When I started rowing OTW, just after setting the 55s lwt WR on the erg, I took a Learn To Row (LTR) class, where a bunch of townsfolk did sweep rowing in an 8, just to learn the basics.
When we were OTW, one middle-aged lady in the group was consistently singled out for the elegance of her stroke.
"Do it like her," we were told, over and over. "Her stroke is beautiful."
One day, instead of rowing in the boat, we got on ergs and did some rowing.
In part of the session, we were all rowing at the same rate, stroking along at 26 spm.
The lady with the beautiful stroke OTW was puzzled by the numbers that kept flashing up on the erg, though.
So, she leaned over my way and asked, "What is that big number there in the center of the monitor?"
Why does yours say 1:45 and mine say 2:45?
"Oh," i replied.
That's how fast you are going.
"I am covering every 500m a minute faster than you are."
She was as slow as a barge stuck in ice, a 1x tangled in weeds, but she really _looked_ good.
Basically, rowing is not at all about aerobic capacity, as Mike VB demonstrates, both OTW and OTErg, given his poor aerobic capacity (low max HR).
Or, for God's sake, something as superficial as looking good.
Basically, rowing is all about leverage, effective and efficient stroking, generating easy power.
You don't have to row fast, pulling your guts out over 2K, gasping for air, turning blue in the face of the last 300m, to find out how good you are at rowing.
Just row along easily (70% HRR) at 22 spm for an hour or so.
How fast are you going?
1:49, as I do, or 1:59?
Or, ouch, 2:09?
That tells the story--clear as a bell.
Easy rowing at 22 spm, rowing that you can do every day for hours and hours, if you work at it, is done at 2K + 15 spm.
Since everyone doing this exercise is rowing at the same rate, the only difference contributing to the varied paces is natural stroking power.
Effective and efficient leverage.
Everything about what makes a rower good or bad is right there in easy rowing at 22 spm.
All of the rest is just race preparation, which is entirely predictable.
Everyone does race preparation in pretty much the same way, and for pretty much the same benefit.
Race preparation never made a bad rower into a good rower--or a good rower into a bad one.
If training is defined as an opportunity to get better, race preparation is irrelevant to training for rowing.
If you just spend most of your time rowing along easily, 70% HRR, at 22 spm, and note the pace you are going, you always know where you are with respect to 2K.
There is no need for predictive sharpening workouts, distance trials, 30'r20, and all of the other things that everyone around here thinks is better, if not the exclusive, proof of what you are capable of over 2K.
ranger
Rich Cureton M 72 5'11" 165 lbs. 2K pbs: 6:27.5 (hwt), 6:28 (lwt)
