Just Starting Rowing Adventure

[[old] Stewart69]

I have just reasearched this wonerful online community and my wife and I are expecting delivery of new machine any day now. <br /><br />We are starting from scratch in this relm and could use some guidence. Our fitness level is beginning and we are both 35 pounds heavy. Doctors gave us the green light. Any tips would be apprecieted. Sample scheduleds which work in bike and treadmill run would also be helpful. We are beginners and sincerely don't want to get hurt. Ages 35&39.<br /><br />Thanks so much <br /><br />Stewart

[[old] gibbo1969]

Hi Stewart.<br />I think the first thing anyone who is strting any kind of fitness routine must ask themselves is<br />why?<br />What am I prepared to give up/endure to reach my goal?<br />What else am I prepared to change (nutrition, routine,etc)<br />Is this a lifestyle change or a fad?<br /><br />Once you have done that (and hopefully answered positively)you are half way there - congratulations.<br /><br />If you are both committed then that is fantastic and well done!<br />To start I would suggest that you work out what time of day you are going to workout and then how long you want to work out for. As beginners I would suggest 30 mins 4-5 times per week for the first month.<br />You will need to listen to your bodies as reality is - its gonna hurt a bit at first! Seriously though, dont kill yourself in the first week, you will just get injured and demotivated. This is a marathon not a sprint.<br />With rowing being a fairly technical exercise I would suggest just concerntrate on developing a good, safe technique at first. There are some really experienced guys and girls here and numerous posts about technique as well as some photos and videos of good technique.<br />As for a program it is hard to prescribe a program without knowing an awful lot more.<br />I would really recommend consulting a good personal trainer or fitness professional who can analyse your needs and give you a personal program.<br /><br />Good luck and well done for taking the first step!<br /><br />

[[old] Mark Keating]

Hi Stewart;<br /><br />You have made a wise investment in your future. The C2 is a quality piece of equipment and is backed up by a quality company.<br /><br />I started with the erg about a year and a half ago, and I'm about the same age as you as well. I don't have any experience with the treadmill and little with the bike, but here is my advice as it relates to the erg:<br /><br />1. Invest in a Heart Rate Monitor. Especially at the beginning, a HRM will help prevent overtraining; even more so once you understand the concept of Training Bands.<br /><br />2. Download, read and re-read the <a href='http://www.concept2.co.uk/guide/' target='_blank'>C2 Training Guide</a>. This is a good resource covering a wide variety of topics related to health and fitness. Many of the discussions here on the forum will make more sense to you after you have read the manual.<br /><br />There is a section in the guide especially for those with near-zero training experience, if that happens to be your case.<br /><br />3. Consider having someone coach your technique (and even set up programs), either personally or via the web . <a href='http://www.ps-sport.net/' target='_blank'>Paul Smith</a> has been a helpful online resource for me.<br /><br />4. Once you begin to feel comfortable with the erg, consider following <a href='http://www.concept2.co.uk/training/interactive.php' target='_blank'>C2's Interactive Programme</a>. I enjoyed the structure and variety of workouts when I first started.<br /><br />5. Continue to use the forum to ask questions and seek answers. The vast majority of people here are more quite willing to help you improve your health and training. Some of them are either world class, elite-level athletes or their coaches.<br /><br />In fact, I know of only one person whose logic and advice is so consistently contrarian that he should be ignored completely. Read <a href='http://concept2.ipbhost.com/index.php?s ... h+altitude' target='_blank'>this thread</a> if you dare and take a wild guess who I am referring to.<br /><br /><br />Good luck!<br /><br />Mark<br />

[[old] DavidW]

<!--QuoteBegin-Mark Keating+Aug 1 2005, 09:37 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Mark Keating @ Aug 1 2005, 09:37 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->In fact, I know of only one person whose logic and advice is so consistently contrarian that he should be ignored completely.  Read <a href='http://concept2.ipbhost.com/index.php?s ... h+altitude' target='_blank'>this thread</a> if you dare and take a wild guess who I am referring to. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />OMG! I hadn't read that one. Has to be his best yet <br /><br />Unbelievable

[[old] RockinRobin]

<!--QuoteBegin-Stewart69+Jul 31 2005, 11:25 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Stewart69 @ Jul 31 2005, 11:25 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I have just reasearched this wonerful online community and my wife and I are expecting delivery of new machine any day now.  <br /><br />We are starting from scratch in this relm and could use some guidence.  Our fitness level is beginning and we are both 35 pounds heavy.  Doctors gave us the green light.  Any tips would be apprecieted.  Sample scheduleds which work in bike and treadmill run would also be helpful.  We are beginners and sincerely don't want to  get hurt.  Ages 35&39.<br /><br />Thanks so much <br /><br />Stewart <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Stewart, Congratulations on your new C2! I started rowing in June. One thing I noticed when I got on to row the first couple times, is that my hips bothered me quite a bit. After reading up in the forums, I found a couple things that helped me. #1 was to stretch out before i rowed, and #2 look closely at the training clip on the C2 for rowing technique. After that it has been pretty smooth sailing! Joining one of the club affiliations makes it even more fun. I would not trade my C2 for any other piece of cardio equipment out there.<br /><br />I started out with short rows, but now prefer the longer rows if possible. It takes a while to figure out what you like. And work up slowly.<br /><br />Good luck and welcome to the C2 family!<br /><br />-Row Pain Row Gain

[[old] Great Dane]

<br />I found the Concept 2 UK web site to be very helpful in putting together a training routine. The "interactive training programme" allows you enter your fitness level (sedentary, moderately fit, fit, trained, athlete) and the number of workouts you plan to do a week. It will then make a training program for you. This is geared towards competing in a 2,000 rowing race which I am not doing, but the schedule provides a varied workout with a goal on "being ready for a race". (I use the concept 2 to cross-train for sprint kayaking.<br /><br />The UK site has a "weight loss" section which may appeal to you. Either way, I think learning how your heart rate affects your training from fat loss to recovering times is an essential part - otherwise you are excercising stupidly and it leads to exhaustion, burn-out, lack of motivation.<br /><br /><a href='http://www.concept2.co.uk/' target='_blank'>http://www.concept2.co.uk/</a><br /><br /><a href='http://www.concept2.co.uk/training/interactive.php' target='_blank'>http://www.concept2.co.uk/training/inte ... php</a><br /><br /><br />Regards,<br />Doug.<br /><br />

[[old] slo_boat]

Welcome aboard. You are going to have a great time. <br /><br />My only advice would be to take it easy and to work on technique. If you get the movement right, everything else will follow.

[[old] John &#39;SugarBoy&#39; Foy]

Well done on making the commitment to get fit.<br /><br />If you are really interested in improving performances on the erg, make sure you have a look at the topics on Drag, SPM and Technique.<br /><br />I would also recommend getting on a structured training plan like the Pete Plan. This Plan is not overly time consuming but it does produce exceptional results as many of the furumites on the uk site will testify.<br /><br />You can find the Pete Plan Here <a href='http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... an&start=0' target='_blank'>http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... t=0</a><br /><br />Good Luck<br /><br />JSBF

[[old] Galt]

Welcome to the world of rowing.<br /><br />My wife and I got out erg in February, and then joined the local rowing club this summer.<br /><br />I agree with focusing on technique. Try to keep your strokes per minute in the low 20s or so. Also concentrate on your "ratio".... take about twice as long recovering (moving toward the computer) as you do moving away from the computer. This will give you enough time to actually recover between strokes. If you two are anything like me and my wife, you will start out going way to fast.<br /><br />Best of luck.