audreyh1
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I have been rowing fairly often for several months now. I had to build up slowly for my sensitive knees to adjust. I figured out how to keep my knees from having problems. Then I started working on some personal goals.
Yesterday I reached my main goal which was to row 4000 meters in 25 mins. This was a minute faster than my last attempt for 4000m. 25 mins is probably the longest time I intend to row as I figure I'm getting a pretty good benefit for that amount of time and I don't want to get into overuse issues.
I tend to work pretty high in my heart range (HR) range. I'm usually rowing at a HR of 145-155 bpm, and sometimes I push harder (as I did last night) and row a good part of the time in the 165+ zone. I never feel winded or experience any lactic acid build-up. I can't get anywhere near that rate with cycling or walking, so I really use the rowing to work higher in my HR range.
Then I started reading about specs etc., what other C2 rowers do, and I'm wondering if I need to make some adjustments.
When we first got the rower, my husband set the damper to 6, and that's what I have been using all this time. I checked the drag factor today, and it's about 134. From what I read that's high for my weight (150 lbs). Damper setting of 4 and aiming for a drag factor of 120 is more appropriate for my weight? I guess I've been getting more of a strength workout in my rowing .
My stroke rate is usually 32-33 s/m. I was rewatching one of the training videos today, and they suggest aiming for 22-26 s/m. Wow - that's a lot slower than I expected. Seems like strokes per minute would be related to your height/arm+leg length. I'm only 5' 3" - wouldn't that influence my stroke rate since I don't move nearly as far back on the rower than a taller person?
I'm a lot shorter than my husband. He routinely rows 1000 meters in 5 minutes. I row more like 800 meters in 5 minutes, 840 being my best distance. I figure part of his distance advantage is how tall and long-limbed he is.
I've been doing some reading on various forums, and, well, it's NOT enlightening. There are a lot of specs thrown around that make no sense to me. I have been looking for clear answers to the above questions on line, Concept 2 docs, and well, clear as MUD!!!!
I suppose I should try to work at a lower damper setting (4) and aim for a slower stroke (say 26 s/m) and see if my distance improves?
Does that sound right? Or should I just continue as I am, and distance will keep improving with practice.
134K meters so far. Nothing close to 1M meters, but I only row twice a week. I also cycle, walk, strength train and do yoga. So, trying to add more rowing days means cutting out some other activities.
I haven't set any new goals yet. I guess I'm going through an evaluation phase .
Yesterday I reached my main goal which was to row 4000 meters in 25 mins. This was a minute faster than my last attempt for 4000m. 25 mins is probably the longest time I intend to row as I figure I'm getting a pretty good benefit for that amount of time and I don't want to get into overuse issues.
I tend to work pretty high in my heart range (HR) range. I'm usually rowing at a HR of 145-155 bpm, and sometimes I push harder (as I did last night) and row a good part of the time in the 165+ zone. I never feel winded or experience any lactic acid build-up. I can't get anywhere near that rate with cycling or walking, so I really use the rowing to work higher in my HR range.
Then I started reading about specs etc., what other C2 rowers do, and I'm wondering if I need to make some adjustments.
When we first got the rower, my husband set the damper to 6, and that's what I have been using all this time. I checked the drag factor today, and it's about 134. From what I read that's high for my weight (150 lbs). Damper setting of 4 and aiming for a drag factor of 120 is more appropriate for my weight? I guess I've been getting more of a strength workout in my rowing .
My stroke rate is usually 32-33 s/m. I was rewatching one of the training videos today, and they suggest aiming for 22-26 s/m. Wow - that's a lot slower than I expected. Seems like strokes per minute would be related to your height/arm+leg length. I'm only 5' 3" - wouldn't that influence my stroke rate since I don't move nearly as far back on the rower than a taller person?
I'm a lot shorter than my husband. He routinely rows 1000 meters in 5 minutes. I row more like 800 meters in 5 minutes, 840 being my best distance. I figure part of his distance advantage is how tall and long-limbed he is.
I've been doing some reading on various forums, and, well, it's NOT enlightening. There are a lot of specs thrown around that make no sense to me. I have been looking for clear answers to the above questions on line, Concept 2 docs, and well, clear as MUD!!!!
I suppose I should try to work at a lower damper setting (4) and aim for a slower stroke (say 26 s/m) and see if my distance improves?
Does that sound right? Or should I just continue as I am, and distance will keep improving with practice.
134K meters so far. Nothing close to 1M meters, but I only row twice a week. I also cycle, walk, strength train and do yoga. So, trying to add more rowing days means cutting out some other activities.
I haven't set any new goals yet. I guess I'm going through an evaluation phase .
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