Anyone here rowing on a concept 2??
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I believe that's what they used to stock at the local gym. I always used to train a mix of time and distance as follows:<br />
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Determine your capabilities in terms of metres/minute which you can hold for 10 minutes at a time (we'll call it X - I think mine was about 200m per minute but that's my hazy memory of 2 years ago). Get up to X from a standing start and hold onto that speed for 3 minutes. At the next top of the minute go flat out for 1km and then drop to a cruise (around 60% of
for a minute, at which point you get back up to X. Now hold onto X for 4 minutes and do another sprint/drop/regain. Then 5 minutes etc.<br />
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The main thing for me about the rower (besides trying to build up cv) was isolating the muscles - a mate of mine rowed for UQ and after watching me try to pull everything through the stroke at once, made me extend the legs, THEN pull with the arms which makes sure they operate separately. And making sure the back is straight and abs are tight and all that. He said if I wasn't going to actually row that doing it that way makes good fitness training. -
yeah NTA, legs extend, arms in, arm out, legs back sort of thing (if that makes sense, 4 individual motions sort of.<br />
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have been getting PB times by rowing at a decent clip, then every 250 metres (approx minute), going flat out for 6 strokes, then 'gliding' through to the next 250 'sprint'. Did that over 10k, and knocked a minute of my best time.<br />
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have to do all sorts of shit like that to keep the mind active when rowing, along with watching back episodes of Blackadder and other movies!! -
Was told about Martin Johnson's training on the rowing machine, 900m in 3 mins with a break of a min or 2? doing 8 of these. Not sure how true it was, but had a long reach on the bugger.<br />
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Remember doing 2500-3000m in 10 mins and was completly farked at the end of it. -
I used to row in the gym a lot, always on a concept 2, used to do 2000m as a warm up for a gym session. I can safely say nothing in the world has made me as shattered as falling off a rowing machine after a 2000m sprint.<br />
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Used to row 2000m in an average of about 7mins or so. Never got under the 7min barrier which always annoyed me. The technique is crucial, as its all timing. Key is to maintain a consistant time for 500m - anything around the 1min 45s for 500m is good<br />
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My tip is to go from a row straight onto a bike, it really challenges your legs without the pain of running. If you can row 2K as high an intensity as you can, and then jump straight onto a 20K ride - with rpm being more important than uphill shit that will get you seriously fit in no time.<br />
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As for simple rowing tips, interval training on a rowing machine hurts like hell and is seriously good for your cardiovascular / anaerobic fitness, because so many muscles are working. Sets of 200m sprint, then 20 second break. 10 times works, but if you can do more, do more.<br />
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I haven't been on a rowing machine seriously for a couple of years since my back spasmed in the middle of a 2000m and I fell onto my side between 2 machines and couldn't move, was very embarrassing. Might have a go at getting back on one myself actually Bart, you may just have planted a seed. -
I am almost up to the 5 million metre mark - bought one a couple of years ago, and do around 50,000 a week on average when full on, otherwise just a couple of long slow rows a week.<br />
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You are right though, nothing harder than rowing hard out and falling off the machine at the end. Heart rate 180 and unable to walk!!<br />
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Not into the sprints so much at the moment, but 5000 and above, giving yourself at least a 15 minute workout! 18 minutes if you go hard out at that distance!!<br />
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concept2.com has a facility to log your rows, which is brilliant, as you can follow your progress.<br />
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This morning thought I had set a PB for 6000m, but was a bastard 5 seconds out, could have got it if I had checked what it was before I rowed, but thought I would be pissing in. Spewing, row for all that time and miss by 5 farking seconds - 30 metres or so!! -
i hate rowing, makes me want to cry <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /><br />
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im 5'11'' and 205lb with short thick legs<br />
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havent done any rowing for 8 years, maybe i'll try it again -
baboon, I am 5 11, 107kg (240 odd punds??), and the hookers body to match, and love it. I have always rowed at a ten setting though, and have only just read that you should be down around the 3 mark to get decent times. And then read that hard setting are more suited to weight lifters and the like - the like being frontrowers I expect. Blokes that are all power and little technique they reckon!!<br />
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anyway get stuck in and enjoy it. -
I always used 10 as well. Didn't see the point in any of the other settings. Nothing wrong with being that sort of size baboon - as Bart says: get stuck in.<br />
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107kg = 235.4lbs <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /><br />
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I'm about 264 at the mo <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' /> -
Was ready to go yesterday, but there are only two rowers in my gym! it's a huge gym too with a million machines and treadmills (and other stuff I dont use), but only 2 rowers and they were taken. So I ran abit and did some bicycle. Anyone tried that climber thingy: skinny upright thing with place for hands and feet, the motion is like a vertical version of a baby crawling.
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Rowing is great work Bartman, both for aerobic and, if done at high intensity at great speed, anaerobic fitness. Just be very careful of your lower back. You sound like you've been doing it for a long time, so you know how to do it safely. As somebody who has ruined his lower back through years of heavy barbell squatting, I can tell you that the last thing you want is a herniated disk, which is easy to do when sitting in a rowing position and doing intense exercise.<br />
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Needless to say, my rowing days are over.<br />
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But if you want to spice it up, try doing intervals. Intervals consist of one minute of high intensity rowing at a speed that is near the high end of your range, followed by 30 seconds of rest. Then repeat. If you find that easy to manage, make it 2 minutes of high intensity rowing followed by 30 seconds rest. <br />
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The problem with any endurance aerobic activity is that it's freaking boring as hell. And, according to recent exercise research, the benefits of interval-style training in weight loss, muscle gain and even aerobic capacity are actually greater. <br />
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Spending an hour or more on a step machine, eliptical trainer or rowing machine never really added much to my overall fitness. <br />
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Be careful out there. -
yeah D, gets real oring, so if doing a long slow train, I park myself in fornt of TV and watch a rugby game.<br />
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Interval training, yeah, knocks the hell out of you, and good, will start doing some more variations.<br />
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AS for back, had a protruding disc thing years ago from rugby, but came right, and have been ding back exercises ever since, and always when i come off the rower. Straight back the key children!! -
Good thread this.<br />
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Have been sticking to the X-trainer and bike at the gym the past couple of months.<br />
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Will jump on the rower tonight.<br />
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Just get stuck in and go for it! Will have a blast at 2000m tonight and post my (embarrasing) time...if it ain't too shite...
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I hate those X-trainer things. The movement is bloody weird and because I'm a fat unco bastard I can never take more than a minute on the damn thing! <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />
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I'm trying to get a group of school kids to row 8 million metres in three months on Concepts 2 to raise money for a decent playing surface for school in Africa. It is even harder work than doing it all myself. Some of them have really taken to idea but others are lazy. I injured my back a couple of months ago but I've found that rowing eases the pain.<br />
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I row about 15,000 metres a week. I either do 1,000 sprints or 5,000 seeing how quickly I can do the last 500. My best time for 5,000 is 20:12, much slower than Bart''s. It beats running in the rain. -
[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
I hate those X-trainer things. The movement is bloody weird and because I'm a fat unco bastard I can never take more than a minute on the damn thing! <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /><br />
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Keep at it big lad. Get stuck in. The old cross-trainer is great, no impact and good for the legs. Also warms up the shoulders if you are going to lift weights afterwards. <br />
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I do need to take at least a day a week off from the cross-trainer, otherwise I get pains in my lower back, not sure why....<br />
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Bart - 2:00 per 500m for any distance of 2000m+ is bloody good for a non-specialist rower...
