Thought we could use a thread for those of us who use a rowing machine. Post up your workouts, software, things you do while rowing (like watching TV or whatever).

I've learned a lot about rowing machine techniques from this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/c/TrainingTall

He's a bit over the top sometimes, but his info is good stuff.

I post my rowing workouts along with my rides and walks on Strava. I just wish there was a rowing equivalent to Fulgaz or Zwift. Something to help pass the time while rowing.

(And shoei, I tried answering your PM, but it says your Inbox is full.)

I enjoy a nice row after my workout as some follow-up cardio. A 2:15/500M is a typical leisurely pace for myself - usually only row for about 15mins or 3000m. 3000m is usually right around 13mins. I've never really focused on it, but it is nice, especially when I'm relatively tight in the mornings. I'll have to see what machines are at my gym, I forget off the top of my head, they're quite nice though!

M_Six wrote

Thought we could use a thread for those of us who use a rowing machine. Post up your workouts, software, things you do while rowing (like watching TV or whatever).

I've learned a lot about rowing machine techniques from this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/c/TrainingTall

He's a bit over the top sometimes, but his info is good stuff.

I post my rowing workouts along with my rides and walks on Strava. I just wish there was a rowing equivalent to Fulgaz or Zwift. Something to help pass the time while rowing.

(And shoei, I tried answering your PM, but it says your Inbox is full.)

Thanks man. You da best.

M_Six wrote

I've learned a lot about rowing machine techniques from this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/c/TrainingTall

He's a bit over the top sometimes, but his info is good stuff.

Thank. I'll have to look at his videos. Another option for videos is Dark Horse Rowing. I also like the Concept2 forum:
https://www.c2forum.com/

Short row this morning after my lift. Spent another 15mins on the stair master following.

Subbing as a newb

Upped the pace a little this morning.

JP10 wrote

Upped the pace a little this morning.

I still haven't figured out what half the shit on the screen means.

I just set the time for 30mins and row straight for 30. The drum dials set on 5. 24-28 strokes.
Heart rate keep it around 140-150.

It's boring as all hell but worth it, lol.

shoei wrote

I still haven't figured out what half the shit on the screen means.

I just set the time for 30mins and row straight for 30. The drum dials set on 5. 24-28 strokes.
Heart rate keep it around 140-150.

It's boring as all hell but worth it, lol.

I'm a rookie myself. I believe my form is pretty good and smooth, but I do row on a high damper setting on purpose. Just because I am looking for more of a muscular fatigue then cardiovascular endurance. Meaning I want my quads to be burning not just to be out of breathe. Though from what I read, rowing on a high damper setting is not "realistic". Meaning in actual rowing the damper is much lower ~4-5.

I don't get bored usually because I am pushing the entire time. If I rowed at 5 damper for 30 mins straight just looking for consistency on strokes then I would probably get a little bored as well.

I wish someone would come up with a program for rowing like Zwift or Fulgaz for indoor cycling. Those two programs make indoor cycling much more enjoyable. I guess there just aren't enough indoor rowers to make such a program financially viable. There are YouTube videos of rowing, but they're just videos with no input from the rower, so you can sit perfectly still and the video keeps playing. In Zwift or Fulgaz, pedaling gets harder on the uphill portions and easier on the downhill parts. And they both run faster or slower depending on how much power you put down. Stop pedaling and the video stops. I use Fulgaz all the time.

M_Six wrote

I wish someone would come up with a program for rowing like Zwift or Fulgaz for indoor cycling. Those two programs make indoor cycling much more enjoyable. I guess there just aren't enough indoor rowers to make such a program financially viable. There are YouTube videos of rowing, but they're just videos with no input from the rower, so you can sit perfectly still and the video keeps playing. In Zwift or Fulgaz, pedaling gets harder on the uphill portions and easier on the downhill parts. And they both run faster or slower depending on how much power you put down. Stop pedaling and the video stops. I use Fulgaz all the time.

Same. Also find it annoying to utilize Strava I have to back door it and it requires other apps. Just not worth it.

I guess it's just row away listening to tunes lol. Although, there's something almost meditating like listening to the drum as you row.

Totally worth it - best workout ever. Only way my heart rate goes higher is when Mercedes drivers are trying to kill me while cycling on the roads of Chicago...

I'm back to rowing again. My younger brother was staying with us from just before Thanksgiving to just after the New Year, so my Pain Cave became his bedroom. Now that he's gone, it's all set up again for riding and rowing. I've started using a program called EXR for rowing. Very much like Zwift for rowers. It works well with the Concept2 rower and Strava and beats the hell out of just looking at the numbers on the PM5 screen.

https://exrgame.com/

aka "erg"

I was on the crew team in HS. My sister rowed for Duke with a girl from Denmark who was in the last olympics, cousin rowed for Harvard & Cambridge as did her husband. Good times.

Fantastic full body workout... I prefer using kettlebells for a similar cardio/weight affect, I get so bored using erg's, takes a lot of focus and discipline. Good on anyone for using one with any regularity!

My wife and I bought a water rower last year. I have to say that we, I enjoy it more than a treadmill, stairclimber, elliptical or stationary bike. It's a good full body workout and easy on an aging body. I'm not sure if our monitor is accurate, if were not working hard enough but my numbers seem pretty low compared to others. I usually do about a 35 minute workout for 5000M, I have good heart rate throughout, and feel that pushing much harder would be excessive.

35min for 5k is pretty good. I'm working my way up to 5k. Last row was 3.8k. I'm not so much concerned with performance numbers as I am with just getting a good workout without screwing up my shoulder muscles (traps), which I've done in the past. I also ride on the trainer, so getting in an hour workout between rowing and riding keeps both exercises fairly short.

M_Six wrote

35min for 5k is pretty good. I'm working my way up to 5k. Last row was 3.8k. I'm not so much concerned with performance numbers as I am with just getting a good workout without screwing up my shoulder muscles (traps), which I've done in the past. I also ride on the trainer, so getting in an hour workout between rowing and riding keeps both exercises fairly short.

My only concern is a good workout that I don't hate doing (I actually like it with headphones and tunes) and no injuries. When we got the thing I did a lot of reading on workouts etc and after I started rowing though my numbers seemed way low compared to what rowing workout sites were suggesting.

I am actually pretty happy with the workout over all. Were in Florida for 2 months right now and kind of miss the workouts, walking a ton though. I do love the 80F weather.

Tonight I did 5250m in 30 minutes on EXR and then 10 miles in 32 minutes on Fulgaz. I'm going to try to keep to the 30 and 30 routine, but I know from trying it in the past it isn't easy.

Slowly getting back into it. EXR makes it easier to slog through 30 minutes.

My biggest issue is slouching. I really have to concentrate to keep my back straight. It all comes down to a weak core, which is why I took up rowing in the first place. I just need to stick with it. Also, when I first started rowing I was too concerned about s/m counts and splits. I was pushing too hard to get the numbers I thought I should have. I ended up torturing my traps and had a nasty sore shoulder/neck issue for weeks. So this time around, I'm just looking for a decent heart rate and slowly watching my split times get better.

Baby steps. Slow but sure progress.

M_Six wrote

My biggest issue is slouching. I really have to concentrate to keep my back straight. It all comes down to a weak core, which is why I took up rowing in the first place. I just need to stick with it. Also, when I first started rowing I was too concerned about s/m counts and splits. I was pushing too hard to get the numbers I thought I should have. I ended up torturing my traps and had a nasty sore shoulder/neck issue for weeks. So this time around, I'm just looking for a decent heart rate and slowly watching my split times get better.

SWING A KETTLEBELL - do a 40 second plank, then do 5 sets of 10 swings with a kettlebell, you will improve your grip, core, legs, back, arms oh and cardio.