What drag factor to use?

DiMono · Post by **DiMono** » September 21st, 2007, 2:26 pm

Hi there,

I've been training for overall fitness for about 9 months now, and along the way I was introduced to Gym Jones, the guys who trained the actors and stuntmen for 300. While browsing the site I found out they do their rowing on a Concept 2, and I later discovered that there is a C2 at the gym I go to. GJ has two challenges they offered to those training for 300:

Row 500m in under 1:45 minutes
Row 5k in under 20 minutes

They seem like good goals, and I have in fact already defeated the 500m challenge by rowing it in 1:37.6 with a drag factor of ~122; my new 500m goal is to come in under 1:30. The question on my mind, though, is how much drag is good for the two different types of effort: explosive short-distance speed, and speed for endurance.

A couple weeks ago I tried to do a test run for my 5k at a drag factor of ~100, and I survived until 2.5k in 9:59 (I was dead after 2k, but there was no way I'm not going at least halfway). As a secondary part of this question, could I have gotten further with a lower drag factor, or has the C2 been designed in such a way that it always takes the same amount of work to get a given distance regardless of drag factor?

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » September 21st, 2007, 5:10 pm

The drag factor over distance benefits by being much lower than for sprints.

I'd try a drag factor of around 105 for your 5k.

PaulS · Post by **PaulS** » September 21st, 2007, 6:09 pm

Damn! You mean I could have been in 300?

Any drag is fine, go around 100-110 if you want to leatn how to row well, 125-35 if you want to be in the average range, 145-75 if you are a muscle head (no offense intended).

DiMono · Post by **DiMono** » September 26th, 2007, 10:17 pm

None taken.

Anyway, I dropped the drag down to 97 and took another stab at rowing 5k, and rather than trying to do it in any predetermined speed I just went after finishing the distance. I didn't chase a fast stroke rate, just a constant one. I ended up taking 25 s/m to the end in 22:20. So I've proved to myself that I can finish 5k, and that I can last more than 20 minutes. Now I just need to work on chopping away at the time.

Blaze · Post by **Blaze** » September 27th, 2007, 12:36 am

Paul,

Do you still row in the 100-110 range? Or should you move on to a different range after you've developed your technique?

gregory.cook · Post by **gregory.cook** » September 27th, 2007, 1:49 am