How to Row – the 4 Basic Positions
The 4 Basic positions are the:
- Catch
- Drive
- Release
- Recovery
Moving from the 11 o’clock position to the 1 o’clock position.
How to Row – The Single Greatest Drill Ever
Use the leg to push into the machine and it (the leg) is the biggest force driver for you.
It works your legs, the back and the butt but you must know how to use the machine properly.
How Often You Need to Row to Consistently Get Better
A: Twice a week for huge gains. Once a week – too little, 3 times a week is too much (unless you really love it and have the time to practice that often). The minimum necessary to improve one’s performance is twice a week.
Maintain good position (good form) and rowing becomes easy.
When & How to Go Hard
Rowing involves good technique, pacing, learning all the important variables such as split, watts, calories, stroke rate, understanding ratio and recovery, etc…
When to go hard?
- in the middle of a workout allow the people to row as hard as possible for 10 secs checking the max watts they can generate or the lowest split
- and then at the end of the workout allow the people to go as hard as they can (for 10 secs again) and see if they can beat the previous numbers
- after the workout go and have fun!
What Spilt means when Rowing
Split is a measure of speed. It tells us how long it takes for us to cover 500 meters.
Real time Split – how long it takes us to cover 500m every single stroke.
Average Split – the average of all real time splits (over the entire distance). The lower the number the faster we are going.
Rowing and the Pain Cave – How to Get Through it
The Pain Cave – the moment in time during a very intense workout when you start to doubt your ability of continuing.
To avoid the Pain Cave:
- Start small
- do 30 secs as hard as you can, move that to 45 secs or even 1 minute
- condition your brain
- the more you do it, the better you will handle those feelings of “I cannot really go on”
- what is your sprinting ability – is it 10 strokes? Can you really go hard for 10 strokes? If your split is dropping a dramatic amount, it is probably because you have a lot of energy left in your system… so… instead of going really hard for 10 secs, try going really hard for 12 secs or even 15 secs.
Stroke Rate for the Concept2 Rowing Machine
- Stroke rating (s/m – displayed on the top right hand corner of your PM)
- settle into a low stroke rate and be comfortable and forceful
- a nice starting stroke rate is 16 s/m
- speed comes from the ability to push
- a high stroke rate does not equal speed on the machine
- < 2Km – aim for a stroke rate of 28 – 36s/m (taller guys may wish to go at 28 s/m whereas shorter guys may wish to go for 36 s/m)
- 5Km: 26 – 30 s/m
- 5 – 10Km 16 – 26 s/m
- Make sure you connect. When this happens you will then feel comfortable at any stroke rate – Ensure you find connection!
Rowing Technique – What is damper setting and drag factor Part 1
Damper settings: 1 – 10
Drag Factor: is located on the Monitor (PM). The Drag Factor measures the de-aceleration of the fly-wheel. It can be set from around 90 to about 200.
Drag Factor is more important than Damper settings. If you want consistency as you use different Concept 2 machines as you travel in a country (or travel around the world) then make sure that you set the Drag Factor to the same number (it won’t matter what the Damper setting is).
Example: So let’s say you put it on a 5 and you start pulling and the drag factor is 120. You go to a different machine, put it on 5 but drag factor is different, do you then adjust the damper until you match the drag factor of 120?
Answer: exactly right! You’ll move the damper up or down to match that 120 drag factor if that’s where you’re comfortable rowing.
How to Find Your Optimal Drag Factor Setting
Performance Monitor
