yup. It's great crossover with cycling. and also helps offset some of the (potentially) negative effects of being constantly bent over. It's not a direct crossover to swimming, but since it does engage your upper body it's almost certainly better than nothing.

If you actually understand the technique - which it sounds like you may, it's great. It's a nice, non-impact, total body aerobic workout. What's not to like? Pretty much any shorter cycling workout can be adapted to rowing. Swapping your 2K(ish) watts for FTP is a reasonably proxy until you get a sense of how you want to train. In college, I rowed exclusively by /500m split. But now, with so much time using a powermeter, I train almost exclusively by watts.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Thanks. I think the 1st order of business is learning how to use the machine (Concept 2) because I can’t seem to catch soon enough as the freewheel is still spinning when I push back and decide what metric to follow: stroke per min, 500m average, or maybe watts (haven’t seen it yet but maybe that goes to reading the user manual).

I don’t think the gym staff has much familiarity with the machine, they go largely unused.

You can row some during the regular season as well, just not as much as in the offseason.

If you are concerned about injuries, I suggest using the OarTec DX, which is a lot smoother than the Concept2:

https://www.oartec.com/dynamic-rowing/

I've also found that strength training complements rowing nicely (squats, deadlifts, power cleans)

before i started cycling rowing was what i did to cross-train and on the numerous occasions i was injured from running. When i wrecked my plantar fascia and didn't run for months i would do things like a half-marathon TT on the rower. Currently in the middle of getting my 17 year old concept2 model C functional after leaving the batteries too long. My 21 year old son (who has 34 years on me plus height and weight advantages) and i are going to see who can do the best over a few distances after several weeks of training. Hoping i lose (but not by much).

as a shout out - Concept2 have been extremely helpful in discussions on what i need and how to fit stuff to the old machine. i think it cost me $720 new in the early 2000s - and is some of the best money I've spent on exercise equipment. Even now the latest versions are only about $1000 new...which seems very reasonable given they can sell all they make.

i made the mistake of looking at the world records by age. Some incredible performances by very old people.

Hey, I exclusively row on watts vs pace because its just something I can relate to. I think my form rowing is pretty good now, but I would say its more like my 1000m rowing power that translates to bike FTP. It may be because I am still recovering from a disc injury so my core is still not quite as strong as my legs or arms! At this point I don't think the gap would be technique related!

I’m liking rowing because without racing to punctuate training with downtime/resting on laurels of mediocrity, too much of the same is wearing on my 50+ body.

Rowing feels different enough to be different in a productive way. I have enough friends with torn up knees and shoulders trying to relive glory days on the soccer pitch or throwing fast balls so I’ll make it a long term project.

Once Covid ends I suspect there will be a buyers market for Concepts!

Balance the 3 metrics. Rowing is a power sport, so if you record your heart rate, don't necessarily row by HR. I row by pace and measure it against my RPE and HR. Stroke rate for traditional rowers is important. For those of us using it 2x a week as cross training, less so. Think of it as cadence in cycling. You can stroke 18 and 1:45/500m pace which would be whacking your muscles as you'd be pulling really hard. Alternatively, you can stroke at 25 and hold the same pace, working your aerobic system harder.


Be sure you have the right drag setting (130-135 for guys). Just make sure it is consistent.

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/training/tips-and-general-info/damper-setting-101


By no means am I experienced or terribly knowledgeable, but I've learned from a few friends who rowed in actual boats at a high level.

Edit: Plenty of good technique videos on youtube. If you're having trouble with the catch, it could be a few things. Remember the order of operation on rowing. Push the handle past your knees on the recovery. Hard to explain in words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPvYrfyGHi8&ab_channel=Concept2NewZealand

Edit 2: Remember rowing is really a PUSH exercise (legs), and secondarily pull (back/hinge/arms).

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"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Check out darkhorse rowing on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/...PuX_lIPyxu0U2iwhhBZg