By the way, did you ever get ErgData on your phone and link it to your online C2 log?

I did. Thank you. I couldn’t make it work with the old machine but since I got the new machine a few months back I’ve got it all going on.

Erg data, connect my polar heart strap etc etc. makes

You’re right that it makes a huge difference.

What’s your name on the C2 log - it would be good to connect as training partners - I’m interested to see what your session charts look like

Makes sense and I’m genuinely open minded and keen to keep trying different things.

I’m not sure I’ve ever rowed at lower than 17 but I might try a long row at 15 or 16 just to see how it feels. The next three weeks I’m planning on doing a 70 then 80 and then 90 min for my ‘easy distance’ row. (Which is pretty much in my UT2 zone I’d guess)

While with the longer rows in general, my plan is to ‘just row’ and find a rhythm and then think about anything by other than rowing, I might try to start at 18 and then gradually try to drop the rate a little and find a rhythm at a lower rate to see how it goes.

Makes sense and I’m genuinely open minded and keen to keep trying different things.

I’m not sure I’ve ever rowed at lower than 17 but I might try a long row at 15 or 16 just to see how it feels. The next three weeks I’m planning on doing a 70 then 80 and then 90 min for my ‘easy distance’ row. (Which is pretty much in my UT2 zone I’d guess)

While with the longer rows in general, my plan is to ‘just row’ and find a rhythm and then think about anything by other than rowing, I might try to start at 18 and then gradually try to drop the rate a little and find a rhythm at a lower rate to see how it goes

I sent you a training partner request on C2, and also PM'd you my email in case you sending me a request is technically easier.

Weights

4x4- bench 90kg
4x6 seated (backless) Press - 45kg
3x12 DB row 22.5kg DB
3x8,8,8 DB Triceps Extension 12.5kg, Barbell Curl 40kg, DB curl, 12.5kg

a few hours later I decided to do a little trial of lower drag, low sr

20 mins 4684m at 2.08/500m, sr 16, ave hr 135, peak hr 141

It's not scientific because I was trialling both a lower drag AND a low sr at the same time but found it fairly meh to be honest. really didn't feel i got value for my strokes at all and had to rip really hard. almost felt like I was endangering my knees and tendons pulling so hard.

I think I can get behind a stroke rate this low and I'll try it for one of my longer rows, but not sure I'll row at a drag this low again

Okay sorry, I typed that in a hurry. Most people = experienced rowers who are not training for on the water and are knowledgeable.

I'm only replying because I thought of a constructive way for you to show us whether 130 is right for you. I'm not saying it isn't, but I *suspect* it might be. Take a picture of an average force curve when you're doing UT2 at 130. I don't mean the best one when you concentrate, but the average one where you're going at target pace. Post it here.

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowe...he-force-curve
https://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blo...e-curve-graph/

What I suspect yours looks like is the ideal (since your technique is pretty good) but flatter. If it looks like the ideal curve in the link, then 130 for UT2 might very well be spot on for you.

Makes sense; you're going to have to generate more power per stroke AND transition faster/stronger from the recovery to the drive to catch up to the flywheel - no wonder it felt harder.

thumb

i did look at this once before a few months ago...probably after a similar suggestion by you. albeit I didn't have erg data connected, (which I suspect might help) so I didn't really do much with it other than look at it while rowing and I thus didn't get much from it.

I'll have a look at it in more detail

4x1000m, 5r

first time doing this session in 5 weeks and more importantly, the first time doing a full blast session since I broke my foot 15 days ago

ave time 3.24.5 which is 1.42.2/500m, sr 29, drag 122

an improvement of 1.6 seconds per interval or 0.8/500m on my previous fastest time

Time Meters Pace Watts S/M HR

13:38.3 4,000m 1:42.2 327 29 170

3:24.7 1,000m 1:42.3 326 29 166
3:24.7 1,000m 1:42.3 326 29 170
3:24.4 1,000m 1:42.2 328 29 172
3:24.5 1,000m 1:42.2 327 30 174

wow, just wow.

wasn't expecting an improvement like this at all. With the injury and the week off, I didn't have much confidence in my fitness and I went into the workout desperate just to beat my previous splits by 0.1/500m. I would have been delighted with that.

my warm up was a little quicker than I'd planned - did 2k in 2.04/500m and actually dropped the drag a little from 125 to 122 because my legs felt heavy and tired.

nerves sent me out too fast in the first interval and I was at 1.29.9/500 after the first 10 strokes. managed to slow down and get into a rhythm but for all four intervals, I followed the same pattern of getting through 500m in about 1.40.5 average and then slowly winding it down. so if I look at my heart rate splits for each of them, the hr doesn't rise in the final 250m.

174 is the highest hr I've seen on the erg since I started wearing my chest strap and it was clearly higher than the last session for each interval.

my toe was actually fairly painful a few times and I could feel myself favouring my right leg a little. I'll need to be careful with this and be sure to even out the pressure on my feet when I'm doing my distance rows later in the week.

still. we're back on course

Nice, that's a huge jump! Do you think some time off actually helped, like an unintentional taper?

I don’t think so although the thought has crossed my mind.

My training had been going really well before the injury and I was confident that I had some good improvements in my times when I next hit the time trials. Without getting into the debate again, maybe the increased drag helped too but idk

Only one session though and maybe I just had a good day.

That's a pretty unreal time for that piece - great job!

ty. I think of all these, the 4x1 is my happy place.

do you miss doing these interval sessions?

Still hitting training PRs even with time off? Suspicious to say the least, maybe he on the lance armstrong regimen. Will keep an eye on this data.

I'll take that as a compliment

in a desperate attempt to relieve the boredom and keep things interesting, I dropped the weights and did higher reps today. I didn't have much time, so just did supersets too

5x10-80kg bench ss with 5x12 DB row 22.5kg
5x8 40kg seated backless press ss with 5x12 seated hammer curl

the combination of limited equipment at home plus not being able to plant my feet properly to lift standing up due to my broken foot means the lifting is really meh and I'm not enjoying it or attacking it at all

still...good that I can do something to keep things ticking over in this interminable lockdown. and happy overall that I've trained almost every day since I broke my foot

long (for me at least) interval session today

3000m 5r
2500m 5r
2000m

did it at 120 drag

Time Meters Pace Watts S/M hr

27.42.1 7504m 1.50.7 257 25 171

11:05.6 3,004m 1:50.7 257 24 165

9:14.2 2,500m 1:50.8 257 25 172

7:22.3 2,000m 1:50.5 259 26 174

first time doing this and I'd love it to be the last. I know I need to do the longer intervals but they're a real struggle for me mentally.

I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it and so I actually kept my options open to turn this into a 5k PR attempt because my target pace is almost identical to my current 5k PR and I figured...if I didn't want to go through with the workout, an acceptable 'easy way out' would be to strap myself in at 3k in the first interval and go for a PR. I do think I've got a good 5k PR in me already now, although I'm not sure if it was in play today or not (it was 28 degrees C here today...first warmish day of Spring) but I decided to commit to the programming and save the PR attempt for another day.

either way, not a pleasant workout, but I hope it did me some good. 4 weeks and 3 days til my state championships

This was one of my least favorite ones; I just checked and a 1:52 pace was the best I ever did, so 1:50 seems pretty great to me. Impressive that you're keeping this up with the injury!

Endurance interval sessions are indeed the worst, and I've got one today so I'll be empathizing even more in about six hours.

+1

thoughts and prayers. I think if paste was crueller, he’d have made that session 2, then 2.5 and then 3k. Not sure I could have managed it psychologically in that instance

Hey have you ever heard a rattle and a clunking noise at the catch with your machine?

I don’t think there’s something wrong with my erg because it wasn’t happening when I was rowing slowly but can’t be certain what was causing it. Not sure if my stroke was so long that I was reaching the end of the chain or if my stroke was too violent and the pull was uneven and causing the chain to rattle?

Idk

Thanks and I’m definitely lucky that it’s the metatarsal attached to the pinky and not a bone in the middle of the foot.

tbh the pain has been manageable - probably the only time I almost had to stop was in the 4x1k the other day when I had some fairly sharp stabbing pain type moments but I managed to push harder through my instep on that foot and it made it a lot easier

Definitely blessed though - I would have been super miserable if I’d had to give up my goal

70 mins steady distance. 10 minutes longer than I've ever rowed before!

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR

1:10:00.0 16,576m 2:06.6 172 892 17 154

14:00.0 3,324m 2:06.3 174 897 19 143
28:00.0 3,339m 2:05.7 176 905 18 149
42:00.0 3,350m 2:05.3 178 911 18 162
56:00.0 3,311m 2:06.8 171 890 17 160
1:10:00 3,254m 2:09.0 163 860 17 160


I'm happy to have grinded through this, but it was a bit of a grind in comparison with recent 60 min efforts. I was watching the NFL while rowing and all I was focusing on was my rhythm, but you can see from the splits that I tailed off at the end. My average heart rate stabilised and even dropped a little over the final 25 mins, so I think this was an all over body fatigue more than a cardio/engine thing. Did this 18 hours after yesterday's intervals in the middle of the day, I didn't feel particularly zippy throughout and I'd increased the drag to 128 which may also have something to do with it.

Still...money in the bank, we got it done and we move onto the next session.

so I switched screens for a few mins to look at the curve and it does look I'd say 90% like the 'ideal' curve in both the links. the only differences are...it's potentially a little longer/flatter (although it's hard to truly compare without photos) and there's actually a tiny kink/rise 80-90% of the way through the stroke.(imagine a short rise of 20m while continuing your descent down a 500m hill. Guessing there's a tiny extra power generation as I pull my body back and potentially pull a little more with my arms just before the catch

obviously to be of any real value, I need to look at it when I'm doing different stroke rates, different efforts and at different drags which...I'm not a lock to do, but it's a useful tool for sure