@Michele - A rower who trained under Terry has a Facebook page called "Endurance Indoor Rowing (Concept2)" found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/48125727738/ At the top of his page, there is a tab for "Files" and he has a post about HR training. (I highly recommend it.) In that post, he references another page - this one - and I recommend it too: http://www.twrc.rowing.org.uk/coach/heartrate.htm


Here is a converstation from the FB page.

Béla Visontai: I too, would like to welcome you Tammy!
The first time is always a special one, I kind of envy you for that. All the sweet memories...

Fenty's words were accurate.
My advice to you is to do aerobic base training (somewhere around 135-140bpm). You will have plenty of time later to do anaerobic training. It's really hard to go slow, when you could go faster, but it pays off later.
You'll develop a good base, you'll improve your tech step-by-step.

Keep us posted, your success is motivation to us all. May 22, 2012 at 3:26am · Like..


Tammy Ruggiero Allman: Thanks! My second row was yesterday. I wore my HRM and kept it at the top of 85% (155). BUT, I noticed that while my time was 6 seconds slower than the first row for 2,000m, my perceived exertion was less because I followed the techniques and corrections on the concept2.uk site... that was so cool - it worked after just reading it once! I will take your advice and keep it around 140 today... can you tell me why though? Thanks! May 22, 2012 at 9:11am · Like..


Dr-Erskine Fenty: No doubt Béla will get back to you, but for me, the body takes a long time to develop a solid anaerobic platform and mentally this can be a struggle, so much so, that fatigue may set in before you have reached your goal.

I think more importantly, your heart and lungs need to be condition first, this is what aerobic training is all about and this is what will help keep you going the distance.

Anaerobic training is all about defeating latic acid build up - the enemy of your sporty muscles -

In the bigger picture, if you aerobic base is weak, you will crash and burn and possible lose heart very quickly.. but as your body gets used to the pattern then your muscles start to complain and this is what anaerobic training tries to deal with.

So basically, keep practicing the technique, get your heart & lungs fit first and then strengthen your muscles.. plus in real terms, your anaerobic base is most likely to be used for short sharp sprint situations and when you are first starting, this is less of an issue..

When someone has a good aerobic base and is happy with their technique, I can take students and show them a more advance technique which is for long distance sprinting (much of which is mental conditioning) and on average can shave about 15secs of their best previous 2000m time and do so at a point when they are convinced that their previous time was the best they can do.. the students call it "Shaving the potatoes to get better chips".. long story but it works and is effective.. keep up the good work. May 22, 2012 at 12:14pm · Like..


Tammy Ruggiero Allman: Wow - you speak of a completely different level of fitness than I had considered before. It's very interesting - and new to me - so I will have to read up on it. I did 5000m today and stayed around 140 but it didn't feel like I was really doing anything... I didnt even break a sweat, except for where my HRM was. At 140, I did the 5000m in 30 minutes. I should receive my new HRM on Thursday. So am I to continue staying around 140 and see how my time decreases? Is that how I builld up my heart and lungs? Thanks! May 22, 2012 at 9:16pm · Like..


Tammy Ruggiero Allman: my gym will be closed for a week starting tomorrow. I will do the O'Neill fitness test when it reopens. May 22, 2012 at 10:12pm · Like..

Dr-Erskine Fenty: At some stage, it would be good for you to do a "Max HR Test" or as close to one as possible. It could be that you are fitter than you think, in which case you will need to move your working HR upwards, this way your body will respond more positively.

Using myself as an example. According to the charts, for my age, my Max HR should be 166bpm.

If I work aerobically, which is around 70% of my Max HR, then I would be working around 116bpm, which I know in my head is way too low.. but these figures are designed to stop people over exerting themselves, especially if they are unfit.

A Max HR test showed that my true Max HR was actually 205bpm (or 203, can't remember now).. anyway this places my aerobic zone at 143.5bpm - which is much more like it.. but I like to work above that 70% base line so I will keep my HR at the upper end of my aerobic zone - around 165bpm - this is good for me, leaves me breathless but not dead and I can (when fit) maintain it for silly amounts of time as at 165bpm that is still 40bpm below my maxxed out abilities..

I will look to see where my max test stuff is for you. May 22, 2012 at 11:06pm · Like..


Dr-Erskine Fenty: Ok... scroll up to the top of the page and look for the box "FILES" under this section are several small essays on various subjects and in there is Max HR Testing - this is not an out and out in the labs test but one that can be performed in a gym with a basic HR Monitor.. May 22, 2012 at 11:10pm · Like..

Tammy Ruggiero Allman: It is so good to review this conversation. In July I started a second job when another division at the university needed assistance and the are just now hiring their permanent person. On top if that, I took 2 grad school classes in the fall semester. I am so excited to get back to having a life outside of work and school! My goal for January is 200,000+ meters. Thanks for helping me and for being so kind! December 30, 2012 at 6:37pm via mobile · Like · 1..


Dr-Erskine Fenty: As always, you are most welcome.. sharing is the game of this page.. December 31, 2012 at 12:25am · Like · 2

Hi Folks,
I have been using a HRM mainly to see that nothing is getting out of whack while I row on a concept2 machine at the gym.
On another post I was saying I get up to 160bpm when I do a 30minute row for 7400m. To achieve this I have been doing 1min sprints every 5mins at around 1:50 and the "rest" in between at about 2:03 from memory. Just recently I have been away for work a bit and less regular on the rower so have dropped off this pace to around 7200 so it does not take much.

I was very interested in that last link to runnersworld and finding actual MHR. According to their B formula I will have a MHR of 178 but I have previously been up to around 190 without distress so I will be very interested to try the rowing equivalent and see how I go.
Whatever the number I figure it has to be aerobic if I can keep going for 30min.
Regards, Brent

It's incredibly important to know your real RHR (Resting heart rate) before you figure out any of the rest. Take your HR immediately when you wake up in the morning for at least a week (as long as you weren't having a nightmare or naughty dream LOL) and average it out. That's your RHR, then go from there. If your resting heart rate is high your MHR will be higher than most. My Monitor allows me to input my RHR, height, weight, and age and then I can choose the where I want to be warned when I'm above or below, say btween 107BPM and 147BPM which is my fat burning zone.