Looking for general guidance for a newbie

[Bejzu]

Let's think about it this way. I'm 18 years older than you, but I can easily pull your 2:28 pace at just 20 spm for hours. So I can produce as much power as you can with far fewer strokes. I must be doing something more efficiently and effectively as I row. You should seek to improve your technique in this manner. Keep in mind that I am a very mediocre rower!

This was the most valuable eye opening comment for me as beginner so thank you. This led to much improvement.

Regarding force curve and damper settings I found that increasing from 3 to 5 s slightly harder but more suitable for me. My theory is I have stronger lower body and weaker upper body which improved shape of my curve.

I now regularly do 2.19 split 19spm. Huge improvement.

[mitchel674]

Let's think about it this way. I'm 18 years older than you, but I can easily pull your 2:28 pace at just 20 spm for hours. So I can produce as much power as you can with far fewer strokes. I must be doing something more efficiently and effectively as I row. You should seek to improve your technique in this manner. Keep in mind that I am a very mediocre rower!

This was the most valuable eye opening comment for me as beginner so thank you. This led to much improvement.

Regarding force curve and damper settings I found that increasing from 3 to 5 s slightly harder but more suitable for me. My theory is I have stronger lower body and weaker upper body which improved shape of my curve.

I now regularly do 2.19 split 19spm. Huge improvement.

I'm glad that bit of advice resonated with you. Kudos to you for seeking advice here and implementing effective changes!

[Bejzu]

So, have been rowing for about a month. Have improved on form and technique which has had a direct positive impact on my performance. So that is great. I now feel like its my personal fitness level which has to improve to take me to the next level, which leads me to my next question.

What time of the day do you train and about pre-workout meals. A bit about my schedule.

So far as a beginner I only do 20 minute rows just because I found it the easiest to just start without too much thought. I understand there is much more I can tweak and change in this respect but I will eventually get to that.

I row day on day off on weekdays and on Saturday and Sunday so as below

Saturday - Yes
Sunday - Yes
Monday - No
Tuesday -Yes
Wednesday - No
Thursday -Yes
Friday - No

I have noticed that my performance is MUCH better on Saturday and Sunday (ie around 10%) then it is on weekdays. The two main differences is time and pre-workout meals. I feel much better on my weekend rows then my weekday rows.

Weekdays I row at 6:30 am so on an empty stomach (just water)
Weekends I row roughly around 2 hours after lunch.

Does anyone workout early mornings and any suggestion for early morning meal/energy. (i dont want to get up earlier then 6am. ) Im not particularly hungry in the morning.

[Dangerscouse]

Does anyone workout early mornings and any suggestion for early morning meal/energy. (i dont want to get up earlier then 6am. ) Im not particularly hungry in the morning.

I always row early in the morning (weekdays from 6ish, and weekends is usually around 7ish). I only ever have a strong black coffee, about 300ml of water and a banana.

I'm not sure if there's anything you can do to improve things, other than wait to adapt to the early starts, as they can get easier, but that might just be my experience.

Dehydration may be an issue for you. Do you drink much water? Don't forget that you won't have drank anything for hours when you get up, so some water is really helpful. I roughly drink two litres of water, plus green tea and a few coffees, so it's about four litres in total.

[mitchel674]

For such short rows, I doubt your pre-workout meal makes any difference. I typically do my longer rows (60-90 minutes) on the weekends at 0700 after having a cup of coffee and a banana. My weekday rows are usually in the evening when I get home from work. These are typically only 30-45 minutes and take place about 5 hours after lunch. My performance isn't great, but I have not noticed a significant difference based on the time I row.

[Bejzu]

For such short rows, I doubt your pre-workout meal makes any difference.

I cant think of anything else other then something nutrition/hydration related.

I only ever have a strong black coffee, about 300ml of water and a banana.

Immediately before a rowing session? I will have to try something similar and just see how it goes. Concerned to quick a meal will make it uncomfortable. Will see.

Dehydration may be an issue for you.

I drink about 1 ltr water beforehand and as much as I need to afterwards..

i definitely feel fresher and more motivated for my weekend afternoon sessions.

I'm just too knackered to row in the evenings after work. So some more experimentation and research on this.

[MPx]

Many of us find it harder to erg well in the early morning - but not everyone (eh Stu!?). However, I've also tried a session a few hours after a large Sunday lunch and that's also horrible so it can work both ways. I think it will depend on your normal fuelling routine. For as long as I can remember, I typically have a good breakfast, a light sandwich style lunch, and my main meal in the evening. When I was working (typically 7am to 7pm days) then my sec had control of the diary and our rule was she could move my works gym session to whenever she needed to but she couldn't delete it. It meant it might be at any time, and most were fine except I rarely felt like it in the early period - tho it didn't really impact my performance. Since I retired fuelling has stayed the same but workouts are nearly always early evening in the 5 - 7 window and I do now notice that performance is worse outside of this time. I do a session every day that we're at home which is most of the time, but typically works out 3 or 4 rest days a month. You probably need to experiment more to see how your body performs at various times of day and with different fuelling strategies. The important thing is to make the erg session fit in with and be a part of your lifestyle.

[mitchel674]

For such short rows, I doubt your pre-workout meal makes any difference.

I cant think of anything else other then something nutrition/hydration related.

I only ever have a strong black coffee, about 300ml of water and a banana.

Immediately before a rowing session? I will have to try something similar and just see how it goes. Concerned to quick a meal will make it uncomfortable. Will see.

Dehydration may be an issue for you.

I drink about 1 ltr water beforehand and as much as I need to afterwards..

i definitely feel fresher and more motivated for my weekend afternoon sessions.

I'm just too knackered to row in the evenings after work. So some more experimentation and research on this.

Maybe I'm just not that analytical about my performance to notice variations. The main thing is to get on the erg and row. Sure I'm tired when I get home from work, but I feel pretty good after a bit of water once I get on and row for just 30 minutes. Don't overthink it.

[p_b82]

I'm one that definitely does not perform well on first getting up - whether that's on the erg or out hiking; I always need fuel and a couple of hours to get into the swing of things.
As a "not a morning person" I've not even bothered to see how I feel rowing before work, but I have on a couple weekends; got up, had some fluids and rowed (today being one of those days although not a weekend) and they're always "harder" than the pace would suggest - both mentally and in terms of HR.

Did an 11k row today right after getting out of bed + fluids with average Hr 154; but at the start of the month in my more typical 4-7pm window the same paced 12.5k was only 145.

I've found if I try to row too soon after even a light meal, on the longer/harder sessions they're also a bit tougher - so for me my typical fuelling strategy is:
Get up & put the coffee on (3 mugs)
Start work
brekkie around 10 - porridge/cereal
water
lunch around 1-2pm with fruit juice (usually a sarnie, with a handful of nuts)
more water during the afternoon
sit on the erg 4:30-6; pending work

The days I'm dehydrated - stuck in meetings all afternoon, or my nose in a bit of tricky SQL and I lose track of times - often directly correlate to poorer RPE performances, and the data appears to back that up (could all be in my head causing it to be worse, but the net result is ultimately the same).

As a result of that I tend to do:
Sunday - ignore pace & avoid ranked distances/times, but get some decent km's in. 9-15k or so (tho I did the HM on the sunday due to time)
Tuesday - something harder, maybe a TT or just pushing into higher efforts (5k-1hr typically)
Thursday - middle effort, but normally a decent distance again (7-12k)

[Sakly]

For me it's all about getting used to it.
I did high intensity trainings early in the morning in fasted state, even though I did not like it. Took only a week or two to be no problem at all. You don't have to think about, you only have to start and do it regularly.

For me best time on the rower is lunch break. Gym session best case in the afternoon. But I don't mind at all - only important fact is no meal at least 2-3 hours before.

[Dangerscouse]

Immediately before a rowing session? I will have to try something similar and just see how it goes. Concerned to quick a meal will make it uncomfortable. Will see.

Dehydration may be an issue for you.

I drink about 1 ltr water beforehand and as much as I need to afterwards..

i definitely feel fresher and more motivated for my weekend afternoon sessions.

It's about 30-40 mins beforehand, so it's not much difference.

Do you drink a litre beforehand for the early morning rows? Doesn't that feel like it's sloshing around in your stomach?

Basic biology will give you a boost later on in the day, as cortisol is what wakes you up, and testosterone increases as the day progresses, so you may be better suited to later rows. Hopefully, it's just a matter of not overthinking it and adapting to it, as mentioned above.

[Dangerscouse]

Many of us find it harder to erg well in the early morning - but not everyone (eh Stu!?).


You probably need to experiment more to see how your body performs at various times of day and with different fuelling strategies. The important thing is to make the erg session fit in with and be a part of your lifestyle.

I do wake up easily and struggle to stay awake at night, so it definitely suits me, and +1 on your last paragraph

[Ombrax]

It obviously varies from person to person, but I dislike early-morning physical activity, and avoid it as much as possible.

Years ago I tried to do a rowing session before breakfast, and my body was so tight it took a long time to just feel semi- comfortable on the erg.

Never again.