstart my weight loss so the timing worked out well

Thank you for your generosity with your time and advice.

Learning to think in terms of drag factor is one easy hurdle to leap - on a new machine you will probably be at about damper 4.
As far as knees goes the erg is very user friendly actually - I have quite advanced OA in both knees and not only can I train a lot (say 2million+ meters per year) and still be relatively competitive but it is helping delay the inevitable surgery by years. The knees may prevent you going forward to the catch and getting your shins vertical if you have lost ability to flex.
So a good strategy is a DF of 120 and a stroke rate of 22/24 and concentrate on a strong leg drive and good technique with a HR cap of say 150 for 30 to 60 minutes

[paf]

Thank you #lindsayh, your comments give me confidence to try higher SPMs.

I will try to maintain SPM 24 tonight and watch for DF to be in 120-125 range with an eye on HR.