New guy

[brendelac]

Hi, I've been using the concept 2 now for a few months and have been definitely improving, but haven't really learned how to properly and/or efficiently use the machine. I am 32, 6 feet tall and about 205 lbs. I'm not a small guy, but I have good aerobic ability for my size. I used to row for 30 minutes and try to beat my personal best each time which gave me a 1:53.1/500m average. Lately, I've been doing 45 minute sessions and have been focusing more on maintaining my heart rate in the 140-150 bpm range for the duration which usually puts me just over 11,000m and about 2:01/500m average.

I'm looking for input or comments on where my attention might best be placed in order to improve. As I mentioned, I've never been formally introduced to the concept 2 aside from watching a couple of youtube videos so something that might be common knowledge on the forum could be overlooked by myself.

Thanks.

[hjs]

Search for wolverine plan, or the pete plan which is a much simpeler version of that. Will give yo a good idea what is needed for erging.

[Cyclingman1]

I used to row for 30 minutes and try to beat my personal best each time which gave me a 1:53.1/500m average. .... puts me just over 11,000m and about 2:01/500m average

First, the dropoff from 1:53 to 2:01 for rowing only about 3K more is a little puzzling. One would expect 2/3 sec at most. Also, 30 min @ 1:53.1 are very decent numbers. Those are better than beginner numbers.

Rowing longer steady state rows is an essential part of training. You simply need to add shorter/faster rowing at least once a week - not all out but some faster. The plans mentioned do that. You don't have to follow a specific plan. But you do need to do some of what they call for, which is a combination of intervals [shorter/faster rowing] and steady-state rows [longer/slower rowing]. Some need a formal plan, others do not. You have to decide.

[brendelac]

I used to row for 30 minutes and try to beat my personal best each time which gave me a 1:53.1/500m average. .... puts me just over 11,000m and about 2:01/500m average

First, the dropoff from 1:53 to 2:01 for rowing only about 3K more is a little puzzling. One would expect 2/3 sec at most. Also, 30 min @ 1:53.1 are very decent numbers. Those are better than beginner numbers.

I could do better than 2:01 for 45 minutes. As I mentioned, my 30 minute times was me going all-out and before I started using a heart rate monitor. Also, my SPM was probably in the 27-31 range. Since I've been doing 45 minute sets, I've lowered my SPM to 22-25 and been focusing on maintaining a specific heart rate which in the long run is probably better than constantly trying to set personal-best times, so if I did the same for a 30 minute set, my time would be lower for sure.

Also, when setting the drag factor, I've read that 120 is a good number to be at which is where I usually set it, but other than that trial and error, are there other reasons why higher or lower settings would yield better or worse results?

[gregsmith01748]

Many folks will boost the drag for shorter distances and drop it for longer distances. Basically, as the drag factor increases, it is harder to accelerate the fly wheel and it decelerates faster. This is less of a big deal at high stroke rates, commonly employed for sprints, but is tougher to maintain for long pieces which are at lower stroke rates.

I do most of my aerobic work (40' to 80' duration) at 115 to 125.
I do most of my intervals (up to 3K) and sprints between 130 and 140.

However, some folks, folks with very fast drives, can sprint very well at low drag factors.

[dscribe]

Hi New guy,

I'm new as of today. Can you tell me your weekly schedule and what kind of workouts you're doing currently?

Thanks,

Dscribe

[brendelac]

Hi New guy,

I'm new as of today. Can you tell me your weekly schedule and what kind of workouts you're doing currently?

Thanks,

Dscribe

I don't really have a set schedule - I try and do 45 minutes of aerobic exercise every second day and am trying to do different activities to keep things from getting stale. Right now is soccer season so that is priority one, but I row, bike, hike and run at least somewhat regularly. I keep telling myself that I'm going to start swimming too, but I haven't been in the water since last year.