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We’ve seen a lot of creativity this year, as regattas, fitness competitions and organized sporting events have had to adjust due to the coronavirus outbreak. There have been virtual events and competitions popping up all over the world and we’ve been amazed at the lengths people have gone to keep us connected and active during these crazy times.
The USRowing Virtual Fall is currently underway and was created to help the rowing community stay connected, compete in virtual regattas, and have the chance to win prizes. They’ve partnered with five of the nation’s largest head races, and others, to come up with 16 great events. The Head Of The Charles Regatta® has gone completely remote with an on water event, a participatory RowErg event and a live RowErg race open to all! Now’s your chance to compete in the premier US regatta.
We’ve put together a few tips and tricks that will help you build your rowing strength and speed, either in preparation for one of the many virtual rowing events, Concept2’s online challenges, or for your own general fitness and satisfaction.
Get the Flywheel Spinning: On the first stroke of your workout, the flywheel is at a dead stop; it is strenuous on the body to immediately pull at race pace with full strokes. Instead, start with several short, quick strokes. This can help get you get to your target pace faster.
Cheat your Rest: Interval workouts incorporate periods of intense rowing with periods of rest. An example would be including a ten minute row with 30 seconds at race pace followed by 90 seconds rest. If you start the “30 seconds at race pace” on a stopped flywheel, it will take a few seconds to get started and find your race pace. These seconds at wildly variable paces will affect your average pace. So how do you ensure that you hit your race pace for at least 30 seconds? Start rowing before your 90 seconds of rest are up. Using five strokes to “build” into race pace is less strenuous on the body than trying to haul on the first stroke. This strategy also ensures that you’re at race pace for the entire interval. It may sound “harder” to have less rest, but your workout will be more productive and your intervals will more accurately reflect your racing ability. Cheating on rest is only cheating the clock, not your fitness!
Up Two, Down Two: On strenuous workouts, it is easy to lose focus and fall into technique errors. Be your own coxswain, and be mindful of changes you can make to improve your stroke when the numbers on the Performance Monitor are slipping from where you would like them to be. A helpful reminder is called “Up Two, Down Two”: focus on bringing up the strokes per minute on the drive by two, but relax the speed of the recovery by two. To speed up the drive, firm up the pressure in the legs and accelerate the hands into the body. On the recovery, relax on the slide and breathe. Overall, the stroke rating should stay the same. (In fact, if the stroke rating increases, you have not relaxed the recovery enough!) The improved ratio should emphasize your efforts into the drive while making the recovery more comfortable.
Rule of Tens: Rowers use “Power Tens” to focus their efforts by counting a series of ten strokes. When and how is this helpful on the RowErg? Concept2’s Meredith Breiland offers this explanation: “Mentally, I calculate 10 strokes for every 100 metres. So if I have 300 metres to go, that is approximately 30 strokes (or three Power Tens). I find that this math approximates well at a 2:00/500m pace, even if my strokes per minute (s/m) vary. As every good coxswain knows, it also helps to pad a few extra strokes to the finish than to have to add in a few more when the crew is mentally done. (A strong sprint finish also brings the spm up, which adds a few more strokes.) Find out what math works best for you and your rowing ability. I love to cut and slice my workouts into manageable mental bits. Depending on the workout, the last 300 metres of my workout may be managed in any number of ways”:
“Only thirty strokes to go, let’s count them out as three Power Tens!”
“Relax and breathe for 10 strokes, then take 2 strokes to bring up the stroke rate, and finish strong with two Power Tens.”
“Hang on for 200 more metres; don’t even look at the Performance Monitor. Then sit up and GO! Fifteen big strong strokes!”
“Stay at this stroke rating for 100 metres, then bring it up 2 spm for 100 metres, then bring it up higher for the last 100 metres.”
What are some of the mental games you play to get you through a workout? Get creative, and you may find that you can get through those tough strokes just a little bit easier.
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The Performance Monitor 5 (PM5) is your trusty workout partner that comes with every BikeErg, SkiErg and RowErg. You can set up a wide range of workout types and the PM5 will keep track of time and distance and numbers of intervals—while also displaying instant feedback on your performance. You can also set up workouts of a pre-set time or distance as well as intervals, or choose from a variety of preprogrammed workouts.
Here are some examples:
Pre-Set Distance Workout: The advantage of a pre-set distance workout is that the PM5 will count down the meters until you are done. Somehow, this makes it harder to quit early or to go a shorter distance! By setting the distance before you start, you’ve made your commitment. In addition, when you do this workout a second time, your goal can be to beat your first time. It’s a great incentive!
Pre-Set Timed Workout: Decide how long you want your workout to be, then enter the time on the PM5. It will count down the pre-set time until you are done. As with pre-set distance, once you set up the workout, you are committed. Each time you do this workout, your goal can be to row more meters than you did the previous time.
Interval Workout: Interval workouts use alternating periods of work time and rest time to allow you to reach higher intensities than you generally would in a long steady workout. Research shows that intervals are a very effective training tool for all ages. They can also make for a very time-efficient workout. The work interval can be specified in either time or distance, as can the rest interval. Rest is usually taken as slow, easy effort, but one may also choose to get off to stretch if desired.
Once you get comfortable setting up workouts, the possibilities are endless. And when you find workouts that you really like, you can save them as ‘favorites’ on your PM5.
Here’s a collection of favorite SkiErg® workouts from the Concept2 Team. They range in length from 20 to 45 minutes.
Suggested warm-up for all workouts: 5-10 minutes of skiing, starting easy and gradually adding some 15-30 second bursts of harder effort.
Suggested cool-down for all workouts: At least 5 minutes of easy skiing.
1. Short-rest intervals: 40 seconds hard/20 seconds easy. (OR 200m hard/20 sec easy; OR 10 Calories/20 seconds easy)
- Start with a set of 10 of these intervals.
- Take a 3 minute break.
- Do a second set of 10 intervals.
- Still feeling good? Do another set! But two sets is usually plenty.
2. SkiErg Pyramid: 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 minutes with equal rest
- Ski 1 minute hard, rest 1 minute; ski 2 minutes hard, rest 2 minutes, and so on.
3. 3-minute pieces, increasing intensity
- Ski 3 minutes at a comfortable intensity, noting your average pace.
- Rest with 2 minutes of easy skiing.
- Ski 3 minutes again, aiming for an average pace that’s a couple seconds per 500 faster than your first 3 minute piece.
- Rest again for 2 minutes.
- Repeat these 3 minute pieces, gradually increasing your intensity, until you can’t continue to increase it.
4. 1000m x 3-5 repetitions
- Ski your first 1k at a comfortable conversational pace.
- Rest 2-3 minutes.
- Increase your intensity for the next 1k.
- Then try to maintain the same pace for another 1-3 pieces.
We’re many months into the COVID-19 pandemic, which mean some of our early fitness goals may be fading. It can be hard to stay motivated while working out at home. Here are 7 ways to jump-start your fitness as winter approaches: