Elevated Heart Rate and Optimal RowErg Workout

[Romper]

Hello all.

Is it better to have an elevated heart rate before commencing a RowErg Workout to obtain the most out of this workout?

If so, how long should the heart rate be elevated for?

And, what % of MaxHR should this sustained HR be?



Romper

[Citroen]

There's a 20 minute warm-up protocol that's designed to get your HR above your resting rate.
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[Sakly]

Hi,

It depends on workout type.

If going for TT - warmup should be done in any case. I go low to mid intensity for <10min, typically a 2k with rate changes, some hard strokes in. Then pause for 5-10mins then go.

If going for steady state - no warmup, only start rowing at desired pace.

If going for intervals it depends on the interval structure. Sometimes I do intervals with negative split until failure - no warmup as first intervals are my warmup.
For fixed harder pace intervals I do the same warmup as for TT.

Warmup also depends a bit on your body responsiveness. I do not need long warmup times, others do.

[Romper]

Thanks for replies. Very helpful.

Also wondering if bench pressing lightish weights at higher reps prior to performing RowErg Workouts would be beneficial in helping to prime the body and increase blood flow?


Romper

[Ombrax]

Also wondering if bench pressing lightish weights at higher reps prior to performing RowErg Workouts would be beneficial in helping to prime the body and increase blood flow?

My guess would be that if this were true you'd see lots of people doing that at the CRASH-B's and other such competitions, but I don't think that's the case. (caveat, I've never been there in person, just seen videos and pictures)

Bottom line, a basic warm-up, tailored to the type of session you plan on doing, is probably the best.

[jamesg]

Is it better to have an elevated heart rate before commencing a RowErg Workout

No doubt if young you can work very hard from dead cold. But as you age there will be a certain delay.

Warmup always happens, if we do any work, and we can work better and harder when hot. So yes.

The erg is the ideal place to do this, since we use the same muscle and there need be no break. PM shows us time and how many kCals we've delivered. With ergdata and logbook graphs we can see even more detail. But if in a gym you have to wait for a machine, anything will do rather than hanging around or getting under ladies' feet.

I think I'm warm enough when I've delivered my own weight in kCals, which should be about +1°C. This takes me 5-7 minutes, so 100-150 strokes.

[YamR1Rider]

Is it better to have an elevated heart rate before commencing a RowErg Workout

No doubt if young you can work very hard from dead cold. But as you age there will be a certain delay.

Very true. Back in the day for a 2k, I'd do a bit of stretching, maybe some token light paddling for a few minutes, then go. Nowadays I find myself doing a 3k warm up, which generally is slow and steady but with Power 10s at or just below desired split every 500m from 1000 on. Then wait 5-10mins and start.

[Tsnor]

Less injury risk when your muscles are warm. You want warm muscles, the higher heart rate is not needed (warm muscles then rest until low heart rate is fine) ***

If the workout is a max effort workout do a warm up. If its a long/slow workout then ease into it a bit.


*** Nothing in sport science is ever totally proven. "Five studies, all of high quality (7-9 (mean=8) out of 11) reported sufficient data (quality score>7) on the effects of warming up on reducing injury risk in humans. Three of the studies found that performing a warm-up prior to performance significantly reduced the injury risk, and the other two studies found that warming up was not effective in significantly reducing the number of injuries.

Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to endorse or discontinue routine warm-up prior to physical activity to prevent injury among sports participants. However, the weight of evidence is in favour of a decreased risk of injury. Further well-conducted randomised controlled trials are needed to determine the role of warming up prior to exercise in relation to injury prevention. " https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1667906 ... 20injuries.