Indoor rowing - Concept 2

[Street]

I think it depends on the kind of session you're doing and the rate you're pulling. My sprint sessions are usually 32 spm, hard distance 27 and steady state recovery is 21 so my recovery ratio varies on what I'm doing.

The one good thing about being in lockdown is my PBs are getting destroyed. I've managed to set a new PB for 500m, 6km and 30min in the last few weeks.

 

[jpaul]

For those regulars - a technique question :
1. are you careful about having your feet pointing accurately upwards in the styrups, as opposed to toed-in/out, and,
2. Do you take any care not to overextend on the knees, and potentially lock them out ?

I 've found that, where I want to grip the hand bar, is directly above the knees/legs, and to prevent brushing them, I can find myself turning knees slightly out/in, which I attribute, to slightly sore knee joints.

 

[jpaul]

Now trying this approach, to avoid rolling too far forward/overcompressing - anyone else do this ?

The most common cause of knee pain on the erg is from over compression and/or over extension. The best way to avoid this is to train yourself to avoid pushing too far into the catch or extending so far that your knees over extend.

The best idea I have heard to do this is get on the erg and slide up to the point where you are at the catch, but your shins are just short of being vertical. Mark where the front roller on the seat is on the rail, and put a strip of electrical tape across the seat rail at that point. The tape is just high enough that you feel a little bump if you overcompress and the seat rolls up on to the tape. You can do the same thing at the other end of the stroke, but I suspect that compression is probably what is causing your knee pain.

https://www.c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=45909

 

[SKILL]

Didn't know this thread existed, not surpising as I've barely been on the forums in years

Anyway, started getting into the gym a little under a year ago, then a bit of rowing, then a bit more and when lockdown hit I splashed out on a concept2 model D, which I used a bit but really need to do more (of everything :/ )

Anyway, my records to date are:
500m -- 1:37.2
2k -- 7:35.9 (1:54 avg splits)
5k -- 19:31.0 (1:57.1 avg splits)

The 2k was a good while ago, and only ever did 2. First I aimed for <8 minutes and got in 7:56-ish iirc didn't feel too bad I think because I was capable of more but paced it to my target, second time I just had the aim of beating my PB, and it felt horrible at the end, I think I took another 8 minutes to recover

5k, again only 2, first time was a 20:14, that triggered a colleague who used to row to attempt that pace (and fail) and then spend weeks to beat my time. I was hoping after lockdown when I set the 19:31 to trigger his competitiveness again and get a rivalry going but alas he's too lazy

Unfortunately I've been lazy as hell for a while, and again need to find some motivation to use it more (maybe this thread, maybe the pete plan, although also thinking of starting a cycling training plan on Zwift which will suck up time/effort), just did the "1:00/1:00r..7" workout (pyramid of 1 on/1 off, 2 on/2 off, 3 on/3 off, 4 on/4 off and then back down) that sucked...

Oh, and my times are slow cause I'm a shorty at 5'8, honest, not that I'm a fat unfit git

 

[Street]

Unfortunately I've been lazy as hell for a while, and again need to find some motivation to use it more (maybe this thread, maybe the pete plan, although also thinking of starting a cycling training plan on Zwift which will suck up time/effort), just did the "1:00/1:00r..7" workout (pyramid of 1 on/1 off, 2 on/2 off, 3 on/3 off, 4 on/4 off and then back down) that sucked...

Good to see more people on the erg! The Pete Plan worked great for me. I did the beginners PP years ago and it gave me the speed and endurance to then tackle the main plan properly. The beginners plan gets pretty brutal in the second half. Also, 5'8 is no excuse, I'm not much taller! If you've just started out, those times are decent though, especially if you're a lightweight.

I've had an enforced few weeks of slow sessions as I've managed to hurt my shoulder digging out my garden. It's just starting to feel a bit better now but don't want to push it too soon although I'm trying to keep moving so I don't lose too much speed in the mean time. I had a fairly productive end to lockdown at least and managed to set a new 10k time of 38:16.7 and a new HM time of 1:25:21.2. Now my 5k time is the only one I haven't had a crack at in 2020.

For those regulars - a technique question :
1. are you careful about having your feet pointing accurately upwards in the styrups, as opposed to toed-in/out, and,
2. Do you take any care not to overextend on the knees, and potentially lock them out ?

I 've found that, where I want to grip the hand bar, is directly above the knees/legs, and to prevent brushing them, I can find myself turning knees slightly out/in, which I attribute, to slightly sore knee joints.

I don't even think about my feet, just leave them were they end up naturally. Locking out your knees at the end is bad though, and could cause injury!

 

[GTanny]

Picked a model C with an non-working PM5 today for £350, given current prices I was very happy with it, even more so now that it turns out the PM5 just had a rusty battery connection and took about 30 seconds to get it working again.

Going to give the PM5 a good clean to remove the rust and give the whole unit a good clean and oil the chain, is there anything else to look out for? I know they are very well made units but I'm going to order a model D handle for it and a phone holder for the PM5 so while I'm placing an order is there anything else I should add?

I have decided against the silencer kit for now as noise isn't a big issue for me.

 

[Street]

Picked a model C with an non-working PM5 today for £350, given current prices I was very happy with it, even more so now that it turns out the PM5 just had a rusty battery connection and took about 30 seconds to get it working again.

Going to give the PM5 a good clean to remove the rust and give the whole unit a good clean and oil the chain, is there anything else to look out for? I know they are very well made units but I'm going to order a model D handle for it and a phone holder for the PM5 so while I'm placing an order is there anything else I should add?

I have decided against the silencer kit for now as noise isn't a big issue for me.

That's a bargain and a half!

If it's an older machine and done a lot of metres, I'd be tempted just to replace the chain instead of oiling it. They aren't overly expensive and old chains feel horrible! Cleaning any dust from the fan, checking bolts, screws and bearings is probably all you need to do really.

 

[jpaul]

Concept2 et al maintenance :

I was wondering how you tell if, due to wear, it is taking less effort to use the machine - none of them have strain guage in the cable system ?

Concept 2 look easy to replace bungee(!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOLuzAAMf-U

I've just been replacing the return spring on mine, the handle wasn't retracting as fast, but, having changed it,
There is more resistance, in particular, the arm part of the stroke has become harder, I suspect that is because legs are much more powerful in comparison, so they don't notice.

answering my own question - if the bungee cord is worn you can be re-distributing workload from the arms to the legs, so the rowing seems easier, but the total power output remains the same, like changing the resistance setting - thread about it - https://www.c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=8836

I'm not sure how you can have erging competitions without calibrating this difference between machines

 

[GTanny]

That's a bargain and a half!

If it's an older machine and done a lot of metres, I'd be tempted just to replace the chain instead of oiling it. They aren't overly expensive and old chains feel horrible! Cleaning any dust from the fan, checking bolts, screws and bearings is probably all you need to do really.

Decided since I saved £160 on replacing the PM5 I've ordered the silencing kit as it includes a new chain as part of it and it seems to get very positive comments on the C2 forums, also ordered a new bungee/shock cord as the machine is nearly 20 years old and while I'm inside it a might as well change the bungee out.

I'll be giving it a good clean down too while I do the work.

 

[hellarda]

Don't know how many on here actually get out on the water, but I went out in a 1x for the first time in about 3 years properly this morning, and my god how I've missed it. Nothing seems to come close to a sunny morning cutting glass on a river

Now to get my erg fitness back up to somewhere near what it was, hopefully cycling has helped...

 

[hellarda]

First week of proper training, getting back into it and we had a 30r20



Meh. Wanted to go for about 1:53 but I'll take that as a baseline after 3 years off erging!

 

[SAM81]

First week of proper training, getting back into it and we had a 30r20



Meh. Wanted to go for about 1:53 but I'll take that as a baseline after 3 years off erging!

That's a decent time after that amount of time off! Especially pulling at r20.
Had a couple of months off myself due to shoulder injury, it's amazing how quickly I seem to lose stamina.

 

[Street]

First week of proper training, getting back into it and we had a 30r20



Meh. Wanted to go for about 1:53 but I'll take that as a baseline after 3 years off erging!

Nicely done, especially after 3 years off!

 

[hellarda]

2x5km r21 with 8min rest yesterday. I hate tests with rests, so much harder mentally. Paced the second one completely wrong - was pulling 1:39s for the last 400m

 

[Street]

2x5km r21 with 8min rest yesterday. I hate tests with rests, so much harder mentally. Paced the second one completely wrong - was pulling 1:39s for the last 400m

The first one is my PB time for a 5k.. No way I could do that twice! I'm guessing you aren't a lightweight though?

This months CTC is 5km so I was going to have a crack at beating it.

 

[hellarda]

The first one is my PB time for a 5k.. No way I could do that twice! I'm guessing you aren't a lightweight though?

This months CTC is 5km so I was going to have a crack at beating it.

When I finished the first one I was pretty apprehensive about the second one, and went off pretty slow, but got it back in the last 2km. Rate capped aswell so no fun. Also quite a big mental struggle getting going again...

Another 30r20 this week, hoping to hit 8000m so need to knock 2 seconds off my split - doable... I think, but not going to be pleasant!

EDIT: No definitely not a lightweight! 115kg at the start of lockdown, now down to about 102kg, but ideally need to sit around 96/97kg

 

[hellarda]

Well - much happier with my 30min this week, although not sure my heart was too pleased after! Another in 2 weeks... hoping for sub 1:50, but we shall see!

 

[Street]

Nice, did your heart nearly explode at the end?! I always find timed sessions sessions harder than distance sessions for some reason. I guess it's purely psychological as I can't pull harder to finish quicker on a time session.

EDIT: No definitely not a lightweight! 115kg at the start of lockdown, now down to about 102kg, but ideally need to sit around 96/97kg

Ah, you've got over 30kg on me, no wonder you can pull times I can only dream of.

 

[Street]

New 60min PB by about 50m! I'd tried it last week but I wasn't fresh and ran out of gas at the 45min mark. I had a rest day on Sunday so thought I'd give it another crack last night.

 

[hellarda]

Nice, did your heart nearly explode at the end?! I always find timed sessions sessions harder than distance sessions for some reason. I guess it's purely psychological as I can't pull harder to finish quicker on a time session.
Ah, you've got over 30kg on me, no wonder you can pull times I can only dream of.

I think so...! Was over 195 for at least the last 3 mins haha. Yeah it's definitely the physiological thing of no matter how hard you try its still 30 mins

New 60min PB by about 50m! I'd tried it last week but I wasn't fresh and ran out of gas at the 45min mark. I had a rest day on Sunday so thought I'd give it another crack last night.

Nice work, have never done a 60min, not sure I'd want to! We do 3x6ks for steady state work which I sit at around 2:00 split for, but HR is around 150 for that.

Another 30min yesterday, tried to cheat the rate and didn't quite get it right.... oops. But hey ho, still pretty happy with it. 1.2 splits quicker and 3kg lighter than 2 weeks ago. Starting our 2k prep now, for one in a few weeks time. That's going to hurt...