moorfield wrote:I did 6km/30 mins today at "7", 25 increasing to 30 s/m, but didn't feel particularly "worked out". I'd like to be able to do a slow stroke rate and feel knackered after 30 mins - any tips ? Technique feels like it's getting better though.
As I say, resistance on a Concept comes from how fast you spin the wheel, and it sounds like you're still setting the fan too high to get an effective workout. It sounds like you should be on a drag factor of no more than 100, maybe 90. Yes it's a bit of a faff normalising the drag factor at the start of a piece, but trust me it's worth it.
The key to a good rowing stroke is really "exploding" at the start of the stroke to really get that wheel spinning, then maintaining a drive, but then really drop it down as you go back up the slide. Don't be like the gorillas who zoom backwards and forwards at the same speed, you need a real contrast between punching the drive phase and then calming down for the recovery phase. Once you start going below 20spm it feels agonisingly slow going forward, so slow you can almost feel the wheels turning, but it's just a question of educating your leg muscles in controlling that forward motion. What is essential is that you don't hang around at the front of the stroke, as soon as you reach the front you are in position and exploding backwards. Think of it like doing leapfrog or riding a Space Hopper, you explode upwards as soon as you reach full compression.
In what follows I assume you have the monitor set to show 500m splits as that's the only mode that matters for Concepts, none of this calorie nonsense. If you're doing 6k in 30m, that implies a steady state split of 2m30s/500m - others can read the following with that in mind and adjust accordingly.
Do 10 strokes at 18spm - no hanging about at the front, just really slow up the slide - at steadystate + 20s (ie splits of 2m50s in your case). Really gentle, just to get you used to how slow you have to go up the slide, concentrate on getting in a really strong position at the front of the stroke - no leaning too far forward, no bum shoving as you go up the slide.
Then 10 strokes at 16spm - so even slower and more controlled up the slide so you feel the contrast even more - but steadystate +5s (2m35s, still comfortable)
Then the same again - 10 strokes at 16spm and steadystate +5 - but close your eyes for strokes 4-7, really feel the rhythm.
Then 10 strokes at 14spm and steadystate -10 (2m20s) - not quite flat out but still really punching the start of the stroke whilst still keeping it even more controlled going forward up the slide.
You're allowed one stroke above the stroke rate per set, any more than that in a set where you can see the monitor and you have to go back to the start.
Then if you like, repeat all 4x10 closing your eyes for strokes 4-7 of all sets.
And I'll repeat - this is about feeling the contrast between the punch at the start of the stroke and the calm of the recovery, also really controlling that slow roll of the wheels going back up the slide so that you're not hanging about at the front of the stroke, you're straight into the next stroke.
Rowing on water means you have to be super-clean and quick at either end of the stroke as otherwise you end up with your oar stuck in the water and catching a crab (Very Bad), so we do a lot of technique work on that and it's one reason why we're a lot more efficient than the average gym gorilla. Quite often after a flat-out Skierg I'll wind down with 500m of gentle technique work on the rower, like without footstraps. It's not easy, so don't expect it to be pretty but without feet in the straps you have to be really quick and clean around the turn to get your weight back onto your feet. You need to be equally clean and quick at the start of the stroke, about the nearest you can do for that is just doing half-slide to stop you faffing about before starting the stroke.