Drag Factor Questions

[jvander76]

I'm a 67 year old relative rowing newbie. For the past 8 months or so I have enjoyed (semi enjoyed?) working at this new rowing journey. Occasionally I experiment with different drag factors. Several weeks ago I posted my best ( so far) 10K time with a 2:06.1 pace. I usually think in terms of pace vs overall time because my pace is what I can control. My DF at that time was 125. I have since lowered that to 119. After putting in more work for those few weeks I did a TT yesterday attempting to, at least match my earlier pace. I didn't get there...posting a 2:07.3 pace.

Okay, I realize some days will just be better than others. That said, I wonder about a couple things related to my DF. Do most of us have a "sweet spot" that will allow us to reach our best result for a given time or distance? Assuming I can match my effort on a 10K at DF 119 vs 125, is it probable that one resistance level would be better suited to me? Or am I just chasing my tail? I also wonder if, by switching to a lower DF, I should be increasing my stroke rate slightly to compensate?

Maybe I'm over thinking all this, but those are things I wonder about. I'm guessing that the sooner I settle on my chosen drag factor for most of my workouts (I'm not referring to 500m or less), the better off I'll be. Thanks in advance for your insight.

[Tsnor]

DF is personal preference inside any reasonable range.

Lower drag factor needs a faster push to get to the same power level. It's learned. If you leave the damper at the lower drag factor for a while you'll naturally pick up the slightly quicker push at the same wattage.

There is some (not perfect) evidence that a lower drag factor has less injury risk. There is a bit more evidence it makes no difference in your workout (you get the same training benefit rowing at high and low drag factor). https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... _of_Rowing

FWIW: my erg is in the garage. It gets cold dense air in the winter (DF as high as 120), and thin, warm air in summer (DF as low at 110). I don't adjust the damper. When I erg on club ergs I usually remember to ensure the DF is 115-120 so I don't get a DF 160 surprise, but don't fine tune the drag factor if it is close.

[KeithT]

We all could probably write paragraphs about drag factor. In the end its really a preference but I do think there is a "sweet spot" for everyone. That said I don't think it has to be exact, you aren't going to notice a huge difference if DF is higher or lower by 5. Some like to adjust depending on the length of the row too - often with longer rows at a lower DF and shorter sprints at a higher DF. It's good to experiment and see what feels right for you. It all has to be combined with your SPM and such too. In your exact scenario stated I am sure you just didn't have as good as a day, I don't think the lower drag factor was different enough to have too much impact. However, it would be worth trying a row at 125 again to see if you just like that. FWIW I row everything at 130 DF unless doing a short TT where I will increase it some. I have tried lower DF and it doesn't feel right to me even for super long rows.

[jamesg]

by switching to a lower DF, I should be increasing my stroke rate slightly to compensate?

No, drag controls the speed of the pull, so just pull faster and/or longer and take more rest time. Make sure you use the legs fast at the catch so that they do most of the work.

Keep the drag low anyway, otherwise the pull will be slow, hard and short. Long easy and quick is much better and less risky.

Most active oarsmen use 130 on the erg, since they train to pull those awful Concept 2 hydrodynamic blades which make water feel like a brick wall.

So most of us can stay at a lower DF. I can't pull more than about 35 kg continuous on the erg (seen in Ergdata) at DF 90 max. This drag protects me from damage, so far, but still lets me pull 150W if I really want to, and around 120W at 20, more than enough to keep fit.

[JaapvanE]

No, drag controls the speed of the pull, so just pull faster and/or longer and take more rest time.

I always tell that drag determines how much the flywheel slows down after a recovery. A higher DF simulates using a longer oar and thus behaves a bit like a higher gear of a bike.

A high drag factor will slow down the flywheel quickly and as it has much more drag, it will feel heavier as well. It will feel much like that first stroke or indeed like hitting a brick wall. Unless you have perfect technique, it is a huge injury risk as the forces involved are much bigger. Typically, you can do more work with one stroke, but DF's above 150 are pretty tough on the human body so most won't even make it to the finishline.

First thing my physio ordered me to do when I injured my biceps was to move the DF as low as possible to reduce the impact of the catch.

[Nomath]

In 2020 I posted on this forum the results of a scientific study about the effect of the drag factor setting on the performance and stroke characteristics for experienced college-level rowers. See viewtopic.php?f=7&t=192076&hilit=drag
The drag factor settings were 100 and 150.
One of the clear results was that the stroke rate increased at a lower drag factor.

In the comments above, there seems an issue "does drag control the speed of the pull or does it control the slow-down of the flywheel during the recovery? "
The answer is : it can do do both, but depending on what you keep constant.

For a constant recovery time, the flywheel slows less with a lower drag factor. Hence at the catch --which I define as the point when the handle is closest to the flywheel cage, hence handle speed=0 -- for a certain initial acceleration of your body you need a slightly longer distance to pick up the speed of the flywheel (the so-called 'catch slack') and the speed at which you catch up with the flywheel speed is higher. So the pull speed is higher.
The reverse is true for a higher drag factor : for a constant recovery time, the flywheel has slowed down more, the catch slack will be shorter and the pull speed will be lower.

If you follow jamesg and take a longer recovery time at the low drag factor setting, the contrast will be less.

What the authors of the paper that I presented and discussed found is that most people increase the stroke rate at a lower drag setting. Only the very disciplined and matured rowers like jamesg can avoid this intuitive tendency.

[ampire]

I typically use 95 df for steady state, 130 df for time trials, 160 df for 500m.

I do nearly all my rowing on slides, when I did static erg I used 160 for everything. On slides, the effort of the drag feels really obvious.

[GlennUk]

There is some (not perfect) evidence that a lower drag factor has less injury risk. There is a bit more evidence it makes no difference in your workout (you get the same training benefit rowing at high and low drag factor). https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... _of_Rowing

FWIW: my erg is in the garage. It gets cold dense air in the winter (DF as high as 120), and thin, warm air in summer (DF as low at 110). I don't adjust the damper. When I erg on club ergs I usually remember to ensure the DF is 115-120 so I don't get a DF 160 surprise, but don't fine tune the drag factor if it is close.

My erg is in our home gym (unheated) unless you count solar gain in the summer, my swing is similar to yours, i dont adjust it every time, although

If i was going to make a 'serious attempt' at a FM/50K i would, if for no other reason than it bothers me if think it might have an impact on the sessions, despite knowing it probably wont based on my general experience