How to improve watts/distance and stay within heart rate......

[Sakly]

In my case, going to bed slightly hungry is the way to go. Takes a while, but it works.

Fixed a typo.

Hehe, but the former version is not wrong at all. You should only eat when hungry, not "when it's time". And you should only eat until you're full, not until your plate is empty (aside from eating the right stuff, but that's a whole other topic). If you follow these two rules, then overweight should never get a problem.
As many eating habits have their roots in what you've learned as a kid and also often depend on social interactions as a kind of event...it turns out to be different in many cases.

[old wobbler]

I am rowing to lose weight, building my knee muscles up to try and help not having knee replacements or be fit enough to have knee replacement.

You probably already know this, but I"ll repeat it just the same: I've found that the simplest way to lose weight is to not take in as many calories - eating something then working hard on the erg to burn it off is much harder, mostly because unless we're talking about running, the human body is really efficient at exercising while not burning too many calories. In my case, going to be slightly hungry is the way to go. Takes a while, but it works.

For your other fitness goals, the rower is a great tool.

Good Luck

I have for 3 years lived on between 1100 and 1600 callories. I've cut out all the 'crap' eat more veg and fruit than I ever did. Its why I do a lot of Zone 1 and 2 rowing as that burns fat more than higher zones.

[old wobbler]

No matter what I do I cant seem to get faster or produce more watts.

Some of your notes are scary: 107kg on 5'10 (178cm) height gives BMI 33. What's your doc's say? Cholesterol? I've had surgeons working on me three time now thanks to that stuff.

My Doc is happy for me to row and exercise. 5.4 and dropping now I have shed eating crisps. (chips or 'laytes' in other languages.) Sorry that you have had a bad run with health issues. One plus side, I dont drink alcohol and havent since 1981 nor do I smoke.

[old wobbler]

In my case, going to bed slightly hungry is the way to go. Takes a while, but it works.

Fixed a typo.

Hehe, but the former version is not wrong at all. You should only eat when hungry, not "when it's time". And you should only eat until you're full, not until your plate is empty (aside from eating the right stuff, but that's a whole other topic). If you follow these two rules, then overweight should never get a problem.
As many eating habits have their roots in what you've learned as a kid and also often depend on social interactions as a kind of event...it turns out to be different in many cases.

Worked shifts for 46 years. Eat meals at the wrong times (eating dinner when you first wake up is no fun.) I was fine till I was 53 and my knee went. Doctors told me to stop sports and just watch TV. 10 years later I am diabetic, had a BMI of 35, out of breath and feeling old. 5 months later I am much fitter, weight coming down and I am not out of breath plus have started to live again. This is working for me.

[Dangerscouse]

If I was you I'd row using RPE and use your intuition. I wonder if you're hindering your progress as you're trying to use technology too much.

Keep it simple and see if that helps.

[Sakly]

Fixed a typo.

Hehe, but the former version is not wrong at all. You should only eat when hungry, not "when it's time". And you should only eat until you're full, not until your plate is empty (aside from eating the right stuff, but that's a whole other topic). If you follow these two rules, then overweight should never get a problem.
As many eating habits have their roots in what you've learned as a kid and also often depend on social interactions as a kind of event...it turns out to be different in many cases.

Worked shifts for 46 years. Eat meals at the wrong times (eating dinner when you first wake up is no fun.) I was fine till I was 53 and my knee went. Doctors told me to stop sports and just watch TV. 10 years later I am diabetic, had a BMI of 35, out of breath and feeling old. 5 months later I am much fitter, weight coming down and I am not out of breath plus have started to live again. This is working for me.

Work shifts are an evil invention! Understand this can lead to potential problems for daily life in many aspects.
But as I said, eating habits not directly linked to "I am hungry and need food" are the main cause and when you write "eating dinner when you first wake up is no fun" seems to point exactly in this direction - it's a learned habit, not a need (otherwise you would feel it to be fun at least). Social aspects, such as to have dinner with family play also a role, but don't make it better or healthy.
Sports activities are not necessarily needed to maintain a healthy weight, but to maintain a healthy body, if sedentary otherwise.
Overweight and T2D are mainly linked to diet (here we could also starting about what one eats...), not missing sports/activities.

In the end it does not matter at all for the individual. You need to find what works for you and you seem to be on a very good route right now

[H2O]

328W @32 is 10 Watt per stroke.
For me 10 Watt per stroke is high powered.
If I row 10 Watt per stroke I blow through HR 109 within one minute on stroke rate 17.

This is OK and I compensate by taking enough break, e.g recently 10 x (3 mins / rest 1 min), watt per stroke: 10.6, stroke rate 17-18.
HR creeps up from rep to rep and reaches 131 at the end of the last rep, however falls below 90 at the end of each rest period.
Average HR is around 125.
If I want to keep the HR at 109, I have to drop the stroke power to 8W per stroke, stroke rate 17.

To keep the HR as low as possible I would focus on relaxation, two breaths per stroke.
I have noticed that overreaching (shins past vertical, longer stroke) but reducing the peak power can lower the HR by a few beats
(at the same pace).

Age 67, 1K @3:23

[alex9026]

If I was you I'd row using RPE and use your intuition. I wonder if you're hindering your progress as you're trying to use technology too much.

Keep it simple and see if that helps.

+1 on this suggestion. It's so easy to get bogged down in to training zones, heart rate, watts (do people actually use this data point during sessions?) etc to the point we really lose sight of the bigger picture.

[Ombrax]

+1 on this suggestion. It's so easy to get bogged down in to training zones, heart rate, watts (do people actually use this data point during sessions?) etc to the point we really lose sight of the bigger picture.

I agree, and thought the same thing - IMO the OP may be fixating too much on HR and specific zones. Unless you're doing a highly structured training plan and keeping track of all the details, I think it's so much easier to just row and rely on perceived effort (AKA RPE = Relative Perceived Effort) and pace.

You only have time for a quick, hard 2k? Then after a warm up have at it, knowing that it's going to be a relatively short workout.

You plan on doing 8k? Pick an appropriate pace and start. If after 1k your heart rate goes through the roof and you're huffing and puffing, slow down to something that will allow you to complete the distance, and next time use the modified pace. Check every now and then during the workout to see what you HR is, compare that to how you feel and go from there.

It won't take long for you to figure out what pace works best for different types of workouts, and as long as you keep pushing yourself a bit as time goes on you'll improve.

Caveat: If you're the type who loves spreadsheets and crunching data, and find that a strict regimen works best for you, then ignore everything I just said above.

Good Luck

[iain]

Great advice above. Picking from this:

1. "talk test" to establish bands is IMHO better than the formulae if you prefer to work on HR.
2. Rowing with bent arms means your arms need to provide the same force as your legs during the leg drive for no added power so "recorded" power will be lower than exertion. Working on keeping arms straight through the leg drive will make a big difference!
3. "Fat burning region" is great to get couch potatoes scared of hard work exercising beyond that it is not helpful unless you are aiming at ultra marathons! You burn more fat a little above fat burning region (lower percentage of higher use) as well as burning carbs. As you will have lower carb reserves post workout you will switch to burning more fat!

Obsessing on HR can be counterproductive. My HR spikes 3-4 B/min at the end of each interval when I am trying to main a particular pace and if you can get into a vicious circle of slowing pace because you are at the max allowed HR, worry you are going too slow for that HR, worry pushes up HR so you need to slow more...

Looks like you are doing really well. A good exercise regime will allow you to continue to normalise your work while eating a healthy amount, so great start and keep up the good work.

[PleaseLockIn]

1:35 for 20 seconds isn’t too bad, shows you have some power. My LP was 1:33 in March. I assumed you managed 1:35 at r32 better than me. I held 1:40-ish at r33 for around a minute last time I tested in March.

1:35/500 for 20 seconds and I blow up. I can hold 1:47/500 for a full minute and not blow. Never been fully tested by a rowing coach.

How did you calculate zone 2? These HR zones are often not appropriate for rowing as rowing is much more full body and CV demanding. I use HRR for UT2 and use a cap of 70% HRR. For me this is 160. This is about the top of Z3. I can sustain this day in and day out even with full time job, hobbies and research in undergrad trying for a PhD.

The Polar OH1+ and Garmin gave them to me. So far I max out at 147 at any exercise I do.

What are your PBs in different distances?

Not done any.

Have you ever done a max HR test or gone absolute flat out on intervals until you physically can’t take it anymore and I mean it? Gone on rowing races? If not 147 is probably not accurate.

NO.
I have recently done some Zone 5 for 1 minute intervals. Start at around 1:40/500 and slow to 2:00/500 after 8 of them. I've never been able to push myself to absolute physical cant take it anymore. Even time trialling I had stuff left in the tank after 10 miles. No, not done any rowing races.

Perhaps you may be strength endurance limited? What is your lift PRs? Any strength programs?

No. None done at present.

Set an ambitious but achievable goal. What do you want?

I used to row 2:10/500 for an hour when I was 30 without breaking sweat. We used to do a 2,500m challenge at the gym. I could never break 10 minutes for that row. I am rowing to lose weight, building my knee muscles up to try and help not having knee replacements or be fit enough to have knee replacement.

I was expecting to be able to grow into rowing at say 23 strokes and say 100 watts and not blow my 109 heart rate.

If I drop to say 16 strokes my row length is 9 meters. At 23 strokes I am about 6 meters.

Sounds daft I can row at 2:20/500 now for over 30 minutes yet the technology says I am on edge of Zone 4 into Zone 5.

I had expected the OH1+ with my Pm5 to alter the zones after 4 months. Same with the Garmin but they havent moved. I will say I am way fitter now than I was back in February 2025. I just want to get better. I am not in it for being the fastest. Like with time trialling there must be a rowing standard to aim for. At 53 time trialing standard for a 53 year od was 26:32 for 10 miles. That was your target. Is there not one for rowing?

Late, but from my analysis it seems as if your best times are an underestimate. With a rowing coach by someone’s side and doing a TT, often times one can break barriers.

You mean now 2500m in 10 mins you can’t finish? Guess you could try working to that over the rest of 2025, though it’s ambitious.

It is normal to have something left in races - the CNS stops you from accumulating potential damage. You could try exceeding it as Eddie Hall tried and succeeded doing… but gotta be careful. Because he got many many side effects from doing so. To be fair he held a 500kg deadlift for too long, and his case is extreme, perhaps not representative of people in general, but there’s my point

If your HR is an underestimate and we use HRR to set zones, I could see your 30 min row be UT1/AT, which is medium but not that hard. There are some standards for rowing

Sub 8 is what most men aim for for first goal in 2k. Got this in 1 1/2 months of serious rowing (myself).

Sub 7 is respectable and is the bare minimum lesser US universities consider as recruiting for men. But at your age I realy, really doubt it. Though you can try to prove me wrong.

Perhaps you might have technique problems? Connection issues? Core issues? Perhaps it’s a strength problem. No matter how aerobic you are if your strength is very terrible then 2:30 R20 will raise your heart rate significantly.

I do 5/3/1 Wendler two times a week. Two main lifts with three sets each. Four accessories with three sets each. Each main lift has an AMRAP (practically I go 1-3 before technical failure)

If you do eight sessions a week, be prepared to train 2x a day for two days. As someone who is doing 7-8 sessions a week (2 strength 1 hard interval 3-4 rowing, depends maybe crosstrain) holding a full time job and summer courses, you need to take care of recovery

Remember the cooldowns as mandatory, do stretches, don’t over push your steady state.

Good luck with your rowing journey! And ofc get a fan. Will help cooling (if it’s hot)