Training with the drag factor vs stroke rate

[breccia]

This is not really a question but more of an observation. I find it ironic that many experienced rowers argue against a high drag factor and at the same time argue for a lower stroke rate. I find it counter intuitive. A lower stroke rate will make the stroke feel heavy at the catch the same as a higher damper setting.

It seems to me what should be most important is the efficiency of the stroke and balancing cardio with strength. In my present condition I like to row at a stroke rate of 24 to a 26 when training and 28 to 30 when testing. So, when training if my heart rate goes too high (above 165) and I need to I need to drop my stroke rate maintain a split I know my damper setting was low. On the other hand if I can’t get my heart rate up to a 155 by the end of say a 30 minute piece without my leg, back, etc. giving out I know that my damper setting was too high.

The reason that I do this is because I don’t have the time for a bunch of short interval work and I notice that if I row a bunch of longer pieces at lower stroke rates (below 23 spm) I lose my ability to bump my rates above 30 spm.
Rowing consistently at 24 to 26 seems to give me the best of both worlds. Plus I don’t spend as much time working out for the same results. Thoughts or comments anyone?

[Cyclist2]

Your line of thought is a little tough to follow, but generally I agree. There are lots of proponents of low stroke rates on this board but not many of high drag. Personally I think it's a matter of comfort. I set the drag so that it feels "about right" (like the boats I've rowed) and then my stroke settles in to where it is comfortable, i.e. breathing pattern is steady, not rushing but not deliberately slow. For most steady state rows it is a drag of around 120 and a stroke rate of 27. That give me (your results may vary) a pace of around 2:03-2:08, which currently is aerobic but challenging (it gets faster as the season progresses and the drag gets a little higher as I get stronger). Of course, if I'm doing short intervals or going long, things change, but my stroke rate rarely gets below 24 unless I deliberately force it too and that doesn't feel good to me. For me, it's all about feeling comfortable and real low stroke rates just don't do it. Drag varies within a narrow range, but I may do some intervals with a real high drag for "weight lifting".

[gregsmith01748]

So, if you want an expert opinion, don't read any further. If you want my thoughts based on using the WP, read on.

I see that the low drag (115), low rate (16/18/20 SPM) work in the Level 4 workouts in the WP to be a way of training for higher drag, higher stroke rowing.

Basically, since the drag factor is low, the fly wheel takes longer to spin down. At low rates, the recovery time is much longer, so there is a lot of time for this slow down to occur. At high rates at the same drag factor, the recovery time is much reduced, and therefore the wheel speed does not decay as much. If you change drag factors to a higher setting, that increases the decay of fly wheel speed.

So, the power put into the stroke of a low rate/low drag, should be roughly the same as the power put into stroke of high rate/high drag. The critical difference is that the extra recovery time allows you do a 60 to 80 minute workout that is aerobically taxing, but mainly focused on the same drive power and form as when you want to go fast.