Concept2 Forum

So I've been erging for just over a week now, and have a question.

I like rowing 10k's for both weight loss and endurance building, and I'm afraid that there is always going to be the temptation to try to beat my PR on every workout. I know that's a bad idea, so I'm wondering if there is a good proxy goal that I can base on my PR.

I'm thinking maybe trying once per week to beat my PR, have half the other days where I just try to row at XX% times my PR average splt (those would be the hard days), and then on the other days row at YY% of my PR (those would be my easy days).

Is there any generally accepted values for XX and YY? Or am I thinking about this totally wrong.

Thanks for reading!

I know the feeling; I try to get round this urge to compete with myself by keeping my heart rate under a certain limit (and then throw in some power 12s anyway). Then I can give myself points for being disciplined, not points for 'improving'. The problem is the heart rate limit that I set myself usually goes up ....

C, the method you are asking for is used in the Interactive, on the UK site (see Training in the headline).

It refers however to 2k tests to calculate the band powers, and as you can see there in more detail, in a typical Level 3 schedule:
UT2 is for 30-50 minutes at 45-60% of 2k power;
UT1 is 1x20 to 2x18' at 60-70% idem.

Like all schedules based on past tests, there is a whiff of tautology or bootstraps, and it's no substitute for coaching. So I suggest you first learn to row well, making sure each stroke is a good one and better than the last. Find out how much work went into that stroke (=Power in Watts/rating) and then pull for ever like that, or better, at a rating that will let you keep going for the session time you want. 10 W'/stroke and 2 W/kg are numbers that make the sums easy, and should be ok to go on with; but adjust to your height, weight, age and sex and always warm up for >10 minutes.