New Rower 10k time and weight

[paf]

Hi #lindsayh,

Based on our discussion, I was able to achieve 57:25 mins this time, improving my 5 mins 20 seconds!

I averaged around 115 DF, 23-24 SPM at resistance setting of 5. My HR ended up being higher than I would have liked but I was determined to maintain DF of 115. I tried reducing the resistance level to 4 and despite stroking at 27-30 SPM wasnt able to cross DF of 100, so switched back to 5 and completed the workout.

I should be able to hit 55 mins I think, from there on it will be a struggle. Still, I wasn’t hopeful of achieving under 1 hour time just a week ago and now I have thanks to your advise so I’ll take what I can get

[lindsayh]

Hi #lindsayh, Based on our discussion, I was able to achieve 57:25 mins this time, improving my 5 mins 20 seconds!
I averaged around 115 DF, 23-24 SPM at resistance setting of 5. My HR ended up being higher than I would have liked but I was determined to maintain DF of 115. I tried reducing the resistance level to 4 and despite stroking at 27-30 SPM wasnt able to cross DF of 100, so switched back to 5 and completed the workout.
I should be able to hit 55 mins I think, from there on it will be a struggle. Still, I wasn’t hopeful of achieving under 1 hour time just a week ago and now I have thanks to your advise so I’ll take what I can get

Well done - you are currently experiencing the joy of "newbie gains" that will go on for some time with steady training. You will continue to "struggle" as you improve as you get faster but that is good not bad. Remember though not to push too hard too often.
I would say forget about the DF setting - it is of no significance once you have found the sweet spot and for you that is 115 which sounds good. Just leave it there. Changing the DF during a training session gives you no benefits at all. You might set it higher for a power session maybe in a year or two if you were specifically training for some sprints or the like.

[hjs]

Hi #lindsayh,

Based on our discussion, I was able to achieve 57:25 mins this time, improving my 5 mins 20 seconds!

I averaged around 115 DF, 23-24 SPM at resistance setting of 5. My HR ended up being higher than I would have liked but I was determined to maintain DF of 115. I tried reducing the resistance level to 4 and despite stroking at 27-30 SPM wasnt able to cross DF of 100, so switched back to 5 and completed the workout.

I should be able to hit 55 mins I think, from there on it will be a struggle. Still, I wasn’t hopeful of achieving under 1 hour time just a week ago and now I have thanks to your advise so I’ll take what I can get

Dragfactor = resistance. A set resistance level wil not always give the same drag. Depends on temp. Colder gives higher drag.
Altitude, the higher up, the lower the drag.
And, dust, over time dust does collect in the fan, lowering the drag. If so the fanhouse can be cleaned inside to get it close to new.

[lsufan1972]

I am in a similar situation at this point.
I'm 5'11 290 pounds at 47 years old.
I have lost 35 pounds over the past couple of months, and most has been through rowing.

My first 10K I thought I was going to DIE.
My best 10K time so far is just under 45 minutes, but I've been rowing pretty much 10-20K per day for the last 2 months.
I would suggest rowing at different settings and paces.
I started out with bigger pulls at 20 stokes per minute, but have settled around 25-27 strokes per minute.
Just a month ago I felt like 2:15/500 pace was REALLY hard.
Now I slow down to that pace for recovery periods.

Everyone is different too. Experiment with what works for you.
There are some YouTube channels that I've found, but not much for bigger guys and gals.
Best of luck to you, and feel free to reach out if you'd like to bounce ideas back and forth.

Cliff Faucheux
cliff.faucheux@gmail.com

PS. Something that I'm finding helpful is trying to climb the challenge leaderboard for total meters.
Whether I'm looking at the overall, the US, my state, or just my group.
It's fun to have something to go after. Enjoy!