PM3 Accuracy?

[Carl Watts]

An old PM3 can develop all sorts of issues due to corrosion on the board.

The most common problem is people do not know about the hidden menu in the old PM3's that select the right version of Concept 2 you are using.

Corrosion around the TACH output area of the board is common on the 1st Gen PM3, the memory backup Supercap that looks like a small coin cell leaks, the liquid wicks through the open via to the rubber keypad side and causes havoc.

[iain]

...i can only generate around 80 watts average on a one hour row (i can max around 120 watts for a minute or so) i have rowed over a million metres on my 2021 model d that i bought last year and the max distance i have managed is 10850 metres in an hour starting at around 26 spm and ending at around 32-34 spm

Hi Barney and welcome to the forum. There is no "right" power output, we are all different. On here many of the regular posters are immensely fit having trained for many years as well as being genetically gifted, so don't compare your paces to theirs.

Firstly 10850 in an hour is an average power of 77W, so comparable to your 80W. The thing that stands out to me is how high your stroke rate is. What you describe is the top end of what most of us would do in an all out 60min time trial. For most rows people tend to use 17 - 22 strokes per minute (hence James calculating based upon 20 S/Min). Unlike many cheaper rowers the C2 gives you distance between strokes (ie the boat is allowed to run). All the measured power is in the "Powerstroke" or drive and the effort getting back to the front stops (recovery) counts for nothing. As the effort required to return to front stops is proportional to the cube of the speed you do it at, much more effort is unrewarded by the C2 if you rush back for another stroke. As a result the most efficient technique is a fast drive and slow recovery. The slow recovery means that your muscles are given time to recover and so can work at a high force on the drive. If you rush the recovery the muscles are less recovered and the drive tends to be weaker. Some have described the drive as akin to a deadlift, very different from running or cycling where the force is much lower but applied more continually. Many people apply similar effort on the drive to the recovery and end with a weak stroke and fast rating.

I suggest you try rowing at a lower rating really driving with your legs and really crawling up the slide. Many people initially struggle with the slow recovery (there shouldn't be a pause) so you may find that you need to start midway say 22 S/Min. You need to be pretty fit to keep this up at a high force per stroke, so maybe start doing in 500M intervals with 1-2 min rest between. As you get used to it, if you want to do hours I suggest no more than 18 S/Min is what you are aiming at.

Best of luck

Iain

[JaapvanE]

If you rush the recovery the muscles are less recovered and the drive tends to be weaker.

As an additional point: rushing the recovery also results in a fast flywheel which is difficult to catch, often resulting in a (partially) missed catch and thus weaker strokes.

[barneyrussel]

Thanks for that,
I wasn't really comparing to anyone on here just averages that I had found when looking online for someone of my height, i also have short legs and a belly which obviously affects stroke length, I will try to slow down and spend more time on recovery and see how that goes, appreciate the information.

[iain]

Thanks for that,
I wasn't really comparing to anyone on here just averages that I had found when looking online for someone of my height, i also have short legs and a belly which obviously affects stroke length, I will try to slow down and spend more time on recovery and see how that goes, appreciate the information.

I expect that you meant slow on the recovery. Most ergers would assume a reference to speed such as this would relate to the pace achieved rather than the speed of the recovery. That said, it may well be that you initially row at a reduced pace while you get used to a lower rating. Assuming your stroke length remains the same, at 20SPM you would need to pull with a 30% higher average force to achieve the same pace. While the oxygen requirement would be the same, you will notice this in your muscles where you will need to recruit more muscle fibres and this may well include fast fibres that are not used to being used much outside of the final push. For reference, you should be producing more work per stroke once you have got used to the lower rating. Taking your 10,850 hour, the same work per stroke of your current 2:46 split at 26 Str/Min, would be 2:50 at 24 Str/Min, 2:55 at 22 S/Min, 3:01 at 20 Str/Min and 3:07 at 18 Str/min. That said, while it is better to initially concentrate on a smoother stroke at the lower ratings and not focus on pace, the intention is to increase the work per stroke from your current 3WattMin. So if you could manage 18 Str/min at your current pace, you would have increased this to 4.3Wattmin. Then if you could maintain this stronger stroke at 24 Str/min, that would be nearly 2:30 pace, ie 12km hour pace (although that may take quite some training to achieve).

[barneyrussel]

Thanks again for the informative reply,
I tried 3 x 18 mins with 2 mins rest in between and finished with a 4 min row,
I tried to keep between 17 & 24 spm and pulled harder, I managed a total of 11100 metres, with an average of 2:42.0 /500 and a best of 2:32 /500, an average of 82 watts with a best of 100 watts,

I could do with getting some full fingered gloves if anyone has any recommendations please,
Thanks.

[iain]

3 x 18 mins with 2 mins rest in between and finished with a 4 min row,
I tried to keep between 17 & 24 spm and pulled harder, I managed a total of 11100 metres, with an average of 2:42.0 /500 and a best of 2:32 /500, an average of 82 watts with a best of 100 watts,

I could do with getting some full fingered gloves if anyone has any recommendations please

That's a great improvement in the work you are generating with each stroke

Gloves are an acquired taste that has been covered in previous threads. I have not got on well with them and prefer to keep skin supple with handcream while developing callouses and then maintaining the callouses by filing when they get too thick.

[barneyrussel]

Thanks,
Yes I certainly felt that one!!
I may try that, I started with bare hands but didn't use hand cream etc so ended up using mountain bike gloves but that last row has given me a blister.

[MPx]

We're all different on gloves (as with everything else!). I've tried various over the years, and by far the best so far have been the Crewstop Paddlers
https://thecrewstop.com/products/paddle ... jP4-NSEhyw

They're a bit of a pain to put on (particularly after a dumbbells session) but they seem to protect my hands well enough. Still ever growing callouses, but very very rarely any blisters.

[Dangerscouse]

Gloves are an acquired taste that has been covered in previous threads. I have not got on well with them and prefer to keep skin supple with handcream while developing callouses and then maintaining the callouses by filing when they get too thick.

Just to give the opposite view, I don't use gloves and I definitely don't use handcream. My hands eventually toughened up, but it's not an option for everyone

[barneyrussel]

Thanks for the replies, I will see how it goes for a while without gloves and go from there, I think it was the mountain bike glove that gave me the blister, obviously they aren't designed for the job although they have been fine up until now.