New Personal Best! Brag About That New Pb!

[HornetMaX]

4 days off incoming and all that talk about 5K TT made go for one too.
Not ideal conditions (31C in the garage) but yeah, improved from 19:47.0 to 19:36.5

Nice one, that's a huge improvement, especially sub 20 minutes, as I'm discovering

I realized a while ago it is not possible (at least for me) to progress very fast.
It just takes time. No big deal: at age 50 (almost) I plan to stay for a few more years

[Dangerscouse]

4 days off incoming and all that talk about 5K TT made go for one too.
Not ideal conditions (31C in the garage) but yeah, improved from 19:47.0 to 19:36.5

That's a great result in 31c, so it'll be interesting to see what you can do in cooler temperatures

[steens]

Yesterday was my first day on the erg, and I rowed a 7:38 2k as a 33 yo, 155lb, 5'10" woman

Today, after learning what the damper was, I went back to the gym and adjusted the drag down to 130 from where it was at 150. I did another 2k, this time at 7:30

Am I correct in interpreting that this is pretty fast for a total novice? How quickly do these times improve at the outset of dedicated rowing training? Also, is there the possibility that I'm reading the output of the machine wrong? It looks pretty straightforward, but this seems unusual from consulting training charts!

[Dangerscouse]

Yesterday was my first day on the erg, and I rowed a 7:38 2k as a 33 yo, 155lb, 5'10" woman

Today, after learning what the damper was, I went back to the gym and adjusted the drag down to 130 from where it was at 150. I did another 2k, this time at 7:30

Am I correct in interpreting that this is pretty fast for a total novice? How quickly do these times improve at the outset of dedicated rowing training? Also, is there the possibility that I'm reading the output of the machine wrong? It looks pretty straightforward, but this seems unusual from consulting training charts!

That is very good for anyone, male or female, as a first time result. Very impressive.

I assume you've got an athletic background?

Improvements in times are very subjective, depending on your circumstances, physiology and training etc, but it's not out of the question that you could go sub 7 in the not too distant future.

[steens]

Yesterday was my first day on the erg, and I rowed a 7:38 2k as a 33 yo, 155lb, 5'10" woman

Today, after learning what the damper was, I went back to the gym and adjusted the drag down to 130 from where it was at 150. I did another 2k, this time at 7:30

Am I correct in interpreting that this is pretty fast for a total novice? How quickly do these times improve at the outset of dedicated rowing training? Also, is there the possibility that I'm reading the output of the machine wrong? It looks pretty straightforward, but this seems unusual from consulting training charts!

That is very good for anyone, male or female, as a first time result. Very impressive.

I assume you've got an athletic background?

Improvements in times are very subjective, depending on your circumstances, physiology and training etc, but it's not out of the question that you could go sub 7 in the not too distant future.

Interesting, very interesting. Yes, I work out around 6 days per week with a pretty well-rounded routine (lifting, core, cardio, rock climbing, biking, mainly). My strong suit is probably lifting -- I only lift 1x per week, but can do sets of 270lb deadlifts with the trap bar. I was looking to find a lower impact form of cardio, which is why I gave the erg a try.

I think I'll give it a go for a little bit, maybe switching out 2 workouts per week for the erg. Any suggestions on where to start would be welcome!

[Sakly]

I think I'll give it a go for a little bit, maybe switching out 2 workouts per week for the erg. Any suggestions on where to start would be welcome!

Welcome!
You could start in a team as well if you like! There are several virtual teams around here (Team Oarsome as well, Danger and I are members), but also many others.
Participating in virtual challenges motivates and you can get in contact with several team mates
The forum itself is also very supporting and the camaderie is really nice.

To answer your question where to start - some will come up with plans like Pete Plan or Wolverine, but I think it does not match your needs, as you like to mix it up with other stuff (like myself).
I also started the erg for low impact and wheather independent cardio training beside barbell and bodyweight strength work at least 3 times a week. Now I try to add as much long rows to the mix, typically 10k, 60min or HM, as possible, adding up to 50-70k/week with no specific plan. Rarely I do hard work, long distances or intervals like today. The mentioned challenges I also use for some hard sessions (as the goal is to reach to performance for the results ) and they spice up the game as they are all kinds of different stuff you won't do on your own

[steens]

I think I'll give it a go for a little bit, maybe switching out 2 workouts per week for the erg. Any suggestions on where to start would be welcome!

Welcome!
You could start in a team as well if you like! There are several virtual teams around here (Team Oarsome as well, Danger and I are members), but also many others.
Participating in virtual challenges motivates and you can get in contact with several team mates
The forum itself is also very supporting and the camaderie is really nice.

To answer your question where to start - some will come up with plans like Pete Plan or Wolverine, but I think it does not match your needs, as you like to mix it up with other stuff (like myself).
I also started the erg for low impact and wheather independent cardio training beside barbell and bodyweight strength work at least 3 times a week. Now I try to add as much long rows to the mix, typically 10k, 60min or HM, as possible, adding up to 50-70k/week with no specific plan. Rarely I do hard work, long distances or intervals like today. The mentioned challenges I also use for some hard sessions (as the goal is to reach to performance for the results ) and they spice up the game as they are all kinds of different stuff you won't do on your own

Thanks -- I'll take all that into consideration as I figure out how to plan workouts. It's good to know there's a community aspect to it, also, since that makes it much more appealing! I'll report back on how it's going after a few weeks

[Sakly]

as I figure out how to plan workouts

I think this is the most difficult part when you mix up several things. First you have to get an idea of your goals for each of your discipline. Then prioritize training accordingly. And based on given amount of time and intensity for training of each discipline you can align all stuff. As recovery is a highly individual part of the game, this can be very different for individuals even doing the same sports.

[KeithT]

Yesterday was my first day on the erg, and I rowed a 7:38 2k as a 33 yo, 155lb, 5'10" woman

Today, after learning what the damper was, I went back to the gym and adjusted the drag down to 130 from where it was at 150. I did another 2k, this time at 7:30

Am I correct in interpreting that this is pretty fast for a total novice? How quickly do these times improve at the outset of dedicated rowing training? Also, is there the possibility that I'm reading the output of the machine wrong? It looks pretty straightforward, but this seems unusual from consulting training charts!

This is an excellent result! It's hard to judge how much "newbie" gains you will have as it depends on your form and how fit you already are. I will say when I first got into rowing I was pretty fit and also had some good initial times but I was able to improve on those a lot over the years as I did more rowing and specific training.

[Dangerscouse]

Thanks -- I'll take all that into consideration as I figure out how to plan workouts. It's good to know there's a community aspect to it, also, since that makes it much more appealing! I'll report back on how it's going after a few weeks

Imo, it's best to keep the workouts simple to start with, and please do let us know your progress.

[HornetMaX]

4 days off incoming and all that talk about 5K TT made go for one too.
Not ideal conditions (31C in the garage) but yeah, improved from 19:47.0 to 19:36.5

That's a great result in 31c, so it'll be interesting to see what you can do in cooler temperatures

As soon as I get a cooler day (that may take a while) I may try that, I'm curious too.
In the while I'll do a 10K TT in the heat too, just to have another data point.

[KeithT]

New PB and.........World Record!

As promised I gave the 4:00 another go. I decided to warm-up to see how I felt before deciding and I felt pretty good. I then programmed the 4:00 and figured I would start into it and if I didn't have it I would just stop but 2:00 in I was hurting but knew I was in a good rhythm and had some left in the tank. I wanted 1300 as the WR was 1298 and this was right near 1:32 so my plan was to average 1:32 and the 1:00 splits ended up at 1:31.7, 1:32.3,1:32.0 and 1:31.8. for a 1:31.9 average and 1305 meters -36 SPM. First minute I did some hard pulls to get going and drive down pace and then settled right on 1:32, mostly held that for the next 2 minutes and fought the mental demons. With one minute left I was really worried about falling apart and I actually increased SPM and pace for a bit to try and counteract it and seemed to work but then I started "freezing up" some and held on the best I could, last 15-20 seconds I faded but had built a little cushion and hit goal (over goal). I was absolutely crushed after but then actually recovered better once I did a cool-down row and such - more so than usual.

I entered the score with verification on C2 Site and it shows properly in rankings but not sure if I need to submit anywhere else to have WR updated.

[DavidA]

New PB and.........World Record!

As promised I gave the 4:00 another go. I decided to warm-up to see how I felt before deciding and I felt pretty good. I then programmed the 4:00 and figured I would start into it and if I didn't have it I would just stop but 2:00 in I was hurting but knew I was in a good rhythm and had some left in the tank. I wanted 1300 as the WR was 1298 and this was right near 1:32 so my plan was to average 1:32 and the 1:00 splits ended up at 1:31.7, 1:32.3,1:32.0 and 1:31.8. for a 1:31.9 average and 1305 meters -36 SPM. First minute I did some hard pulls to get going and drive down pace and then settled right on 1:32, mostly held that for the next 2 minutes and fought the mental demons. With one minute left I was really worried about falling apart and I actually increased SPM and pace for a bit to try and counteract it and seemed to work but then I started "freezing up" some and held on the best I could, last 15-20 seconds I faded but had built a little cushion and hit goal (over goal). I was absolutely crushed after but then actually recovered better once I did a cool-down row and such - more so than usual.

I entered the score with verification on C2 Site and it shows properly in rankings but not sure if I need to submit anywhere else to have WR updated.

WOW!!!
Congratulations!
Any PB is great, but a WR to boot is awesome!

David

[Gustel]

New PB and.........World Record!

Congratulations! That’s amazing.

[KeithT]

New PB and.........World Record!

As promised I gave the 4:00 another go. I decided to warm-up to see how I felt before deciding and I felt pretty good. I then programmed the 4:00 and figured I would start into it and if I didn't have it I would just stop but 2:00 in I was hurting but knew I was in a good rhythm and had some left in the tank. I wanted 1300 as the WR was 1298 and this was right near 1:32 so my plan was to average 1:32 and the 1:00 splits ended up at 1:31.7, 1:32.3,1:32.0 and 1:31.8. for a 1:31.9 average and 1305 meters -36 SPM. First minute I did some hard pulls to get going and drive down pace and then settled right on 1:32, mostly held that for the next 2 minutes and fought the mental demons. With one minute left I was really worried about falling apart and I actually increased SPM and pace for a bit to try and counteract it and seemed to work but then I started "freezing up" some and held on the best I could, last 15-20 seconds I faded but had built a little cushion and hit goal (over goal). I was absolutely crushed after but then actually recovered better once I did a cool-down row and such - more so than usual.

I entered the score with verification on C2 Site and it shows properly in rankings but not sure if I need to submit anywhere else to have WR updated.

WOW!!!
Congratulations!
Any PB is great, but a WR to boot is awesome!

Thanks, with the change in WR to 5 year age gaps I knew I had a chance at this one.
David