The concept 2 has gotten mixed reviews on slowtwitch. Some love it some hate it. Has anyone tried the Rowperfect?It is another rowing ergometer that is supposed to be much smoother than the concept 2, and more like rowing on the water. Last time I checked with the US distributor, they said it should be available in the US by early next year.
that machine makes no sense to me, despite the former rower’s endorsements. it does not mimick what happens in a boat. in a boat, the footstretchers are stabilized and the seat slides up to the stretchers, just like how it works on the Concept 2.
the Concept 2 is not the reason why people here give mixed reviews. people give mixed reviews here because we are triathletes trying to get better at triathlon, not trying to get better in rowing.
C2 is the standard, there is nothing better. The Model D is fantastic and the price is hard to beat.
Dave in VA
The concept 2 has gotten mixed reviews on slowtwitch. Some love it some hate it. Has anyone tried the Rowperfect?It is another rowing ergometer that is supposed to be much smoother than the concept 2, and more like rowing on the water. Last time I checked with the US distributor, they said it should be available in the US by early next year.
that machine makes no sense to me, despite the former rower’s endorsements. it does not mimick what happens in a boat. in a boat, the footstretchers are stabilized and the seat slides up to the stretchers, just like how it works on the Concept 2.
the Concept 2 is not the reason why people here give mixed reviews. people give mixed reviews here because we are triathletes trying to get better at triathlon, not trying to get better in rowing.
In a boat the footstretchers are not stabilized with respect to the ground, the boat speed is constantly fluctuating. Concept II actually makes an add-on for their erg to make it work like the Rowperfect. I’ve never personally tried it but apparently it really does feel alot more like rowing on the water.
http://www.concept2.com/us/products/accessories/slides.asp?bhcp=1
I agree that the machine is not the reason the Concept II gets mixed reviews here. I think it is largely that most former rowers just simply never want to see an erg again.
the rowperfect makes a lot of sense, i trained on one for a year and noticed an vast improvement in my slide control, to a non rower the C2 machine i is easier, because you don’t need to be able to row ‘correctly’ in order to make it work.
on a rowperfect, your power delivery sequence must be the same as what works in a boat or else you will hit the ends of the rail.
the C2 slider system comes close, but its not quite as good as RP.
Where were you able to use it? Do you know if the cost is comparable to the Concept 2?
A new C2 and slides are still likely cheaper than a Rowperfect. At least a couple years ago those used to cost a whole lot of $$ more than the C2.
IMO Just get a C2. It’s what all the elite rowers train on, Crash-bs are held on C2s, it’s a fair substitute for on the water rowing, and if you have future plans to row competitively, you’re gonna have to spend most of your time on the water anyway, so for that purpose, it doesn’t much matter what erg you use. Just don’t think erging will make you faster at triathlon-- that’s a silly concept which completely ignores the principle of ‘specificity’.
…Just don’t think erging will make you faster at triathlon-- that’s a silly concept which completely ignores the principle of ‘specificity’.
We all know about specificity of training, and doing rowing marathon training is not the best training for a running marathon.
So why cross-train? If you can run and run forever without overuse injuries, that’s great. Unfortunately, that doesen’t work for me. I have to limit the amount of running that I do to avoid shinplints. So why not just do more cycling and swimming? Because IMO neither is a good substitute for the intensity you get from running. Cycling uses a limited ROM in the legs and swimming is mostly upper body. Do I think that rowing is better for tri training than running? NO, but it’s not a “silly” concept for me. It is a good way to mix my training and avoid an overuse injury.
Hey- have at it! I actually did a bunch of marathons when I was rowing, and yes you do get a lot of cross-over fitness, I wasn’t running that much slower then than I am now. My non-running rower BF runs 18min 5k’s off of just rowing and no running, and I know lots of NT rowers who are able to crank out a good run. However, in all those cases, people get injuries since they spend their time rowing and then go off and run hard (aerobic engine bigger than what your legs are used to). IMO You’d be better off tempering your legs with slowly increased running mileage or finding the biomechanical substrate for your shinsplints.
IMO You’d be better off tempering your legs with slowly increased running mileage or finding the biomechanical substrate for your shinsplints.
I can’t disagree with that. That’s a work in progress. Different running shoes, different surfaces (concrete is the worst for me), very, very gradual increase in miles. Strength training for the tibialis anterior, stretches to promote foot and ankle flexibility. All these things are helping, but I’m still only running about 2 to 3X/week–trying to have optimal recovery between runs.
as a former U23 level lightweight rower i cannot undertand where all of the neg talk about rowing comes from in regards to triathlon. there is a HUGE amount of crossover between the two. i know a great deal of rowers that can crank out killer run and bike times from rowing alone, and a few that have also trianed very seriously for triathlon and have had some of their best bike or run splits off of this training rather than their tri trainiing. this will not work for everyone, but it does help.
there is a HUGE amount of crossover between the two. i know a great deal of rowers that can crank out killer run and bike times from rowing alone, and a few that have also trianed very seriously for triathlon and have had some of their best bike or run splits off of this training rather than their tri trainiing. this will not work for everyone, but it does help.
It probably depends on the level that one is aiming for. Most triathletes I know would be very happy if they could do an 18min 5K, and as pointed out earlier many rowers can do that just from the crossover benefit. It might be different story if you’re going for an elite level performance in a triathlon. That is where the specificity of training may be more important.
For me it’s a great way to break up the monotony of S/B/R. Help maintain aerobic benfit without the repetitive impact from running. I might also consider XC skiing, but it’s not easy to do in Florida.