Rower kicking mah A**

noobrower · Post by **noobrower** » January 31st, 2008, 5:04 pm

Have only used my C2 like 3 times now.

Today I decided to try my first long row as part of my new cardio program.
DAMN this thing makes it obvious how out of shape you are

I thought I would do a real slow easy 10K to start.... HAHAHAHHA

After 2K I decided, better make it a 5K LOL

Then realized I was going too hard (for me), and had to take 2 short water breaks.

After my 5K was over, I looked at the log, and it looked like this:

5K time 27:39

First 2K = 9:16, 24 s/m
at 4K = 13:27, 17 s/m (took a break in here twice I think)
Last 1K = 2:27, 24 s/m

I was playing with the damper settings too, was all over the place

I think I like #3. Focused on my power curve and form mostly. Trying to get a good smooth pull.

So my next goal is for a smooth steady 5K without stopping, and working my way up to 10K

God I love this machine!
Didnt realize it would work my hamstrings as much as it did.

WingedFoot · Post by **WingedFoot** » January 31st, 2008, 6:04 pm

That's awesome. It's great to keep setting small goals to reach during your journey. Pretty soon you will find yourself capable of things you never thought possible today.

noobrower · Post by **noobrower** » January 31st, 2008, 6:17 pm

Awesome? You mean pathetic hehehehe.

Youre doing a 10K in 34:44. That seems impossible to me right now

Right now I just want to do 10K = 1 hour
and then keep working on speeding it up.
But first I got hit 10K non-stop

WingedFoot · Post by **WingedFoot** » January 31st, 2008, 6:24 pm

Pathetic? No.

Speed will come. My 34:44 10K came after hundreds of thousands of meters on the erg. This is your third time!

My suggestion to you would be to row time for distance rather row distance for time. Set your maching for 10, 15, 20, 25 minutes...whatever you want and just row "stead state" at a stroke rating between 18-22. If you have a heart rate strap definitely wear that. Check your heart rate at the end of each piece. Soon you'll find that you are rowing faster and your heart rate is lower. The training effect as they say..

noobrower · Post by **noobrower** » January 31st, 2008, 6:34 pm

I was about to disagree, but after thinking about it, I like that suggestion.

If I row based on time, I will always get a 60 min workout, no matter what, and can work on improving my distance a little bit every workout.

If I do what im doing now, my workouts will progressively get shorter and shorter as my conditioning improves.

Thanks for the tip!

Nosmo · Post by **Nosmo** » January 31st, 2008, 6:56 pm

As you now know, doing 10K the first time is completely crazy for the vast majority of people.

And a 34:44 10K is completely unreasonable for most people, even with thousands of hours on the machine. I never could do this even at my peak shape (and I've won a lot of races)

Focus on Technique. Post a video of yourself rowing to get some feed back. Study the C2 DVD. Worry about distance and speed later. It is too easy to develop bad habits if you are not vigilant.

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » January 31st, 2008, 6:58 pm

First off, WingedFoot is really, really fast, in absolute terms [except, the lack of a FM is maybe a sign of weakness]. One of keys with indoor rowing is to compare yourself to yourself, and to other people generally in your range.

I would continue rowing for distance and not for time. Or mix it up. Rowing for time is mentally much harder, since the clock moves ever so slowly. It is much more "fun" to row a 6k in 30min than to row for 30 min straight. Those meters just fly down.

I think your overall plan to keep working up to a 10k is great, and exactly what I would recommend for new users. Feel free to mix in shorter harder distances, but getting through to be able to row the longer distances is a good start. Your stroke rates look pretty reasonable too, so that is a good sign, so you want to work on producing more power each stroke (and not to increase your stroke rate).

Many of us row strapless for most of our training. Since you are just starting out, you may want to just start out that way and develop that as a habit. So consider unstrapping your feet when you row.

MarkOgilvie · Post by **MarkOgilvie** » January 31st, 2008, 7:22 pm

Many of us row strapless for most of our training. Since you are just starting out, you may want to just start out that way and develop that as a habit. So consider unstrapping your feet when you row.[/quote]

As a new member to these forums can you tell me the advantages of rowing "strapless" ?

WingedFoot · Post by **WingedFoot** » January 31st, 2008, 7:30 pm

Rowing strapless is a good idea to do every now and then. I know a few guys on my team who row strapless on steady state days.

Since the straps hold our feet securely in place we create bad habits. Try rowing with your feet out of the straps and you'll find that you may feel yourself falling backwards at the finish. This is because you're not maintaining pressure on the balls of your feet at the finish. Also don't feel like your knees have to be completely down at the finish...a slight break in the knees is perfectly acceptable.

noobrower · Post by **noobrower** » January 31st, 2008, 7:31 pm

Ill be 40 soon and am in average shape, and carry about 8-9% body fat.

I wish to constantly improve each row by just a little.

What is a realistic percentage increase per row without over training?
I will be rowing tue,thu,fri

Mon/wed is wrestling night - my high intensity workout nights

Fri/Sat = rest days

WingedFoot · Post by **WingedFoot** » January 31st, 2008, 7:36 pm

michaelb wrote:First off, WingedFoot is really, really fast, in absolute terms [except, the lack of a FM is maybe a sign of weakness

I love a challenge. It has been pretty difficult to fit in a marathon without it affecting my training schedule prescribed by my coach. I think the best time for me to do one will be after the summer racing is over..in September. That's when I did my half marathon.

Once I complete the marathon I'll have my sights set on a 100k row!

philrow · Post by **philrow** » January 31st, 2008, 8:19 pm

noobrower wrote: Youre doing a 10K in 34:44. That seems impossible to me right now

Oh please, 10k in 34:44 isn't that impressive.

Welcome to the forum, WingedFoot. You're from Philadelphia? Given that you pull a 6:15 2k and you have a coach and hence perhaps a crew, do you by any chance row for Penn?

Phil

By the way, I think my last (and first ever) 10k back in October was ~39:00. Granted, I should be able to pull better than that now. In any case, the above was sarcasm in the highest degree.

noobrower · Post by **noobrower** » January 31st, 2008, 8:27 pm

Ok, so I came across the 10% training rule.
Dont increase time or weight or whatever by more than 10% a week or you risk injury.

So since im going to row 3X a week, im going to shoot for a 3% increase in distance per row which put me just under 10% a week.

I tempted to go 5% a row cause I need to get into shape for a ski trip FAST, ha ha.

WingedFoot · Post by **WingedFoot** » January 31st, 2008, 8:27 pm

Nope, no longer in College. But I do row out of Boathouse row. I'm just a has been giving it one more shot at becoming a somebody. Ha.

WingedFoot · Post by **WingedFoot** » January 31st, 2008, 8:30 pm

noobrower wrote:Ok, so I came across the 10% training rule.
Dont increase time or weight or whatever by more than 10% a week or you risk injury.

So since im going to row 3X a week, im going to shoot for a 3% increase in distance per row which put me just under 10% a week.

I tempted to go 5% a row cause I need to get into shape for a ski trip FAST, ha ha.

It's a marathon, not a sprint!