Concept2 Forum

Hi all! I am very new to rowing - on a C2 machine at the gym. Started about 4 weeks ago.

On Monday I did a 5,000 metres row for the first time - took 30 minutes.

Today I tried very hard to beat my time, and came in at 28 mins exactly.

Part of me thinks this isn’t great compared to the average times which you can find on google (I’m only 30! And only slightly overweight), but another part of me is also proud. I’m definitely going to keep trying to cut my time down.

Really interested in anyone else’s times, and the progress you have made?

Hi and welcome,

Be careful googling times as they are always skewed towards those that are often doing it for a long time.

Age, sex, height, weight & sporting background all play a big part in what we can achieve but taking 2mins off in a month is good progress regardless.

As you get faster/better it gets more tricky to shave time off in as big jumps - due to the increasing power requirements needed to go faster.

My first 5k and my latest (7 months apart) are below
25:32.30 97W 2:33.2
21:55.60 154W 2:11.5

So I upped my power by 57W and have taken off 03:36.70 off my total time and dropped my average per500m split time by 21.7s

I agree that comparison with others (particularly out of context) can be the thief of joy in this sport. But it can also be a motivator in showing what can be done and giving an incentive to climb further up the ladder. Best place to look is on the C2 online rankings
https://log.concept2.com/rankings. As the 2024 season has only just started, probably better to look at 2023 so that there are more entries. Set your age/sex/weight and you'll see where your score currently fits. As you improve so you will move up and you can set targets of where you want to get to over a reasonable period. Helped motivate me back in the day...

Keep those improvements coming!

As already said, your improvement depends on several factors.
When I started last year I was already reasonably fit, but was able to improve by more than 14% in my 5k, if you look at wattage of the row. This took me 15 month and got me from 18:29 to 17:39.6.
But as said, compare your own rows, keep track of your own progress. If you like to see where you stand in your age and gender group, rankings are perfect

Florence23 wrote: ↑

June 1st, 2023, 9:03 am

Hi all! I am very new to rowing - on a C2 machine at the gym. Started about 4 weeks ago.

On Monday I did a 5,000 metres row for the first time - took 30 minutes.

Today I tried very hard to beat my time, and came in at 28 mins exactly.

Part of me thinks this isn’t great compared to the average times which you can find on google (I’m only 30! And only slightly overweight), but another part of me is also proud. I’m definitely going to keep trying to cut my time down.

Really interested in anyone else’s times, and the progress you have made?

Well done.....as long as you are enjoying it and feel motivated then that is all that matters. Progression will come with fitness and we are all very different. One persons 28mins is another persons 38 mins and another's 18mins.

Rowing is a sport so when starting, go slow and learn how it's done: performance and training depend on age, size, sex and style. The only one you can change is style.

The main driver in rowing is the legs, which we already know are strong. This is how they are used:
https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... que-videos

jamesg wrote: ↑

June 2nd, 2023, 4:19 am

The main driver in rowing is the legs, which we already know are strong. This is how they are used: https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... que-videos

Getting it right now will save a lot of grief and potentially pain in future years.

Also, if you don't understand the drag factor or the reasons for generally going faster on the slide when "pulling" the handle than when you are recovering before the next drive (covered on many threads), let us know and we will filll these in as the answers are not quite what most people assume.

I hope your successful start continues as well.

Iain

Florence23 wrote: ↑

June 1st, 2023, 9:03 am

Hi all! I am very new to rowing - on a C2 machine at the gym. Started about 4 weeks ago.

On Monday I did a 5,000 metres row for the first time - took 30 minutes.

Today I tried very hard to beat my time, and came in at 28 mins exactly.

Part of me thinks this isn’t great compared to the average times which you can find on google (I’m only 30! And only slightly overweight), but another part of me is also proud. I’m definitely going to keep trying to cut my time down.

Really interested in anyone else’s times, and the progress you have made?

I think you’ve got a lot to be proud of, Florence!

Just as another data point - here is my first session in the BPP (May 3), and my session from this morning (June 9).

May 3:
5000m 27:50.3 2:47.0 75watts 15s/m

June 9:
5000m 24:26.8 2:26.6 111watts 17s/m

Florence23 wrote: ↑

June 1st, 2023, 9:03 am

Hi all! I am very new to rowing - on a C2 machine at the gym. Started about 4 weeks ago.

On Monday I did a 5,000 metres row for the first time - took 30 minutes.

Today I tried very hard to beat my time, and came in at 28 mins exactly.

Part of me thinks this isn’t great compared to the average times which you can find on google (I’m only 30! And only slightly overweight), but another part of me is also proud. I’m definitely going to keep trying to cut my time down.

Really interested in anyone else’s times, and the progress you have made?

Well done Florence. As mentioned above, in the early stages don't compare, and then as you improve use comparison as an acceleratant.

Rowing is a hard exercise that's why the erg is rarely used, other than a warm-up, by anyone in every gym.