Indoor rowing - Concept 2

SixTwoSix · 16 Jan 2023 at 12:05

After 75% of 2022 being a write off due to back issues, i'm easing back into things with a bit of rowing.

Petes Plan seems to be the go to, looked at the beginner plan and am I right in that week 1, day 1 is 5000 metres continuous around 20/24SPM? Seems quite a hit for the first workout?

Richie · 16 Jan 2023 at 18:20

There is no set SPM. You do the distances at the rate you can manage.

It also states that, if week 1 seems too far that you just half the workouts i.e.

Week 1 - 2,500m, 3x500m, 2,500m (not including optionals)

You can do the same for all the weeks if need be then just start the programme again at full distances.

Street · 17 Jan 2023 at 00:12

SixTwoSix said:
After 75% of 2022 being a write off due to back issues, i'm easing back into things with a bit of rowing.

Petes Plan seems to be the go to, looked at the beginner plan and am I right in that week 1, day 1 is 5000 metres continuous around 20/24SPM? Seems quite a hit for the first workout?

I'm fairly short for the erg (5'10) so I tend to rate a bit higher than the heavyweights. For steady state pieces I rate about 23 SPM. For endurance intervals, I'll aim for about 25, then speed intervals about 28. Aim to do the first 5k at a constant SPM, don't worry about pace, just try and finish it. Then, the next time you do the session, aim to do the piece at a consistent pace, which should be the average of the first session. You'll soon get the hang of pacing different sorts of sessions, just don't go too hard on the SS pieces.

SixTwoSix · 17 Jan 2023 at 07:57

@Richie @Street - thanks both - intend to start after work today and see how I go, i'll aim for 2500metres and if I feel there is more in the tank, push through for 5000.

SixTwoSix · 17 Jan 2023 at 17:34

Well that's a non starter, barely above freezing in the garage, need to dig out fan heater from garage for tomorrow.

Street · 17 Jan 2023 at 23:27

SixTwoSix said:
Well that's a non starter, barely above freezing in the garage, need to dig out fan heater from garage for tomorrow.

That's no excuse! :cry:

You'll soon warm up on the erg, my garage was down to 6C this morning!

SixTwoSix · 18 Jan 2023 at 07:53

Street said:
That's no excuse!

You'll soon warm up on the erg, my garage was down to 6C this morning!

It's mine and I stand by it

In all seriousness, I thought the fan heater was already there to give it a blast and take off the chill but there's been a sort out by the missus at some point and it's gone walkies. Good news I dug it out the attic and i'm set for today, no excuses!

Street · 18 Jan 2023 at 09:49

To be fair, it is miserable getting up and exercising when it's freezing. It definitely doesn't do the motivation any good this time of year!

jpaul · 18 Jan 2023 at 13:56

'I promise to support you in your sporting ambitions and permit the use of a rowing machine in the house'
don't know about concept2, but tunturi rowing machine (cord driven) is pretty quiet and can watch/listen to the TV; newer, chain driven v-fit a bit less - both collapsible.
need to apply some concentration on TV, too, so teaches you to use machine smoothly.

SixTwoSix · 19 Jan 2023 at 08:12

Interesting day, did my rowing but didn't start Pete's Plan - was chatting with a colleague earlier and turns out they are quite an avid indoor rower.

Got told I was basically mental to jump straight onto Petes Plan beginner and get at least a few weeks of shorter interval work under my belt and work up to a point I can do 30 minutes solid, regardless of distance. Adding in the back issues they reckoned I was just setting myself up for failure to start a 5k on my first day.

They've also offered to give me some 1-on-1 coaching for free if needed to cover technique/etc as they do a weekly class in a local gym too.

McGray · 19 Jan 2023 at 12:16

Gave it a go today but frustratingly forgot to look at the Drag Factor and had the damper on 7.

This was over 30mins:

27 s/m
1:59 / 500m
2:00.9 ave / 500m
1471 split m
7441 finish

I think that is the max I can go over 30mins. I could maybe increase the stroke rate which I think makes it easier to pull (?)

Annoyed I didn't look at the drag factor but will check next time.

Street · 19 Jan 2023 at 13:20

That's a decent split for 30mins! How tall/heavy are you? I'd try and bring your rate down a bit and work on your power and you'll probably find you can go a bit quicker. Something like a 30r20 is a good session to do, so 30mins at 20 SPM.

McGray · 19 Jan 2023 at 13:37

Street said:
That's a decent split for 30mins! How tall/heavy are you? I'd try and bring your rate down a bit and work on your power and you'll probably find you can go a bit quicker. Something like a 30r20 is a good session to do, so 30mins at 20 SPM.

Thanks for this. So I'm going too quick then?

I'm about 5ft 9 and 11.5 stone. I reckon power would be better at the correct drag which is likely less than what I'm setting it at.

Street · 23 Jan 2023 at 23:07

McGray said:
Thanks for this. So I'm going too quick then?

I'm about 5ft 9 and 11.5 stone. I reckon power would be better at the correct drag which is likely less than what I'm setting it at.

You're a similar height and weight to me so I'd aim for a drag of about 110-120. The heavyweights in my group mainly use a bit higher, but they can generate more power at lower SPM than me.

SixTwoSix · 24 Jan 2023 at 10:37

Realised at weekend my JTX rower had a heart rate chest monitor, found it, doesn't work - sat in a drawer too long no doubt.

Ordered a brand new Polar H10 yesterday direct for a touch over £50 - tracking showed it was coming from Amsterdam, however already had notification it's getting delivered today - better than most UK services

EDIT: Arrived a little after 2PM.

Richie · 24 Jan 2023 at 17:51

SixTwoSix said:
Realised at weekend my JTX rower had a heart rate chest monitor, found it, doesn't work - sat in a drawer too long no doubt.

It's a JTX Ignite Air I have and it's a cracking rower.

My only gripe would be the computer. I would have loved one that could connect to things like Google Fit or whatever.

Not sure if it's upgradeable.

SixTwoSix · 24 Jan 2023 at 18:46

Well, turns out i'm not an absolute potato, decided to test myself on a 5k, bear in mind, this is the most strenuous exercise i've done in almost a year. Threw the various bits of data into excel, as below. I'm 5'9", about 84kg. Think I was roughly 20-24spm but can't say with certainty.

Date	Weight	Damper (1-16)	Distance (Metres)	Duration	500/m split	HR (min)	HR (max)	HR (avg)	Calories (Polar)	Calories (JTX)
24/01/2023	84kg	8	5000	00:29:52	00:02:59	85	172	147	394	416

Richie said:
It's a JTX Ignite Air I have and it's a cracking rower.

My only gripe would be the computer. I would have loved one that could connect to things like Google Fit or whatever.

Not sure if it's upgradeable.

JTX Freedom Air, bought back in 2018 - think we had a brief discussion on it last year in this very thread

Computer definitely let's it down, would like to see splits for example but it's a decent trade off vs the C2 price.

SixTwoSix · 30 Jan 2023 at 18:30

Todays update, 6 day gap due to 'stuff' - dropped almost a minute off my 5k but tbf, it's such early days I probably wasn't giving it everything I had last week. Also managed to work out average SPM based on limited JTX data.

Date	Weight	Damper (1-16)	Distance (Metres)	Duration	500/m split	SPM	HR (min)	HR (max)	HR (avg)	Calories (Polar)	Calories (JTX)
24/01/2023	84.00	8	5000	00:29:52	00:02:59	25.41	85	172	147	394	416
30/01/2023	83.90	8	5000	00:28:54	00:02:53	26.09	86	171	145	375	420

Richie · 30 Jan 2023 at 18:38

The JTX I have only had damper settings 1-9.. did they update it and give less levels? :confused:

(JTX Ignite so might be that)

SixTwoSix · 30 Jan 2023 at 19:55

Richie said:
The JTX I have only had damper settings 1-9.. did they update it and give less levels? (JTX Ignite so might be that)

Think they probably tried to bring it in line with C2.