andrew1987 wrote: ↑July 22nd, 2022, 3:29 pm
Regarding the stroke rate. This is probably based on weight, height and type of workout, but what stroke range would be ideal for someone of my size?
When I rowed my second session a much bigger guy was next to me. He was pulling fast (34-36 strokes per minute) and looking crazy, but I was still faster than him. He must've been on a low damper setting? The machines at my gym aren't the best. They chain doesn't feel firm. I rowed at damper 5 today.
I have an old man in my gym who used to row on the water, and he still rows at a very easy pace at rate 20 without breaking a sweat, but easily rows a 2K under 8 minutes that way. That leaves most brute force sweating gym users behind. It is a game of effectiveness, which can easily be won against people who just use brute force without regard for technique.
The stroke rate also is a personal preference. When thinking about stroke rate, think of the flywheel as a kid on a swing you are pushing. When your timing is off you either pushing against the motion or you are pushing against a swing that is already gone. Effectiveness happens when you time your push/drive just right.
Stroke rate actually is determined by the combination of you and the dragfactor you use. Ideally, you have a natural (not hasted) recovery, just to return in time for the flywheel to have slowed down enough to pick it up again easily (the catch). You feel a good flow and not much energy is wasted.
When your recovery is too fast for your DF, the flywheel is still spinning too fast and you will lose a powerfull part of the stroke to catching up with the flywheel (you are running behind the swing that is gone). When you are too late, the flywheel will have slowed down too much and the catch will be easy to feel but hard on your body. So getting into that zone where you can easily catch that spinning flywheel again is usefull.
Another point on that motion and why a rushed drive is less effective: the flywheel gets much more resistance when it moves faster (look for "cube law"), just like a boat. So, maintaining a more steady flywheel speed instead of a very fluctuating one throughout a stroke, is beneficial. It simply is more effective. Most brute force people have a huge explosive (rushed) drive and try to get the flywheel spinning as fast as possible. It will peak quickly, and decay in speed faster as well. So looking at your force curve during a row, and getting as much area underneath as possible (the best ones look like haystacks) will make you the most effective.
