New to rowing, need help

[aznsmurfy]

Hello!

I just started rowing a few days ago at the Y and it's been a blast but I have so many questions I can't really make heads of tails of some of it. Any help is greatly appreciated.

1. What is that bar that adjusts 1-10 on the right side?

2. What should I be looking for when I'm rowing if I want cardiovascular fitness? Distance? Strokes per minute? Form?

(Sorry, I'm really clueless...)

I think today, I rowed .. 5000m in 30min 32 seconds, varying from ~27sm to 40 something? It jumps around. Should I be rowing faster...harder...are those different? I had the bar set on 8.

3. How do I do a 2,000 meter time trial, and what would that be for?

4. Are you supposed to keep your legs together? I find my arms rubbing the outside of my knees...is that just poor form or ... something else.


Thanks so much!

[PaulH]

1. The bar adjusts the resistance you feel when you're pulling. A good beginner guide is to set it somewhere between 3-5. Higher numbers don't make you go faster.

2. Rowing isn't particularly different to other exercises for this - I guess most people would say for CV fitness you want a combination of distance rowing and interval work. So a mix of (say) 30 minute distance rows and 8x500m sprints.

2.5. It's better to keep your stroke rate consistent, and while you're starting out something in the low 20s is advisable - you need to learn the correct stroke (which you can find on the concept2 web site) and it's easier to do that at 22spm than at 32!

3. A 2k is the standard race distance, so it's a good goal for many people. You do one by setting the monitor to 2000m and rowing until it says 0m as quickly as possible It's probably fun for you to do it now, but don't worry about it too much until you've got more used to erging.

4. Yes, though depending on your shape it can be difficult. You don't need to have your knees pressed together though, just next to each other. If your arms are rubbing your knees it's more likely to be a problem with your overall form, so check out the website.

Good luck!

[Alissa]

Hello!

I just started rowing a few days ago at the Y and it's been a blast but I have so many questions I can't really make heads of tails of some of it. Any help is greatly appreciated.

1. What is that bar that adjusts 1-10 on the right side?

2. What should I be looking for when I'm rowing if I want cardiovascular fitness? Distance? Strokes per minute? Form?

(Sorry, I'm really clueless...)

I think today, I rowed .. 5000m in 30min 32 seconds, varying from ~27sm to 40 something? It jumps around. Should I be rowing faster...harder...are those different? I had the bar set on 8.

3. How do I do a 2,000 meter time trial, and what would that be for?

4. Are you supposed to keep your legs together? I find my arms rubbing the outside of my knees...is that just poor form or ... something else.

If you haven't had a chance yet you'll find a lot of helpful info on the thread titled "Introduction to Indoor Rowing" in the FAQ area... As to your specific questions:

1. Paragraph 3 in the Intro will be useful here.

2. Power applied over time. Power is typically discussed using a "pace" measure (see Para. 2 of the Intro) since indoor rowing was initially developed for on-the-water rowers who were interested in how fast they would have traveled 500 meters, given the power they'd applied.

But you'll need good form to produce power. (see paras 4 & 5) Keep your stroke rate low, work on form (posting a link to a u-tube video of yourself here is one way to get help on your form, if coaching isn't available to you locally), and distance will increase. Here's an "example of such a thread" where I added comments for someone's video...

Like any cardo exercise, your heart rate needs to be increased for a time...that's not different than other cardio...

3. Paul H has given you instructions on the monitor setting for a 2K trial. You may want to try this (or one of the other logged distances/times) to compare yourself to others and to motivate yourself. In Para 9, you'll find an intro to the on-line log-book and the specific times/distances that you can use to compare yourself to others in your age/gender/weight class.

4. Generally. You want to have your hips, knees and ankles aligned so that you can produce the most power with the least effort. (Which allows you to increase your effort and your pace (or speed).

Best wishes!

Alissa