Rowing machine experts, please advice

jayashreeravi1
jayashreeravi1 Posts: 21 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

I just spotted a rowing machine in my gym and my gut instinct tells me that is the perfect piece of equipment for me. I tried one and my heart rate goes up and beats in a unique way even after the workout which tells me I am getting a good workout.

Nevertheless, I want to ask expert opinion if what I am doing is right -

I row about 25 strokes at a good resistance, (challenging yet do-able for me) and at 25, my heart rate really pounds and I stop for a minute, resume again, do another set of 25 -- like this do about 200 strokes for a total of about 1200 meters. I am a total beginner.

Is what I am doing right? I maintain the right posture.

Replies

  • edavis27
    edavis27 Posts: 21 Member
    Used to row in college

    as long as you maintain the proper technique there isnt really a wrong way to do it. our workouts would often be either interval training at set distances (500m 1k. 2k) with a rest period or a steady state workout at a slow stroke rating (18-22) and push the muscles for a long period of time.
  • jayashreeravi1
    jayashreeravi1 Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you so much for your replies! Basically I am concerned that I am giving a full 1 - 2 min break between each set of 25 strokes that I do (which only takes 1 1/2 min each time), will my workout be effective? I am unable to let go of the break time because I am only a beginner, and I pull each stroke at a pretty good resistance level which is very challenging for me.
  • __TMac__
    __TMac__ Posts: 1,669 Member
    Resistance isn't important. Lower the damper (which is the name of resistance lever) to between 3 and 5. Row steadily. And watch those form videos.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    I've got a Concept2 rower

    I'm certainly no rowing expert but your intervals just seem too short and low intensity to me.

    If you are only doing 25 stokes in 1.5 mins, thats only 17 strokes a min (spm) which is really slow and unlikely to raise your HR much and/or burn very many cals.

    The kind of routine you fo depends on your needs, goals and ability but as a novice, I'd suggest you try a constant rate routine for a specific time or distance to develop your strength and endurance.

    Right now you are doing eight 1.5 min sets for a total of 12 mins plus seven 1 min rest sets for a total time of 19 mins and a total distance of 1200 meters.

    Instead of this, why don't you just try to row, for at a constsnt 17-20 spm (or slower as need be) for 10 mins straight w/o taking any breaks and see how much distance you can cover.

    It is not that difficult an objective and I think you'd get a better work out doing it.

    You could then try to increase the pace which will increase the distance and the difficulty of the session.

    If you continue to increase the pace and/or distance over time, you then will gradually increase your strength and endurance and should be able to row even faster and longer.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,162 Member
    TmacMMM wrote: »
    Resistance isn't important. Lower the damper (which is the name of resistance lever) to between 3 and 5. Row steadily. And watch those form videos.

    Endorsed. Even elite rowers do most of their workouts in a moderate-resistance setting. How do I know? I have friends who are current & former US national team rowers, and have been coached by others.

    Rowing machines - Concept 2 ones, anyway - are unlike a lot of other exercise machines. You don't increase resistance to get a harder workout. Instead, you learn proper technique and get a harder workout by pushing/pulling with more intensity.

    Use the advice above. Read the Concept 2 site, watch the beginner videos, set the damper lower, hit a strokes-per-minute somewhere between mid teens and mid twenties, and go for 10 minutes at an intensity you can sustain that long. If/when you can, rest maybe 3 minutes or so, then go for another 10. Rinse'n'repeat. ;)

  • jayashreeravi1
    jayashreeravi1 Posts: 21 Member
    Thank you all so much! That was really very helpful. As suggested, I will lower the damper setting and row continuously for 10 min, then break and repeat the workout for another set. The replies had been very insightful. I have not enough words to thank.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Yep. Biggest mistake people make. We have 10 C2s in our gym. When I close, I set all the dampers to 4, but the next day they are all back to 10 again.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,162 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    Yep. Biggest mistake people make. We have 10 C2s in our gym. When I close, I set all the dampers to 4, but the next day they are all back to 10 again.

    And set on "calories" - the least useful measure - too, I'll bet. ;)
  • DustyRoseAZ
    DustyRoseAZ Posts: 31 Member
    I liked my C2 at the gym more than anything else I did so I bought one for my home and now I work out at home. I'm a 63 year old female. I keep the damper set at 3 and every 1000 meters I row all out as hard as I can for about 30 or 40 strokes and then back off to a pace I can keep up longer term... This morning I did 10,000 meters (about 6 miles) in one hour. It's a great workout. I LOVE my C2.
  • me0231
    me0231 Posts: 218 Member
    I used to row in college. Many many hours were spent on the ergs as we called them. As others have said, low resistance and typical work out for is was steady state for distance or interval training with different splits/stroke rates. We never completely stopped or did sets though. You get into a nice groove after a while, stopping throws you out of the momentum.

    Be careful with technique though, there's more to it than good posture. It's easy to get injured if not done correctly. Most common mistakes I see at the gym are either too much upper body (yanking basically instead of using the legs) and lifting over the knees. Good luck

    (and if you end up doing a lot, the pillow sold by concept is worth its weight in gold)

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