Concept2 One Month Report

[Runner]

Hmmm! I am not in great shape like you at all, couldn't even do a 5K walk much less run a marathon like you, and after 5 minutes at level 10 and 29.6 spm I wasn't even breathing hard. Maybe perspiring a little, but not really feeling like I had been putting much effort into it. Felt like I'd been coasting. And I think the machine is cool.

I suspect it's a matter of different strokes for different folks (literally? just that maybe some of us are more naturally inclined for big muscle exercise like the C2 and others maybe more constitutionally suited to running)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKPtTwhgII8






Here's a video of a guy doing 30 spm for 90 seconds, but not at level 10. If this looks like you at level 10, and you can do this for 5 minutes without breathing hard or feeling like you've done much of anything, my hat is off to you. 30 spm is a race pace for serious rower. On one serious racing forum, 30 spm for 20 minutes at level 10 on Concept2 was described as an exhausting piece of work. Bear in mind that I can do 5 hours, 100 miles, at a sitting on a Schwinn Airdyne Pro - so if you can seriously do what you say you are doing, perhaps you are a budding Senior Olympian. The Concept2 is notorious for people (including gym "experts") having no clue what it's all about. On one forum where a guy reported that he had "no problem" doing 30 spm and sent in a video, the experts responded that he was merely "lifting weights with a bicycle chain" and not actually using the Concept2 at all.

 

[W2R]

Here's a video of a guy doing 30 spm for 90 seconds, but not at level 10. If this looks like you at level 10, and you can do this for 5 minutes without breathing hard or feeling like you've done much of anything, my hat is off to you.

No, I don't look like that. He is leaning back almost to the point of lying flat on his back after each stroke. I just pull back to the point shown in the diagrams at my gym, which is about the same distance back as the women on the other video and nowhere near lying down.

 

[haha]

Here's a video of a guy doing 30 spm for 90 seconds, but not at level 10. If this looks like you at level 10,

Obviously a strong guy, but no rower in a shell has ever rowed like that. He would end in the lap of the guy behind him, (or in a scull likely losing stability of the shell) and he would be catching his oar ("catching a crab") during that layback.

This may of may not be a good exercise, but it has nothing to do with rowing. I think originally the Concept 2 caught on as a replacement or supplement to indoor tanks at universities with large rowing programs, and the use was naturally geared to trying to improve speed in a shell.

Once you put it in a gym or in your basement, rather than a boathouse, people can of course use it any way they want. I am sure comewhere there is a video of some guy lying on his back and pulling overhead with straight arms. Why not? It then becomes "C2 exercise" not necessarily related to rowing as a sport.

Ha

 

[W2R]

Today's workout - - didn't increase the time, since I'm just starting this again, and didn't increase the strokes per minute or change the setting from 10 (as you can see in the photo below, that I took right after I finished). I'm mostly hoping to increase the average watts, 91.4 today and so far so good. Still not breathing especially hard but definitely perspiring.

I wonder - - if I ever get to be a Senior Olympian, do I get a crown? I like this one with the friendly smilie:

 

[Mulligan]

HA said -My only negatives are what I mentioned in another thread- figuring out how to stay clean without dealing with itchy rashy skin. This is getting much better though. One big positive is better sleep. Last night I went to sleep at 11, then woke to pee at 6. I was hungry so I ate a few olives and a piece of cheese, then back to sleep until 8:30. And although I doubt I will ever get a 6-pack, my back and legs are getting ripped to the point that these parts look almost like an anatomy chart. I never expected this at my "somewhat mature" age.

Ha, I wish I could sleep 7 straight hours. That is excellent, I miss those days. I encourage you to back off the fitness and definitely don't get the 6 pack. Women of many years younger, will begin to take notice. Then you will feel compelled to trade in " the old car " for a " newer model". This will hit you hard when you are at your new condo ( congrats by the way) with several rug rats in your living room all the same age. Some calling you Dad, while others saying Grandpa.

 

[W2R]

On the issue of what machines a gym buys, I wonder if one important consideration is how they make the gym look to a prospective member.

That could be. Those six Concept2 machines all lined up in a row by the window sure look nice.

Don't these look nice? They do to me, anyway. Click on the photo for the full sized picture. During the entire hour that I was on the floor at the gym today, only one other person used one and that was only for a few minutes.

 

[TromboneAl]

Hmmm! I am not in great shape like you at all, couldn't even do a 5K walk

Did you mean to say that you don't think you could walk 2.5 miles?

 

[W2R]

Did you mean to say that you don't think you could walk 2.5 miles?

I don't know; haven't tried in years. I have never officially entered a 5K walk and someday I want to try that. Guess we walked that far most weekends in 2007 just for fun, down in the Quarter, maybe even in 2008 but not lately. I'm not in very good shape! But working on it. I used to walk a mile on the indoor track at the gym, though I haven't lately.

Right now, my foot is giving me some minor problems so I know I couldn't walk a 5K this week; need to baby that foot. I also know for sure I couldn't ride a bike 60 miles like you do all the time.

Edited to add: 5K is more than 2.5 miles, right? It's 3.1 miles

 

[eytonxav]

Right now, my foot is giving me some minor problems so I know I couldn't walk a 5K this week; need to baby that foot. I also know for sure I couldn't ride a bike 60 miles like you do all the time.

You need to quit using that saran wrap on your feet.

Any how, keep up the good rowing, thats awesome performance.

 

[W2R]

You need to quit using that saran wrap on your feet.

Any how, keep up the good rowing, thats awesome performance.

Aw, thanks! I think the rowing machine was made for me. As soon as I get the watts up a little and feel comfortable, I'll going to increase to 10 minutes. That will probably be a week or two. And then, go from there.

 

[TromboneAl]

I don't know; haven't tried in years. I have never officially entered a 5K walk and someday I want to try that. Guess we walked that far most weekends in 2007 just for fun, down in the Quarter, maybe even in 2008 but not lately. I'm not in very good shape! But working on it. I used to walk a mile on the indoor track at the gym, though I haven't lately.

I'll bet you are in a lot better shape than you realize.

 

[W2R]

I'll bet you are in a lot better shape than you realize.

Thanks, please feel free to repeat that as often as you like! Some day I really do want to walk a 5K in an official race. I would feel like an Olympic athlete for sure, if I had that feather in my cap.

I have to admit that the Concept2 appeals to me about 34095876 more times than just walking, though.

 

[haha]

Today's workout - - didn't increase the time, since I'm just starting this again, and didn't increase the strokes per minute or change the setting from 10 (as you can see in the photo below, that I took right after I finished). I'm mostly hoping to increase the average watts, 91.4 today and so far so good. Still not breathing especially hard but definitely perspiring.

I wonder - - if I ever get to be a Senior Olympian, do I get a crown? I like this one with the friendly smilie:

You must have really been hitting at the end! I have a slide rule from C2 and can transform your watts to pace/500 meters-it's 2:34, which I feel is really going. I think we have a genuine champeen on our board.

Ha

 

[W2R]

Wow, thanks Haha!! Yes, I was trying to finish strong since I was still feeling pretty energetic at the time and wanted to be sure to pull that average wattage over 90 (it had been bobbling around on either side). What is pace/500 meters? I have no clue what that means (time to row 500 meters maybe?) but I'll take your word that 2:34 is good for whatever it is. Of course it was only a five minute session but this is encouraging, and my session length will increase in time.

I am still being careful to take it easy and not overdo, until hopefully I will get a sense of how much I can push myself without injury.

 

[Leonidas]

What is pace/500 meters? I have no clue what that means (time to row 500 meters maybe?)

Exactly.

but I'll take your word that 2:34 is good for whatever it is.

It's not too bad at all. That pace and time should have seen you cover right at 1,000 meters. World-ranking wise, for the women's 1,000 meter, you are about 288th (out of 339 currently ranked for 2012 season) - somewhere between 33 year-old Silvia Rodriguez of Kalgoorlie, Australia and 59 year-old Angela McLellan, of Enfield in the UK.

 

[W2R]

Exactly.It's not too bad at all. That pace and time should have seen you cover right at 1,000 meters. World-ranking wise, for the women's 1,000 meter, you are about 288th (out of 339 currently ranked for 2012 season) - somewhere between 33 year-old Silvia Rodriguez of Kalgoorlie, Australia and 59 year-old Angela McLellan, of Enfield in the UK.

Really? Hot dog! I'm 63 but maybe I've still got some oomph left despite the aging process. That's very encouraging, thanks.

 

[Chuckanut]

I come home from work exhausted. And it is late. That is why I get very little exercise. Another sign that it is time to retire.

 

[W2R]

I come home from work exhausted. And it is late. That is why I get very little exercise. Another sign that it is time to retire.

It is so hard to exercise when still working. I used to try to battle the traffic after work to get to the gym (crowded at that hour), and it was very hard to find the time. Believe me, it is MUCH easier in retirement.

I think one reason that retirees so often spend time exercising is that we are trying to make up for the years of enforced sloth. Cubicle life just isn't healthy, at least it wasn't for me.

 

[eytonxav]

I come home from work exhausted. And it is late. That is why I get very little exercise. Another sign that it is time to retire.

Me too, but I still exercise ususally Monday and Wednesday evenings after work and then Saturday morning. I do notice I have more energy on Saturday mornings and I'm thinking that once I retire I will be able to workout longer and hopefully improve my cardio which is seriously lacking.

 

[Nords]

So Nords, you wanted strokes so there ya go, 29.6 spm x 5 minutes = 148 strokes. Surely that is enough to lower the light bill and my monthly fees.

Well... it's a start!

 

[friar1610]

Since I've been reading this thread and since I've downloaded some of the instruction manuals for the C2, I think I've been realizing its potential more than I had in the past.

I've started increasing the power with which I pull each stroke although I've kept the reps at 28-30 per minute. I find that pulling at the 2:30 pace per 500 meters is quite a challenge. I've been doing intervals of 3-5 minutes at that pace with 1-2 minutes at a 3:10 pace and find that a half hour total is a really great workout. Today for the final minute I kicked it up as hard as I could and got to about a 2:05 pace but couldn't crack 2:00. I sure wouldn't be able to keep that pace up for more than about 2 minutes! I haven't been paying real close attention to the total meters per workout but I think they're in the 6K-7K range.

 

[W2R]

That's great, Friar1610! You are generating some awesome results on this machine. I am still just doing 5 minutes, not as long as you, but I do plan to increase the time eventually.

Today I couldn't figure out why my watts were so low, until I noticed that instead of "10" someone had set the resistance on "6". Still, after the discussions on this thread I had been curious about what a lower setting would give me, so I did a minute at "6". The wattage was abominable and I decided that personally, I prefer "10", so I stopped and changed the setting. Then I did the other 4 minutes of my 5 minute C2 workout on "10" (and continued on to my usual weight lifting machines).

F. and I are amazed at how much benefit we are getting for only 3 hours/week at the gym. Who knew?

 

[haha]

I haven't been paying much attention to pace yet, though I will. I looked in my log, and last time I did several heats adding up to an hour or so over a period of about 1:20 minutes. I wasn't really trying to go fast, but also I wasn't loafing. That day, my best heat was 3330 meters at 2:43. I also do "Power 20s" pulling at my best for 20 strokes off and on during the workout and after I am fully warmed up. In my last session I did 20 strokes @2:03.

Ron Waddell, the men's open Erg champion ( I think this is the video that Leonidas linked) has the record for 2000 meters, the standard sprint distance, @1:24.1/500m. The men's lightweight record holder is Henrik Stephansen @1:30.5. The women are a bit slower, but Sophie Balmary, the open women's record holder is not much slower @ 1:37.1

What is the world record for 2000 meter ergometer rowing test

As you can see, these records are not at risk from me in this lifetime.

Ha

 

[W2R]

Ha, you might surprise yourself. Your accomplishments after just one month with the C2 are amazing to me. 3300 meters at that pace is really cookin', that's for sure.

Who knows? In another month or two you may be giving those recordholders a run for their money.

 

[Helen]

Ha, you've started quite a C2 craze. I just check out the rowing machine at my fitness center and it is a C2. I will give it a try.

I have been avoiding the rowing machine since a fitness instructor talked me into a challenge with a coworker on the old rowing machine. It was the only time I had used the rowing machine and it kicked my butt.