Lowering 2K times, and 2K Training

[BlueCrew5or3]

I am a rower that does a 2K in about 7:40:05. I want to know who has any tips to get this score any lower, as I want to get it around 7:00:00 by the end of winter training. Or does anyone have and hints for training for my 2K's?

[leper]

Yeah, that's gonna be hard but you may as well try. How many weeks do you have untill the end of the season? How much do you weigh, height etc. And how many times do you train per week?

[BlueCrew5or3]

I have a very long time until the end of winter training, I have until the end of February. I weigh about 180lbs and want to get that down, I am also 5'11".

[HardGainer]

Hi BlueCrew. Welcome to the forum.

I'm no expert, but I do know that the difference between a 7:40 and a 7:00 2000m is considerable. To put the comparison in perspective, when you row a 7:40 at an even pace you're pulling with an average power of 230 Watts. To row a 7:00 your average power will need to be 302 Watts or more than 30% more.

You don't say how old you are but, for example, if one looks at this season's Concept 2 rankings for 2000m heavyweight guys (I assume you're a guy) between, say, 25 and 35-year-olds, a 7:40 time is around the 33rd percentile (i.e. 2/3 of times are better than this) while 7:00 is around the 31st percentile (less than 1/3 of times are better than this). That's a long way to move up the rankings in a couple of months. You'll also find that people who row 7-minute 2000m's are on average heavier than you and generally heavier is better (up to a point and if it's lean weight).

In short I'm suggesting that it's likely a pretty big challenge ahead of you.

Working on your technique to improve the efficiency of your rowing is crucial to improving performance when you're new to the sport and also important so that you don't fall into bad habits.

My suggestion is that you set some intermediate goals on the way and work towards them, rather than having just one goal. For example, you might aim to get down to 7:25 in the first month (if you're relatively new to erging this should be pretty realistic). Once you do that go for 7:15, which will be quite a lot harder. For variety you can use a three-pronged approach to each of these targets: 1) by rowing 2000m distances and reducing your time; 2) by rowing for the goal time and increasing your distance; 3) by rowing at the pace required to meet your goal and increasing the time and distance that you can maintain that pace. I've also found it helpful to set the PM to display Watts and Average Watts during training. Remember you're aiming for an average of 302W.

Good luck and keep us posted with your progress.

[igoeja]

Context:

At 33 years or so, as a club rower, tests for 2K were 6:56, although beginning of season and lightly trained; never retested during season. Now 46, slowly but consistently built up endurance and speed, so started training program for self-growth about two months ago. It is modified CII (UK) plan, 4 days per week. Current test is 7:14, and have been doing focused interval work for the past two months. My first test was 7:15, but I went out too fast and died, so I assumed that with an even pace I could at least make 7:12. After a 2 week hiatus for my honeymoon, I hoped to have improved by taper, but only did one (1) second better. I'm hoping to break 7 by February.

I recently replaced a 2 x 5K training day with 500M intervals. Currently, I workout 4 days per week as follows:

Sat: 6 x 500M @ 1:44, 1:3 rest
Sun: 4 x 1000M @ 1:48, 1:2 rest
Tues: 4 x 2K @ 1:53, 1:1 rest
Thurs: 2 x 5K @ 1:58, 2:1 rest

Any suggestions?

[Dreadnought]

I am a rower that does a 2K in about 7:40:05. I want to know who has any tips to get this score any lower, as I want to get it around 7:00:00 by the end of winter training. Or does anyone have and hints for training for my 2K's?

Did you see my post on breaking 7 min? There are many good suggestions, including the very intense Wolverine Plan.

[Pete Marston]

I take it you're male, at 5'11 and 180lbs? Have you done a lot of erging before, and how old are you? I'm the same height as you, but about 15lbs heavier (I'm 29).

Although if you're female, the 2k time makes more sense in context, and my advice would be different.

Male - I think you can work on technique and get the 2k time down very quickly. 7:00 shouldn't be too much of a problem for a male at that height / weight.

Female - 7:00 is a very fast time, and 7:40 to 7:00 is a big jump.

That may sound sexist, but that's just how it is.

[stargazertechie]

I'm assuming you're part of a college rowing program, as am I. I think you'll be able to get the time down as long as you stick with whatever workout your coach has given you.

If you ever want to chat about the pain and suffering that is college rowing, feel free to IM me on AIM (amidalanut)

-Becky

06/07 Novice Rower

[dlholmes]

All these people assume you are a man, is that correct? I am assuming so since only a handfull of women can break 7. Does your coach have a program set up for you? pretty much any program will get a young heavy under seven in a few months. Concept 2 has programs, and there are thousands of programs on this sight that people have come up with, just pick one that fits your schedule and stick with it, you should break 7 in no time.

[BlueCrew5or3]

Hey Dreadnought,
I can't access your page. Can you describe the Wolverine Plan to me and how it works or what it does for you? Thanks