Newbie here and loving it but after some advice....

[jamesg]

Now i have no idea if that is good or bad or average for my age (42 and 14 and a half stone 5 foot 10 in height)

You're doing a lot of work and that cannot fail to get you fit. However using high ratings will stop progress, sooner rather than later.

If 7k in 34 minutes (pace 2:25, 115 W) done at rate 30 is typical, your stroke (worth 115/30 = 3.8 Watt-minutes) is short and weak. If so, this can be due to belly getting in the way and/or nonexistent technique.

At your height and age you can easily pull a stroke worth twice that amount of work. The ratio Power in Watts/Rating is the work in each stroke, so on the erg we can see exactly what we are doing.

Rowing is all about the recovery, since this lets us rest and also puts us into a strong position for the catch so that we can do a lot of work in each stroke. The main points to look at are:

Recovery with hands away, swing, then a slow approach with the slide to the catch. This puts the shoulders well forward and the slide about 50 cm from the heels, so that you can use your legs.

Bad signs that make real work almost impossible are:
Lifting hands over knees
High feet
High drag
Slide near the heels at the catch.

[max_ratcliffe]

Maximum calorie burn....I'd do hard 10K efforts, should be able to get under 40mins fairly quickly.

I've been at this for nearly 12 months and I'm still not close to 40'. Of course, I may just be spectacularly untalented, but it's not just me - 50%ile is 41:27.

What's your sporting background like Max? How tall are you? What's your training looking like? I suppose it's all relative...I look at people who can do 35s and 36s as having something hard to do. I suppose also mates of mine or people who I have known from bike racing have made me think my engine is really nothing special so I assume say sub 40 should be do-able for most. I plucked that figure out of the air given the OP said he was time crunched in his lunch hour and it seemed roughly right as to what he might have time for.

Yeah, my sleepy answer first thing this morning looks a bit defensive. It was more about trying to set the OP's expectations.

A 40' 10k has been a target since I tinkered with the erg a few years ago, and now again this year since I started erging semi-seriously. I tend to agree that 40' shouldn't be out of reach for most of us, but again for lots of it's unlikely to be an easy achievement.

I'm a bit average - not tall enough, fit enough or strong enough to be good, but not bad enough to be so terrible that I don't feel the pull to try to get better.

[winniewinser]

Slide near the heels at the catch.

That's me when I get tired or lazy.....the seat sometimes touches my heels

Lot's to work on and plenty of time to improve.

[lindsayh]

Iggy the first thing to get is the concept of the drag factor as mentioned before rather than the damper setting (or tension)
Then it is a matter of developing a good technique and a slow strong stroke.
Racing the training is not a good idea - if your heart rate is maxxing out each time then you won't be helping improve aerobic fitness - you need to be still able to have a conversation in the long steady pieces.
This is a good summary of the "newbie" experience and what helps
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=185257&hilit=newbie

[jamesg]

the seat sometimes touches my heels

So all you need do is, during the recovery, get hands away and swing well forward, BEFORE moving the slide. NOT all at once.

[Iggymnewrower1]

thanks to all on this, still going strong and learning every day, Ive been reading up on the damper setting and slowing down the strokes too and seem to go for longer, ive also knocked off 30-40 seconds off each day and from when ive started ive knocked off 3 minutes when doing the 5000mtr session and 2 mins off the 10000 mtr session.

I'll keep watching videos too on posture etc so hopefully ill start seeing changes in the coming weeks

[Anth_F]

Ive been reading up on the damper setting and slowing down the strokes too and seem to go for longer, ive also knocked off 30-40 seconds off each day and from when ive started ive knocked off 3 minutes when doing the 5000mtr session and 2 mins off the 10000 mtr session.

Good news you've lowered the stroke rate and yes you will be able to maintain for longer periods as you're not wasting as much energy as before.

Some nice chunks off your times there, but it is very important not to race your training as lindsay points out here. Your progress will quickly plateau if you're racing in your sessions each time, and will eventually lead to total burnout and setbacks. Get yourself a HRM to make sure you're training is being done in the correct UT2 band.

Racing the training is not a good idea - if your heart rate is maxxing out each time then you won't be helping improve aerobic fitness - you need to be still able to have a conversation in the long steady pieces.

[Iggymnewrower1]

ok that makes sense i will change it tomorrow as each day im going all out for the 5000mtrs then going onto weights and im waling back all jelly like.

I have a HRM on my watch so i need to find out my best HR to train and help aerobically as im a fittish guy i just want to be better and lose the little bit of fat i have and tone up the muscle i have

[MPx]

I have a HRM on my watch so i need to find out my best HR to train and help aerobically

You need to know or estimate:
your Resting Heart Rate (possibly around 60? - check your watch when you've been sitting still for more than 10 mins soon after you get up in the morning.
your Max Heart Rate (what are you seeing at the end of your 5k pieces at max chat?) - maybe 180?

The difference between the two is your Heart Rate Range - which is what you've got to work with. MaxHR is what it is and will very slowly get lower as you age. RestingHR will get lower as you train and get fitter. Most of your training (many say as much as 80%) should be in the UT1 and UT2 zones - below them isn't really enough to be called exercise and above starts to go beyond aerobic training, so save that for Time Trials and hard interval sessions). UT2 ranges from 50 to 70 % and UT1 70 to 80% of your HRR.

Taking the RHR @ 60 and MHR @ 180 example suggested above giving a 120 HRR would mean
UT2 = 50% of 120 = 60 + RHR = 120 as the lowest acceptable HR
70% of 120 = 84 + RHR = 144 as top of UT2 bottom of UT1
UT1 - 80% of 120 = 96 + RHR = 156 as the top of UT1 and should be the absolute max for steady state sessions.

IMO in reality for this example most sessions the HR should be in the 140 to 150 range. Obviously you need to put your numbers in instead of the example to see how it applies to you....we are all different, mine are lower at around 44 RHR and 170 MHR which gives very different ranges.

[lindsayh]

this will help with training zones
http://freespir.s409.sureserver.com/for ... calculator

A wrist based HRM is not really reliable on the erg - there is a lot of talk about it on these threads

[Gammmmo]

I'm a bit average - not tall enough, fit enough or strong enough to be good, but not bad enough to be so terrible that I don't feel the pull to try to get better.

Two points:
1. For the people who are faster than you or have gone sub 40mins, don't underestimate some of those people may simply have worked harder or smarter to get that goal. I'm not being flippant but the fact is very few of us truly know each other's lifestyles and which choices and sacrifices we make every day in order to get faster. What some people might perceive as unacceptable may be all part of someone else's (same basic ability) regular regime. When I was half-decent at bike racing, I ate/slept/breathed cycling and most people at my level were obsessive.

2. Your PBs max, to me, show your basic aerobic capacity is lower than what's needed or almost certainly could be. How many of us get anywhere near optimising our health, wellbeing and performance? This is why I asked what your training looks like. Unless you are already doing ALOT of volume, I'd say that's exactly what you need i.e. build your engine.

[Iggymnewrower1]

You need to know or estimate:
your Resting Heart Rate (possibly around 60? - check your watch when you've been sitting still for more than 10 mins soon after you get up in the morning.
your Max Heart Rate (what are you seeing at the end of your 5k pieces at max chat?) - maybe 180?

Resting Heart Rate is 55 and straight after the 5k was 148 so not sure if thats good or bad or in the middle?

[Dangerscouse]

No need to get concerned about heart rate, it is what it is. I know two really excellent rowers (circa 6 mins 2k) and one gets over 200 and the other will struggle to break 155.

[Anth_F]

You need to know or estimate:
your Resting Heart Rate (possibly around 60? - check your watch when you've been sitting still for more than 10 mins soon after you get up in the morning.
your Max Heart Rate (what are you seeing at the end of your 5k pieces at max chat?) - maybe 180?

Resting Heart Rate is 55 and straight after the 5k was 148 so not sure if thats good or bad or in the middle?

You can go more by feelings... were you gasping for breath most of the 5k or was the breathing fairly calm. If you were gasping then you're training too hard for aerobic fitness!!! There is nothing wrong with doing some harder sessions but most of your meters should be done in UT2 = non Anaerobic = calm breathing. Especially as you're new to rowing so plenty of time for harder stuff later, once you've built up a decent aerobic foundation.

[lindsayh]

Resting Heart Rate is 55 and straight after the 5k was 148 so not sure if thats good or bad or in the middle?

MaxHR is neither is neither good or bad just what it is - it is not affected by training. The RHR drops with fitness. You have to do a longish session at 100% to get to max. The classic test is 6/7x 4'/1'R with each one stepped down harder with the last one to failure or 30' really hard. 148 would be quite a low max so maybe the 5k is not long enough to get there or the wrist monitor is not accurate.