How to row 2k at higher rate

[Tsnor]

For context, advised by world class coaches at British nation team, Cameron Buchan switched to SS at 2:10. Buchan has hit a 5:49 2K. Think how slow that 2:10 must have felt. https://youtu.be/XWKMG__UVQo?si=JooBX0YuA5OwhEkK&t=33

One starting point for SS heart rate is 65% to 70% of max heart rate. This one works best for me. Getting the correct rowing max HR is critical, do not use an age based formula. For Buchan in the video above, his max HR was 200 so he rowed around 130 using 65%.

Another starting point is rowing splits equivalent to 60% to 75% of rowing 1 hour power (ftp). This is not 60-70% of 2K watts, 2K watts are much higher than 1 hour power. I've also seen this approximation use 40 minute rowing power which gives similar guidance. There is so much swing in the 60-75% range that the wattage difference from 40 mins to 60 mins is masked.

Once you have a starting point fine tune it using "heart rate drift" and "the conversation test". Going slightly too slow is fine - just go longer. Going slightly fast defeats the recovery purpose of long/slow. You know if you are going too fast or too long -- your heart rate will start rising at SS pace .. or if you keep HR constant your power output will start falling at constant HR. You'll also lose the ability to talk in long sentences and carry on a conversation.

UT2 is *not* the same as zone 1. It's a bit higher. If you target the fastest UT2 split you're going to be above zone 1 and see heart rate drift.

As you spend time doing SS you'll see the split come down, but it takes forever. Suggest you target min 45 minute each session. Work until you have flat splits and HR over 45 mins, then ramp duration from 45 mins to a nice distance that takes over an hour (15K?). Once you are at your final distance you can walk the splits down.

Long SS can hit your back, especially if you are ramping up duration. It's fine to substitute cycling, running, etc for some of the SS rowing.

Doing V02max workouts show great results in 10 weeks, but plateau and cause problems if you try to stay at max fitness. SS workouts can take a year or two to kick in, but do not plateau and are sustainable.

The 80% rule was for athletes doing 12 workouts a week (2 x per day most days). It applies to sessions, not time. For normal people a better rule is do 1 to 2 hard workouts a week during "base" training and do 2 to 3 hard workouts a week when you are in season. (20% of 12 is 2.5 hard sessions/week if you are doing 12 workouts/week). But life will make this hard, if you end up doing 4 or 5 hard one week it's not the end of the world.

Final thought. Long/slow Zone 1 training is really good for people working out 4, 5 or more times a week putting in more than 5 hours per week of training. If you are hitting the gym 3 times a week skip the long slow. Do whatever is fun. Do put a recovery day after each hard session, but do whatever is fun. GL.

[Ombrax]

When you folks calculate a %HR do you do simply relative to max HR, or do you do the slightly more complicated calculation for Heart Rate Reserve (HRR).

For those who haven't heard of HRR it works like this:

Let's assume that your max rowing HR is 180 bpm and that your waking or min HR is 50 bpm.

Basic calculation: If you're at 160 bpm that's 160/180 = 88.9% of your max.

HRR calculation: If you're at 160 bpm that's (160-50) / (180-50) = 84.6% of your HRR max.

Note that at the limit of 180 bpm both give you the same result.

[MPx]

While I understand the arithmetic is correct, I've never seen the HRR calc set out that way @Ombrax. People typically target a %HR number and derive the HR number not the other way around. So if say targeting a 70% effort on a 180 max then the cap is either :
%HR = 180x0.7 = 126
%HRR = (180-50)x0.7 = 91+50 = 141
So a significant difference in cap number which obviously undermines the concept somewhat - since they can't both be right. I prefer HRR because it gives me more headroom to go a little harder and "feels" more like training. But I know many think that if you want to target zones then such sessions shouldn't feel like any effort...and so the debate goes on.

[Dangerscouse]

When you folks calculate a %HR do you do simply relative to max HR, or do you do the slightly more complicated calculation for Heart Rate Reserve (HRR).

For those who haven't heard of HRR it works like this:

Let's assume that your max rowing HR is 180 bpm and that your waking or min HR is 50 bpm.

Basic calculation: If you're at 160 bpm that's 160/180 = 88.9% of your max.

HRR calculation: If you're at 160 bpm that's (160-50) / (180-50) = 84.6% of your HRR max.

Note that at the limit of 180 bpm both give you the same result.

I don't pay much attention to it, and I certainly don't bother with a strict cap as I've personally found there's too many variables to skew the results. It can get quite hot and humid in my erging room in addition to intrusive thoughts and early morning cortisol can change things quite a lot. If my HR is higher due to the timing of the session, should I then artificially restrict the effort? I know that my starting HR is lower the later in the day that it is.

Mike makes a very valid point about the considerable difference in zones when I use one or the other. I think it's a bit like erging's version of Occam's Razor and keeping it simple is the best option, so that's why I'm more drawn towards RPE and intuition on most days and just use HR as a loose guide.

[Tsnor]

When you folks calculate a %HR do you do simply relative to max HR, or do you do the slightly more complicated calculation for Heart Rate Reserve (HRR).

Anything I post that is %max heart rate is literally that, and is not HRR. Unlike the free spirit calculator that says %MHR but doesn't mean it. https://www.freespiritsrowing.com/forum ... calculator Love the work free spirits does, but if you follow this calc you'll cook your training.

I put about 5-7 different rules for zone calculations in a spreadsheet years ago. Showed me the range of "correct" zone 1 heart rates / splits / watts. The range is pretty large. For me, most failed at the high end - pushed me into heart rate drift at an hour or sooner.

Finding zones by HRR gave one of the higher zone 1 heartrates for the different formulas, but also had the problem that if you can't trust your resting heart rate then HRR which depends on resting heart rate is less trusted. HRR also has the slight problem that MAX heart rate doesn't change with training, but resting HR does. A poor resting heart rate give you a HIGHER zone target, a great resting HR gives you a LOWER zone target, which is not what you want. If anything, being more conditioned (leading to a lower resting HR) allows you to creep higher in the zones without triggering recovery problems.