7.43 2km row (21yo male “never” rowed before)

[zksam]

Hi,

Just did my 2nd ever 2km+ row - first one was 9 minute something for 2.5km I think. I was aiming for sub 7 mins - saw it labelled as “the ultimate fitness test” somewhere and wanted to see how I stacked up. I finished with a time of 7 min 43s.

I wanted to know if this was considered a good time/what I should aim for with this as my benchmark with consistent training?

I am 21 years old, 6ft 1, and weigh 95kg. I have a current knee issue so haven’t been running in the last 3 months and so would say my cardiovascular fitness is quite poor as well as having a much higher body fat percentage at the minute.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

[MPx]

7:43 is a fair score for a second go but suggests you have someway to go. If comparison is important to you then you need to check out the C2 rankings.
https://log.concept2.com/rankings/2023/ ... H&gender=M
That link was filtered on heavyweight male 19-29 row erg only for this season. You'll see that you are currently somewhere around the 30th percentile. We're only in the 4th month of the season so not many times posted yet - you could look at previous seasons to get a better picture. Please dont be put off by it. Most people make rapid early gains when they first get into the sport so you may well be able to blitz through 7min within a few months.

[Ombrax]

I wanted to know if this was considered a good time/what I should aim for with this as my benchmark with consistent training?

Welcome to the forum, Sam. : )

Unless you're a "natural," comparing yourself to others on the C2 rankings can lead to disappointment - there are some incredible, (world-class, in some cases) athletes out there.

If you want to set yourself some goals, off the top of my head I'd suggest two things:

1) Getting your technique right (lot of stuff on the C2 web site and on the forum to help with that)
2) Continuous improvement of your pace over time for a few benchmark distances, say, 2k and 5k.

That would be a good starting point, and after a while you'll be in a better position to decide on serious training goals. (say, a sub 7:00 2k, whatever)

Good luck

[Dangerscouse]

Welcome to the forum Sam. As mentioned above, it's a decent result, but rowing for a seemingly simple exercise, is surprisingly technical and you could be leaking a lot of power in a number of ways.

What drag factor are you using? If you don't know there's an option to 'Display Drag Factor' on the 'Menu'. This probably needs to be about 120-140, but you need to find what works best for you. A heavier / higher drag factor isn't usually the best option.

What stroke rate (r) did you row at? Circa r28 is going to be a good target, and generally speaking if it was over r32, or under r22 you'll be inefficient. Please note, r32+ isn't usually inefficient, but as a beginner it will be as the stroke isn't strong enough.

Next time you do a 2k, or any session, post the data on here as the split timings are important too. If you started off at, say, 1:45 pace, and ended at 2:45 pace then we know there's an issue there.

If your current CV fitness is poor you've hopefully got good potential to make significant improvements, but the sub 7 challenge is the gold standard of rowing for a.reason, and plenty of people will never achieve it. Don't underestimate it, but also always believe it's possible.

[mitchel674]

These threads always crack me up. Every few months someone will row once or twice and then take the time to create an account here and ask if they are any good. Most of these folks never write a second post.

Think about it. You've only been on a rower twice. Are you any good? On tennis forums, does anyone post a video of themselves the second time they tried to play tennis and ask if they are any good?

[jackarabit]

The ergometric rowing machine as seasonal training simuiator for a much older sport is approximately 40 yrs old—roughly twice the age of our young enthusiast—and to this day not widely available in public gyms or private homes, Most of us have a casual, hands on introduction to round ball, pointy ball, hard, soft, or fuzzy ball from about age 5. A select minority of young adults have access to the organized, character-building sado-masochism of collegiate water sport with stir sticks.

The naiveté of the uninitiated is acceptable in pre-schoolers but laughable in young adults? I prefer to see the question as a first, honest, accurately directed query to the cowboys and sailors who throw the hoolihan and tend the sheets. Remember the question directly following the entry windows on the Cross Team Challenge site. “How good am I?” I’m keeping my risibility in check on the odd chance that the OP who don’t currently essay the esoterica goes sub-6’ next year. A squash racket makes a real good pasta drainer and the dude hasn’t posted a video that I can find.

[Joebasscat]

I prefer to see the question as a first, honest, accurately directed query to the cowboys and sailors who throw the hoolihan and tend the sheets.

Fair enough and likely a good position to take.

And thank you for sending me off to the google this morning. As an ex-sailor (not of the sailboat variety) I am enhanced by my new sailing vocabulary as well as a new cattle roping reference as well.

As for the OP, you have already received good advice on how to further your pursuit of the gold standard. Good luck and stick with it. It’s the journey that’s critical and the result will just be the icing.

[jamesg]

what I should aim for

Learn to row and lose 20kg; both possible, since your time shows you are not afraid of sweat pain and hard work.

Experience shows that our first 2k times can soon become Power levels to use in normal low rate training. Since rowing is very hard work, training is done at ratings from 18 to 23, so that we don't get exhausted in less than a minute.

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... que-videos