What would the purpose of adding rowing to your workouts. Does using a rower replace strength training? Even though I know it's important, I always seem to push off my strength training to do something else. Wondering if adding rowing could replace strength workouts? Thoughts.

In the offseason I row on the Concept2 mostly to mix things up from just SBR, but my n=1 observation is that it has helped widen the range of motion in my hips and therefore be able to ride more comfortably with a lower hip angle on the TT bike. There are obviously other ways to arrive at the same result, but rowing retains the aerobic component while adding some variety.

Similar reasons here. I wanted something different to add 2-3 hours more cardio per week.

I used to row crew in college and it will take you a few tries to get it. I tried teaching my girlfriend how to erg and it just never worked. Think of rowing as doing a set of box jumps. You absolutely EXPLODE with the legs when you're in the drive and float back through the recovery. It's a much more anaerobic workout than sitting on a trainer for an hour or so.

To learn proper technique and controlling your stroke, do a set of pyramids focussing on your stroke rate:
2 mins @ 20, 2 mins @24, 2 mins @ 26, 2 mins @ 28, 2 mins @ 30.

By the time you hit 30 strokes per min, you'll know what leg pain is. Stroke rate is the hardest thing for a novice to learn but the most impotent to controlling the workout.

Hope this helps, and a side profile video will help for a critique.

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marceves.com

Reading this thread kind of makes me want to jump on the erg at the gym, but memories of hours on end staring at myself in a mirror during the winter are saying not so fast. Maybe I'll just go watch the HOCR next month to whet my rowing appetite.

Lots of good advice here. Watching videos can definitely help - I did that a lot when trying to learn to swim (still a work in progress). Do you know any former rowers who could give you tips in person?

As a side note, does anyone ever cringe watching people try to erg at the gym?

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As a side note, does anyone ever cringe watching people try to erg at the gym?


Yes. All. The. Time.

I raced at the Mile High Sprints this past winter...it was held at a crossfit gym. Outside of the (former) rowers that were there (one former olympian and another guy from Riverside), it was generally hideous to watch.

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Steve Johnson
DARK HORSE TRIATHLON |

Another former D1 rower and coach here.

The fan damper at 4 and 4.5 is probably too high. The drag factor over 120 is high for a beginner, and if you're not using your legs effectively yet, you may wind up straining your back. You want a lighter setting so that you learn the proper "eplosiveness" at the "catch" of the stroke through the leg drive.

I suggest setting the fan on 3-3.5 (even a half can make a big difference), aiming for drag factor of 105-115. The watts you can sustain or average are not going to be limited by the drag factor. But a fan setting that is too high can negatively influence your technique and lead to strain or injury.

If you can get some coaching, that would help things very quickly. If not, try to row along with a video, trying to mirror the movement and rhythm of the rower in the video.

Do longer sets at lower rate, around 20 strokes per minute. Aim for power per stroke.

20 minutes or 5 to start with is a lot at once. At 21 minutes, you're doing great. Sounds like you probably have been using the erg at the gym for a while before purchasing.

In order to get the feel for the legs, it helps to de-emphasize the arms and back. A great drill is rowing legs only, or take full strokes where you use 100% legs, and 50% arms/back (ie emphasize the "front end" of the stroke). Doing this for short sets of 10-20 strokes can be a great way to learn the technique, and then can be applied at lower intensity for longer sets. Good rowing derives the majority of power from the leg drive, so you want to get to the point where you can feel it.

If you live near a college or HS team, or a boat club, see if you can pay someone a couple of bucks to show you and do a set with you. It is a great machine and a superb way to get fit.

Thanks again for all the advice.
Honestly, I've never done rowing before, on the water or on a machine, before Friday night. 20 years of biking on and off, and the last 3 years doing triathlon. I hooked the PM3 up to my laptop and am using a demo of Rowpro, which I really like so far. Just got an email from them offering the full version for $69 so will likely buy it.

The only thing I really didn't enjoy was the pain I'm getting in my ass/glutes. Similar pain that I often get while driving long distances in the car or sitting at my desk too long, have to get out and stretch the glutes every so often. Not sure if it is the shape of the seat, or if I am pinching a nerve when in the seated position....but the pain comes on quicker on the rower than it does in the other situations.

I didn't get a chance to get on it yesterday (bike ride instead), so have just done the 5km Friday night and 5km Sat. morning. I did notice yesterday and today that the muscles between my shoulder blades are pretty sore. So again, maybe a sign that I wasn't using my legs enough?
Hopefully get on it tonight and get a video too. Will try to keep the core tight and explode from the legs. As mentioned, when I tried that before, it felt like there was no resistance on my legs for most of it, so I was kind of snapping them back into the locked position. Obviously nothing wrong with the machine, so I'm doing something wrong. Maybe as someone mentioned, I need to get the straight back and reach forward more, so that the handle is further forward, catching more resistance when I start to push back with the legs...
Oh, I'll also try lowering the damper to a little under 4.

So, for a few years I have been erging more (running and swimming injuries have benched me). I have also been erging more lately as my daughter is also joining the HS crew team, so I am kind of caught up in her excitement for a new sport. So, I guess my request for free advice has to do with my glutes. After about 20 minutes on the erg, they are killing me. The arms and back, not so much. The legs are still pretty fit from the biking I am still able to do, but the damned glutes feel like they are on fire at abut 5k of rowing. Am I sliding too far forward on the recovery stroke? Or am I just experiencing weak glutes that are finally getting the workout that they need? Thanks

I admit that I was doing many things wrong. I have no rowing background, and I have never had instructions. When I began using the rower in college I was young enough that technique didn't hurt me.

I have watched some technique vids on concept's website and I have begun driving with the legs, but I still do not feel fatigue in my glutes.

The only thing I feel is that in the recovery that when I go from 11 to 1:00 that I roll on my sit bones (and that also does not feel right).

Bump?

Do you think that the pain in your ass is from taxing your glutes or from the seat (or your position on the seat)??

Could be all of those things. I would get serious pain in my hamstrings from rowing the single scull, and it was actually the size of the holes in the Empacher seats that made a difference. On an erg however, the seat is much more comfortable. Nevertheless, I think Concept2 do sell cushions for the seat. Position on the seat seems to be the last thing I would look at, only so many ways you can sit on the thing imo. But for those new to erg-ing (or those who havent done it in a while) a 20 minute "easy" session can leave you seriously depleted. Even most advanced rowers don't spend more than 60 mins on it during a single workout, and likely divide the intervals based on certain training. Of course, as with most sports, it doesn't get easier you just go faster or farther (or technically not on the erg).

Actually, I think mine is more related to piriformis syndrome. I've had a lot of issues over the Summer with tight hamstrings and glutes, and it got to the point where even sitting in the car, or at my desk, for any extended period of time, would cause a strong ache in both glutes.

Sorry for the delay, I'm positive what my splits were... I pulled a 6:17 for Jr National Team testing in Feb/Mar of that year and I did a test about a month before worlds where I pulled a 6:10. I might have been 169-172 at that point, but I never got above 172 in High School. This was my Junior year of HS.