Where does a newbie start?

[Pixie]

Hi all,

I've only ever been on a rower twice. Out of sheer hatred of the treadmill I tried it, and oppps I think I've found something I really rather enjoy.

I have no flipping clue what the stuff on my screen means.
Is 4015m in 23 minutes average? Should i be looking at 27 strokes per minutes or is that too fast/too slow for a beginner?

Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I should add I don't have much in the way of fitness at the moment as I'm coming back from illness.

[MartinSH4321]

Hi all,

I've only ever been on a rower twice. Out of sheer hatred of the treadmill I tried it, and oppps I think I've found something I really rather enjoy.

I have no flipping clue what the stuff on my screen means.
Is 4015m in 23 minutes average? Should i be looking at 27 strokes per minutes or is that too fast/too slow for a beginner?

Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I should add I don't have much in the way of fitness at the moment as I'm coming back from illness.

Hi Pixie and welcome to the forum!

First, at the beginning I won't mind about pace etc but learn how to row correct, there's a useful video on the concept2 site.
Second, 27 SPM for a normal training session is high (except it was a Time Trial), but it also depends on your height and weight. If you're a 5ft 100lb female 27 SPM is not that high and a pace of 2:50 is also OK. If you're a 6ft6 250lb male 27 SPM is very high.

It would be helpful if we get your background (gender, height, weight, age)

If you really enjoy rowing and want to improve I would recommend to read through the concept2 site and also the beginner threads here, there's a lot of useful information.The experienced rowers here are very helpful.

[jamesg]

not a clue what the stuff on my screen means. Is 4015m in 23 minutes average? Should i be looking at 27 strokes per minutes or is that too fast/too slow for a beginner?

Learning what the numbers mean is part of the overall learning curve, it will come. The traditional speed indication in rowing is called Pace and is the time taken to travel 500m; the 2k race course has four of these. The C2 PM5 measures Work per stroke and can display either Pace or Power in Watts. These two numbers are linked by a defined formula so are equivalent.

Four km in 23 minutes means you worked at about 70 Watt. Well done, keep at it. If you weigh 70 kg, that's 1W/kg, and it shouldn't take you long to improve your technique enough to row at 2W/kg for training, size and age allowing. The C2 technique video shows how it's done.

Different Ratings (strokes per minute, spm) are used in differing types of training. Training starts with technique and endurance at low ratings (18-20). Ratings are then increased, in step with endurance and consequently acceptable load. If fit already, an efficient stroke will be needed in any case, to provide a load, and training can be at higher ratings to further stress our systems.

[Tim huges]

Treadmill is a fantastic way to demotivate yourself! Set the speed and keep up with the belt. Boring as hell. Rowing machine is a different story, you dictate how fast or hard you go...takes a little more focus but i find it very rewarding and im sure you will. Stick at it.

[Anth_F]

Hi all,

I've only ever been on a rower twice. Out of sheer hatred of the treadmill I tried it, and oppps I think I've found something I really rather enjoy.

I have no flipping clue what the stuff on my screen means.
Is 4015m in 23 minutes average? Should i be looking at 27 strokes per minutes or is that too fast/too slow for a beginner?

I was the same when i first got my C2. I had never been on a rower before in my life!!! What the hell do all these numbers on this screen mean? i felt like i was in the cockpit of a plane and didn't have a clue what anything meant

I wouldn't be concerned at all with how fast you can row at this point. Priority should be technique, technique, technique, when you first start out. Trust me, working on this now will pay off massively in the long run. SPM depends on how tall you are! if you're 5'8-5'10 then thats not too bad, but still would like to see that lower, especially on steady state pieces. More like r20-r22 for those!!!

The rower can be a very addictive thing... i have never once been bored of the erg. The whole motion needs focus, and there is so much going on when you are rowing properly on the erg that it's never dull i find.

[Pixie]

Sorry I perhaps should of given my stats in my initial post.
I'm 5'4, 58kg, 29 years old and coming back from cancer (hence lack of fitness)

[hjs]

Sorry I perhaps should of given my stats in my initial post.
I'm 5'4, 58kg, 29 years old and coming back from cancer (hence lack of fitness)

The nmr 1 stat is pace / 500. Second would be strokes per minute.

Concept2 has a ranking list. https://log.concept2.com/rankings
There you can see what your peers can do. The machine favors tall, bigger people, keep that in mind.

In general beginners should focus on building a firm, full, stroke. We rowers create our own workload, not the machine. The more energy you put in, the faster the fan spins. The faster your pace per 500m.

On facebook and insta are nowedays also lots of rowers to find. The forum here is fine, but relative small.

Welcome, and good you start working your fitness

[LPF4]

Read these:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=185257

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=186537

I found these helpful.

I wish you well in your recovery.

[Ombrax]

The C2 web site has lots of great information.

I would start here: https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/training

Then poke around and check out the various bits and pieces of information, focusing at the start on using the right technique on the erg. For a newbie that's probably the single most important thing at the beginning.

Good Luck

[Neorticros]

Watch this 2 videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSbFF-DOXZo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ura2mFCdvVs

Focus on technique and how to row properly. Don't worry much about how fast/strong you row.
Think of the rowing machine as some tool to build both physical and mental strength.
Try to row at least 4 days a week. Doesn't matter if you start by rowing 5 mins a day and you keep adding 5 mins every now and then.

As for the monitor, check:
https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... calculator
Put the distance: 4015, put the minutes: 23. And "calculate" the pace. You rowed at 2:52/500m.

In a car you meassure your speed by how many km/miles you can cover in 1 hour. On this machine you meassure how long it takes you to row 500 meters. So on avg it took you nearly 3 mins avg to cover every 500 m. It's just another way to meassure your speed.

Try to keep the strokes per minute around 20-24 and focus on technique. Remember that you are putting your effort as you push through your legs on the way backwards. Push hard during that part of the movement. When you are done that push and enter the recovery phase, do it slowly and calmly. Just recover and get ready for the next stroke.

Ohh and there is a damper on the side of the flywheel. It's the resistance. Before you understand how it works just put it between number 3 and 5.

[winniewinser]

Ohh and there is a damper on the side of the flywheel. It's the resistance. Before you understand how it works just put it between number 3 and 5.

Definitely set the flywheel to a low number to start with.

I've seen people in my gym jump on the rower, not understanding how to use it, move resistance to 10 and then hardly be able to move the thing. None of the gym workers step in either which I find frustrating as they are likely to injure themselves.

I am 6'2" and 100Kg and only have my setting on 4/5 for a drag factor of around 120. It can depend on the machine but start lower and build up if it feels too easy.

Good luck on your recovery too.

[tgarrett3794]

Hi all,

I've only ever been on a rower twice. Out of sheer hatred of the treadmill I tried it, and oppps I think I've found something I really rather enjoy.

I have no flipping clue what the stuff on my screen means.
Is 4015m in 23 minutes average? Should i be looking at 27 strokes per minutes or is that too fast/too slow for a beginner?

Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I should add I don't have much in the way of fitness at the moment as I'm coming back from illness.

hello Pixie- and welcome to the forum.

I understand about the tredmill, being blind, and having to do long distance runs on tredmills, it can fell so unaccomplished. But even though I can't see, I can use a rower with great fitness gains.

I am also 5:4, and there are a few things you will learn later how to be an effective rower if we are shorter then the average rower, but for now technique is the most important thing. many have give a lot of advice where to find good information, and I would also through another resource out there.
dark horse rowing has a wonderful youtube channel where he talks about rowing in a large array of topics, most driven toward the new rower. the actually programming offered is hi in price, but don't worry, the valuable youtube videos are all free.

good luck and welcome to the rowing community

[Dangerscouse]

Ohh and there is a damper on the side of the flywheel. It's the resistance. Before you understand how it works just put it between number 3 and 5.

Definitely set the flywheel to a low number to start with.

I've seen people in my gym jump on the rower, not understanding how to use it, move resistance to 10 and then hardly be able to move the thing. None of the gym workers step in either which I find frustrating as they are likely to injure themselves.

I am 6'2" and 100Kg and only have my setting on 4/5 for a drag factor of around 120. It can depend on the machine but start lower and build up if it feels too easy.

Good luck on your recovery too.

It's important to realise the difference between the damper setting (1-10) and drag factor.

On a clean rower it should be circa 200ish on a setting of 10, but on a dusty unclean rower (dust accumulates on the flywheel and lowers the drag) this could be under 100 on a setting of 10, so having the damper on a specific number every time is not recommended unless you are using your own rower.

If you press the More Options button and then the Check Drag Factor button this will display the drag after a couple of drives. It is generally advised for a female to work on 100-115 but you may like it higher or lower than this, so only use this as a guide to find what works best for you.

Best of luck with it all. Stay patient and focus on the process, not the end result.