New to rowing and getting beat up by the C2

[DaGrip]

Hey folks,

My wife and I just ventured into the world of rowing though our purchase of a C2 Model E. We have had it just over a week now and I have to admit that it is completely kicking my butt. I am carrying about 40 extra pounds but do consider myself in halfway decent shape due to competitive tennis and other activities. I started out pretty slow but found that my tight quads were resulting in my being unable to go over 5 minutes without stopping. I started stretching my legs a handful of times a day and have been barely able to struggle through a 2k each of the past 3 days. My best time so far for a 2k is just over 12 minutes. FYI...I have the damper is set 4 and I have verified that my drag hovers around 110 so I am pretty sure the problem is not with the machine.

My question is...do I just keep going on as I am, knowing that things will improve over time, or should I change the way I am approaching my workouts on the C2? I am so looking forward to using RowPro and putting in some real time on the erg but right now...that seems like a distant pipedream.

Any suggestions to improve are greatly appreciated!

Scott

[Bob S.]

Hey folks,

My wife and I just ventured into the world of rowing though our purchase of a C2 Model E. We have had it just over a week now and I have to admit that it is completely kicking my butt. I am carrying about 40 extra pounds but do consider myself in halfway decent shape due to competitive tennis and other activities. I started out pretty slow but found that my tight quads were resulting in my being unable to go over 5 minutes without stopping. I started stretching my legs a handful of times a day and have been barely able to struggle through a 2k each of the past 3 days. My best time so far for a 2k is just over 12 minutes. FYI...I have the damper is set 4 and I have verified that my drag hovers around 110 so I am pretty sure the problem is not with the machine. :

My question is...do I just keep going on as I am, knowing that things will improve over time, or should I change the way I am approaching my workouts on the C2? I am so looking forward to using RowPro and putting in some real time on the erg but right now...that seems like a distant pipedream.)

Any suggestions to improve are greatly appreciated!

Age? Weight? Stroke rate? Have you checked out any training videos? This is a good one:

The Thames Rowing Club technique video:



Rowing seems simple, but good technique is not so simple. It is very difficult to detect your own technique flaws, so either find some one knowledgeable to check out your technique (not your typical local gym personal trainer) or have a video of yourself taken from the side and post it here and on the UK C2 forum for advice from the members.

Bob S.

[DaGrip]

I am 48, 6' tall and weigh 248lbs. I have viewed the technique videos on the C2 site and am pretty confident that I am doing things correctly. I have videotaped myself to verify form and aside from curling the wrists some...things look pretty good up to the point that the fatigue sets in. I will check out the video that you noted.

Thanks!

Scott

[enrage]

DaGrip,

I started out exactly like you did when I purchased my Rower a few years ago. I pretty much went out on a whim and bout a c2 rower after reading the positive reviews even though I never rowed a day in my life.

The very first thing I realized about rowing on the c2 was i was seriously lacking in flexibility in my hamstrings. I also noticed within the first 5 minutes that my inner legs and hip flexors were on fire. I continued to stretch everyday and took it pretty slow. Within the month was able to row 30 minutes with no problem. It takes time and your body will get used it, just take it pretty slow, stretch everyday, rest and watch the rowing technique videos. ( I think at one point I was watching the videos everyday, there are some good rowing videos on youtube from Flywheel Fitness.)

Rowing correctly is like learning how to swing a golf club. LOL.

[DaGrip]

Cool...it's good to know that others have had the same experience. You mentioned that you took it slowly over the first month. Did you do frequent short rows or just row until you could not go any further and then go again the next day?

Scott

[enrage]

Cool...it's good to know that others have had the same experience. You mentioned that you took it slowly over the first month. Did you do frequent short rows or just row until you could not go any further and then go again the next day?

Scott

The first week when I started rowing, my goal was to try to row for a length of time and not distance. i wasn't trying to row fast or rank a workout, I just wanted to complete a 20 or 30 min row and eventually 45 min.


Feel free to add me as a training partner under your profile in your c2 logbook.
My ID is 878364 and you should be able to look at my rowing log. It may allow you to look at my 2011 rowing season.

[carlb]

My wife and I just ventured into the world of rowing though our purchase of a C2 Model E. We have had it just over a week now and I have to admit that it is completely kicking my butt. I am carrying about 40 extra pounds but do consider myself in halfway decent shape due to competitive tennis and other activities. ...

Your comments sound pretty normal and reflect the way I felt at first. You'll need to break your workout up into intervals, say row 5 to 10 minutes, get up walk around, stretch, drink, etc, then row 5 to 10 mins more, repeat 1 or 2 more times. Don't go too hard or too long, give your body time to adapt, like 30 to 60 days. You are using lots of muscles, tendons and ligaments in ways you do not normally use them.

Figure you will need to row 100,000 to 200,000 meters before you start feeling strong. Get your online log setup and PC setup to upload from your PM4. Get in shape to do the March Madness Challenge of 5k/day x 25 days.

The UK site has nice technique stuff, especially faults and corrections. Your drag sounds good at 100.

[hugh]

I've started and stopped on the erg several times - every time I come back after an extended absence I'm appalled at how slow I am and how hard it is. But I always get back to respectable times ( at least in my opinion). It just takes time and the older I get (47 now) the longer it takes. This last start, around August 2011, I was pulling 2:20 for 5-10 minutes for a few weeks before I felt like I could go harder without hurting myself, even with a strong history of erging. Today I could probably pull 2:20 all day.

Good luck - it is the best way I know to drop the weight and I like it when life stays out of the way.

[igoeja]

You need to assess what distance you might be best for. Competitive rowers muscles are about 75% Type I tissue (endurance), making long rows tolerable, even desirable, while most people are about 55% Type I tissue. Depending on your strength and endurance, you might find focusing on 1K pieces easier, more tolerable, and a distance you perform better at. As for myself, looking at the C2 rankings, my performance relative to other performances in the rankings is higher for the 5K/6K/10K distances than for 2K. Again, you need to judge your abilities.

I find I benefit from longish pieces, 6K and hour-long pieces, but as the year (training cycle) progresses I will switch some of my longer pieces with shorter more intense ones. I avoid doing short, hard intervals right away, since I think that will hurt my long-term goals, but I have found that when I am just getting back into rowing, interval work greatly improves my performance quickly. Interval work, while in some ways frowned upon, can be greatly beneficial to fitness novices, bringing great improvements quickly.

[DaGrip]

Thanks all for the great replies. I will keep pushing through with the knowledge that things will improve over time. I am a realist and know that nothing good comes without effort.

Scott

[hjs]

Hey folks,

My wife and I just ventured into the world of rowing though our purchase of a C2 Model E. We have had it just over a week now and I have to admit that it is completely kicking my butt. I am carrying about 40 extra pounds but do consider myself in halfway decent shape due to competitive tennis and other activities. I started out pretty slow but found that my tight quads were resulting in my being unable to go over 5 minutes without stopping. I started stretching my legs a handful of times a day and have been barely able to struggle through a 2k each of the past 3 days. My best time so far for a 2k is just over 12 minutes. FYI...I have the damper is set 4 and I have verified that my drag hovers around 110 so I am pretty sure the problem is not with the machine.

My question is...do I just keep going on as I am, knowing that things will improve over time, or should I change the way I am approaching my workouts on the C2? I am so looking forward to using RowPro and putting in some real time on the erg but right now...that seems like a distant pipedream.

Any suggestions to improve are greatly appreciated!

Scott

if you really row 2k in 12 minutes you must be doing things wrong. That is, sorry but it is true, really slow and for someone your build, overweight but not enormously and doing other sports I cannot believe you are that "slow".
If you can walk at a reasenable pace for a amount of time (I don't even talk about) running you should also be able to erg.
You very likely row with a very short stroke not finishing the stroke. The most easy way to make you stroke better/stronger is to row with the straps off. That way you have to give power during the hole stroke to stay on the erg. if you do that now and fly of the erg you do what I think you do.

Good luck and no doubt you soon will be a lot faster

[igoeja]

You might find this useful, Rowing with Greater Intensity:



Also, a link on the various rowing styles:

http://www.rowperfect.co.uk/which-rowin ... o-you-use/

[Rumping]

When I started out last August, I was beat after 5 minutes even though I was in decent shape and used an exercise bike regularly. My technique sucked (and still isn't great), but what made the big difference for me was my core. My back and shoulders simply could not sustain the drive properly and absorbed a lot of my rowing effort instead of putting it into the handle.

I gripped the handle (and injured my elbow because of it), and my back would kill me after 15 minutes (it took me a couple of workouts before I could manage 15 minutes). But, doing some sit-ups as a warm-up and just continue to use the rower on a regular basis helped improve all of it.

Once I was able to row for 30 minutes, I was excited about rowing at a 2:30 pace. Sure, it would get my heart rate up to 185, but I managed a 2:30 pace. And about 20 minutes in I'd be aching all over (especially my back and butt), but I made it through 30 minutes.

In time, things improved. My core became stable, my back stopped hurting, and during the drive from start to finish there is power on the handle. My technique still isn't great, but consider a half hour row to be pretty short now and have no problem maintaining a sub 2:00 pace while my heart rate hasn't been in the 180s for months now.

It's all a matter of practice. There's a lot of muscles used by rowing that aren't used to the stress put upon them. They'll grow and strengthen with continued use and you'll improve with leaps and bounds. Join a virtual team too.

Initially I didn't think rowing was all that good of a calorie burner. Sure, I could get my heart racing, but I'd burn more calories per hour on the exercise bike than on the rower. But now I erg 1000-1100 calories per hour (according to the Erg) while I bike around 750 per hour (according to the bike). The erg wins .

Just keep going at it.

[carlb]

Also, a link on the various rowing styles:

I find the technique section on the UK site very useful. If you can row exactly like him you are doing great.
http://concept2.co.uk/training/technique

Be sure and look at the faults and corrections, both stills and video.
http://concept2.co.uk/training/faults_corrections

[bepah]

I have been using the erg off and on for 20 years. The one thing I notice with beginning rowers is that the stroke length and pace are too short and too many. The power in the erg stroke comes from the legs and not from high frequency of stroke per minute.

As a beginner, you need to focus on technique so that you will improve. Try this, slow down your pace but power harder with the legs. For example, if you stroking at a 24 strokes per minute, slow to 20-21 and concentrate your pull with the legs...you should see a marked improvement in your 500 split.

So many beginners try to use their upper body to speed up and ultimately fail. Although I didn't read all of the replies, this seem to me to be the best approach to normalizing technique and improving stroke quality.

Good luck!