Required fitness level for a sub 7 min 2km

[mattflint49]

Hey guys,

Just wondering. Currently my 2km erg time is 7:36, 5km is 20:09. My 3km RUN time is 12:58 and my mile run time is 5:45. I do gym about 2x a week, running twice a week and swimming once a week. I have another 2 months until rowing season commences again. I do not have access to an erg.
Could you guys give me suggested 3km/1 mile run times or basically any fitness testing (or strength) needed as a base level to break a 7 min erg.

Thanks

[Pie Man]

Hi Matt,

I can't help you with your question, but from having lurked for a while the old hands will probably ask you how old/tall and heavy you are. If you post that now you can save a bit of time

good luck with that getting to 7.

[hjs]

Very little relation between running and erging. Running needs being light, rowing needs more muscle. Toprowers are mediocer runners. You are better off cycling and doing weights. Swimming is also ok. Walking/running stairs could be helpfull.

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

As hjs said, you're going to be hard-pressed to find any real correlation between running times and rowing times.

There are guys pulling sub-6:00 ergs who can't run a mile in under 6:00 minutes.

If I were you I with do a lot more volume (i.e. instead of 3 practices, do six).

[jamesg]

Failing something more accurate, maybe you can relate your freestyle training pace to erg times, at least at distance speeds, if you have your past data. Swimming and rowing both follow a cube law and depend on our height and technique. If I remember right, when my 2k pace was between 1.47 and 1.50 I could easily swim at 2'/100m for an hour.

In any case, if you can already pull a 10W stroke, a 7' 2k is only a question of endurance.

[Carl Watts]

In any case, if you can already pull a 10W stroke, a 7' 2k is only a question of endurance.

Never pull in power per stoke into the equation its worthless information. Power peaks are what your looking at and time of the drive, this then averages out and its way more than 10W a stroke.

A Sub 7 is hard work for the average person to achieve. 7:36 is miles away from whats required. When you can start pulling 7:18 and after 5 minutes of rest pull another 7:18 your getting closer. Took me 6 months of hard work to get there and its very doubtful I could pull a Sub 7 right now due to too much steady state distance rowing at low ratings.

[mattflint49]

Hi Matt,

I can't help you with your question, but from having lurked for a while the old hands will probably ask you how old/tall and heavy you are. If you post that now you can save a bit of time

good luck with that getting to 7.

ahh yeh thanks. im really really short for a rower (172cm) 5'7". my dad stopped growing at 15 years old (im 15 myself) and i hit puberty pretty young so yeh im at my predicted height and probs will grow to maybe 5'8" by adulthood. i weigh 123lbs or 56kgs. hoping to get to 60kg within the next 3 months.

[hjs]

Hi Matt,

I can't help you with your question, but from having lurked for a while the old hands will probably ask you how old/tall and heavy you are. If you post that now you can save a bit of time

good luck with that getting to 7.

ahh yeh thanks. im really really short for a rower (172cm) 5'7". my dad stopped growing at 15 years old (im 15 myself) and i hit puberty pretty young so yeh im at my predicted height and probs will grow to maybe 5'8" by adulthood. i weigh 123lbs or 56kgs. hoping to get to 60kg within the next 3 months.

You should be honoust, you really don,t have the build for a rower. You have the build for running or cycling uphill. Toprower are close to twice your body. A bit like fighting windmills....

[mattflint49]

Hi Matt,

I can't help you with your question, but from having lurked for a while the old hands will probably ask you how old/tall and heavy you are. If you post that now you can save a bit of time

good luck with that getting to 7.

ahh yeh thanks. im really really short for a rower (172cm) 5'7". my dad stopped growing at 15 years old (im 15 myself) and i hit puberty pretty young so yeh im at my predicted height and probs will grow to maybe 5'8" by adulthood. i weigh 123lbs or 56kgs. hoping to get to 60kg within the next 3 months.

You should be honoust, you really don,t have the build for a rower. You have the build for running or cycling uphill. Toprower are close to twice your body. A bit like fighting windmills....

well if by a miracle i hit 5'9" im lookign to row at uni as a lightweight so theres always that and ima be training for it!

[hjs]

You ofcourse could do whatever you like, but atm you are not a lightweight, those are 72/75 and and heightwise often 6.2/6.3. What I am saying is, you are trying a thing you are not made for. Doing it for fun is fine, and I expected you to not like my comments. In our day its not common to simply tell the truth, in the longer run you are better off doing a thing you are better suited for.

Anyway, said my two cents. Good luck, but really be honoust to yourself.

[at1839]

Just kidding ...

I'm 5.5 (barely .. 165.5 cm actually) and I'm 63 yo. What's my predicted 2k time when I was 20 yo ?

Paolo.

You should be honoust, you really don,t have the build for a rower.

[skiffrace]

You should be honest, you really don,t have the build for a rower. You have the build for running or cycling uphill. Toprower are close to twice your body. A bit like fighting windmills....
In our day its not common to simply tell the truth, in the longer run you are better off doing a thing you are better suited for.

Listen to what hjs is saying. For the same amount of work, you can be a good runner/cyclist/x-country skier, or a very(very) mediocre rower.
Rowing is a sport for tall people, and you can't change the laws of biomechanics.
Perhaps your thinking is "even though I will not be any taller, I may become muscular, like the top rowers"
Well, just like the height, the amount of muscle you have the potential to build is largely genetics.
That is, unless you use steroids, which is a very stupid thing to do, esp. for an amateur/recreational athlete.
How about kayaking? It's a very enjoyable, muscle-building outdoor sport, similar to rowing in many ways, and there are some very good 5'9 - 5'10 kayakers.

[Carl Watts]

That is, unless you use steroids, which is a very stupid thing to do, esp. for an amateur/recreational athlete.

There is no shortage of people using them in any sport, never forget when I first started going to the Gym in 1987, if was full of juiced guys.

Making money has nothing to do with it, people use them regardless.

[skiffrace]

There is no shortage of people using them in any sport, never forget when I first started going to the Gym in 1987, if was full of juiced guys.

Making money has nothing to do with it, people use them regardless.

You are correct describing the actual situation. I meant the "why" aspect.
Average Joe shooting up for vanity sake is pathetic. Once he lays off the steroids, he slowly but surely return to his sorry, flabby/puny state, but he's often left with the residual leftover side effects:
http://www.exrx.net/AnabolicSteroids/Ne ... tline.html

[mdpfirrman]

Squats, deadlifts, power cleans.

If you run 5k in roughly 20 minutes, you already have a decent engine, so I think getting a sub 7 2k is a matter of "mental strength" and proper rowing form.

If you love rowing, listen to this guy, Remi. Remi pulls amazingly strong times and is not tall either but he's incredibly powerful. I'm not terribly tall myself (around 5'10"). I can relate to the extra challenges for the rower that is not as tall. My son is your height and has just started rowing at 23 (he's like a younger version of Remi - shorter but incredibly strong).

All Henry is trying to say is that running may be a better competition sport for you. I'm not built for rowing either, but I really enjoy it and the mental challenges of it along with the fact that it's low intensity. My goal is also to break 7 minutes. Will I ever achieve it? Who knows. I went from 7:50 last year to a 7:19 early this year. You have the cardio strength it sounds like now, just work on your muscle strength. You'll need to be powerful. I would look up Ed McNeely power rowing on Google. He has a blog article talking about just doing 10 (building up to 20 reps) max pulls two or three times a week. With your other sports that you like, that would be a good place to start (perhaps add it in after your rowing as a finish workout).