Does setting Concept2 Lever at 1 or 10 make a difference?
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- čas přidán 1. 08. 2024
- This may be a huge mistake posting this video. Make sure to watch until the end!
I recently made a video about how to get the power into the Concept2 Rowing machine. That if you just adjust your hips, and make sure to push with your legs, you'll go faster.
I made the video with the lever at 5 - which gave me a drag factor of 140. But lots of people asked me to go through the same process with the lever at 10 (233 drag factor on my machine) and 1 (88).
To say the result wasn't what I expected is an understatement. And it's important to point out that the numbers you see would be unsustainable for me for more than about 20 strokes at that setting.
This was all shot in a bit of a rush on my iphone after a bike race through Scotland on Zwift - which is why I'm still in my cycling bib shorts. It's also why most of this is done as voice over, and why the end bit is slightly off mic when it comes to the sound.
00:00 Hello!
00:36 Testing at 1
02:02 Testing at 2
03:26 VITAL BIT OF INFO ABOUT THESE DRAG FACTOR RESULTS!!
🔵🔵🔵 SHOWING SUPPORT FOR ROWALONG 🔵🔵🔵
I've been asked a few times about the best way to support what I'm doing. Honestly, the best way is just to watch and subscribe using this link: / @rowalong )
More views lead to more views - and I'm really just interested in getting more people on board to RowAlong with. (Make sure to click the notification bell to be alerted when I upload new workouts)
That said, I know that there are some people who want to show their support financially, and as much as I've shied away from giving out links to this before - I've been advised to at least provide the links - to stop someone spoofing me!! So....
Patreon: / rowalong
PayPal: www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_...
But seriously - just keep watching, that's all I ask!!
🔵🔵🔵
This workout is provided as usual WITHOUT MUSIC. If you want music, why not load up another CZcams tab, or maybe Soundcloud and pick your own tunes. As always, follow me for stroke rate. And I'll keep you company for the row with training tips, technique tips, and my usual general waffle.
For more information about drag factor, the plans and what this is all about, head to www.rowalong.com For more about indoor rowing in general, go to www.indoorrowinginfo.com
See you in the next video.
ℹℹℹℹℹℹ - 2K training paces are based on your current best performance to row 2000m. Set your monitor to 2000m and row it as fast as you can. When you're finished either look at the memory screen for that row, and note the Average /500m pace - or just divide your time by 4 to find that out.
For instance - if you rowed your 2000m in 8:20 - the average pace for 500m is 2:05. It doesn't matter if you started at 1:50 and then slowed down to 2:20 by the end - your average across the whole row is 2:05.
So when I give a pace guide saying "2K + 18 seconds" - that means that you take your 2K time, and add 18 seconds to it (in the above example, 2:05 + 18 = 2:23 pace.) Just be sure to set your monitor so it displays your /500m pace so you can stay on target.
Every time you think you're getting faster, rather than just arbitrarily changing the pace guide - do another 2000m test to find your current 2K average time - and then work from that. ℹℹℹℹℹℹ
==================What I use==================
(Affilliate Links):
**Rowing**
amzn.to/3cIjma7 Concept 2 Rowing Machine
amzn.to/3tjtV96 Polar H7 Heart Rate Sensor
amzn.to/3rcCJfa Concept 2 Phone Holder
amzn.to/3cufucm Jabra 65t Elite Earbuds
amzn.to/3tgeKxB Dyson Fan
amzn.to/3tfb9Qr Macbook Pro for RowPro software
www.rowalong.com/shop T-shirts
**Recommendations**
amzn.to/3yaTgU0 Powlabs Heart Rate Transmitter
amzn.to/3rbe5eT Polar H9 Heart Rate Sensor
amzn.to/3pFG1Hs Polar H10 Heart Rate Sensor
amzn.to/36t0rvO Wahoo Tickr Heart Rate Sensor
amzn.to/3rgFIn3 Garmin HRM Dual Heart Rate Sensor
amzn.to/3cpKevg Moofit Heart Rate Sensor
amzn.to/36yXObT Apple Watch
amzn.to/3an2vGW Floor Mat
amzn.to/3akI916 Ski-Erg
amzn.to/3tiWJ1N Bike-Erg
amzn.to/2Ms8iCZ Saris Hammer (For road bike on Zwift)
#hiit #indoorrowing #rowingmachine #burncalories
*for info, RowAlong used to be PDP - but the name was changed to RowAlong in 2020. - Jak na to + styl
It's SOOOOO important that you watch after the result at 10 - as I don't want you to leave thinking you should set the lever to 10!!
A perfect explanation and visual reference of drag factors. 👍
Glad you liked it - I keep making these drag factor videos, hoping eventually they'll help undo years of "I row at 5" nonsense!
Thanks for following thru!
Any time!
Good video. On a trip last year, I found a gym that had a Concept 2 rower, and rowed as a guest. Wth the lever set as high as it would go, I couldn't get the drag factor to 100. It was the filthiest machine I've ever seen, and I insisted that they allow me to show the kids who worked there how to clean it. We scraped dust balls -- heck, a dust carpet -- off the cage. Performance improved considerably. Sometimes, it pays to be the crazy old guy who insists on rowing on well-maintained machines.
The people at the gym I go to kill me. Every time I go to row on any of their 6 rowers, the damper is always on 10. The average person is so misinformed on rowing. They think they're getting a better workout because it's difficult. In reality, keeping good technique and consistent split pace will be more sustainable and have better health longevity.
Excellent video. I used to use a Concept back in the mid '90s, automatically putting the lever on 10 because I didn't know any better and then wonder why I had constant back ache. Then I read an article by Andy Ripley, (England No8 and indoor rowing 2K world record holder for his age), who had had the same problem rowing with the lever at 10 which stopped when he reduced the drag. I tried the same and my back problems disappeared. Now I never row with a drag factor of more than 140.
Thanks for sharing that. I talk about the potential impact when it comes to injury a lot - but I feel a lot of it falls on deaf ears!
The only time I use damper of 10 is on a 100m sprint where form is essentially out the window. I pull the damper down to around 7-8 for a 500m, aiming for a gf of ~170, which still feels maybe a tad strong at times. I do my 2k’s around 140-145. Most steady state rows are done with a DF around 115-120. Like you said, it’s all about injury prevention and longevity. If I row a 2k at damper 10, I’m going to be out of commission for a few days recovering. Great video John 👍🏼
Thanks - and I'm pretty much the same as you here. I won't go to 10 though, as I lose to much time in a 100m row trying to get it up to speed. Around 190 works best for me. BTW - post here is finally back to work again. So I posted your T shirt out yesterday. Hopefully the wait is almost over!
This is awesome.
Thanks! I needed to follow up after yesterday's video, didn't I?
Thanks for the comparison. Just finished the AI Row #2 at DF of 123, just checked to see that most of the 2k plan was around 115.
The trick is to find a setting where you can row happily. And I'd bet hardly anyone would notice the difference between 115 and 123.
Thanks John interesting video. I've been using the C2 set at 1-2, as I'm recovering from a knee ligament injury.
Doesn't bother the injury being on the rower, but still getting a regular exercise session done.
Before the injury was trying each setting for 500m sprints, working up or down the scale, which is a tough (for me) workout.
Thanks for all your content, please keep up the great work.
Thanks for such a kind comment. Just take care of your injury. Take your time building back up - you don't want to over do things too soon and set your recovery back by weeks / months.
Many thanks John for providing some clarity on this topic. Am I right that it’s akin to gears on a bike? People say Chris Hoy could peak at over 2000 watts around a velodrome, and Mark Cavendish can sprint at over 1500 watts, presumably because they had the technique, the muscle power and the ability to handle setting their bikes to the equivalent of a DF of 10. For those of us mere mortals, DFs of 120-130 are about as high a “gear” as we can manage effectively and safely for high intensity sprints, DFs of 110-115 are good for mid tier, and 100-110 for bottom tier rows?
i.e. for cyclists, they keep their cadence at about 80 rpm, and use gears to ramp up/down the pace. For rowers, if we keep the drive speed the same (not strokes per minute), and varied the DF, we’d get the same up/down of pace?
I was told to keep the DF as close to actual water as possible. I was told 125 for men, so #4 on my machine is where it stays and I get a great workout while trying to keep pace over long distances
Yup - and that's something I'd still recommend, especially for people who are training to row on the water. It's hard to argue with the numbers though - albeit just for a few (unsustainable) strokes - the 233 Drag Factor was a LOT faster.
Hello. I'm not surprised by the results as it's like with my bike on the flat when there is no wind. My fastest speeds are in the highest gear but just like with rowing, I cant keep that speed up for long.
After that, we can imagine all sorts of things. A guy who does body building/powerlifting but little cardio work would be able to go even faster but for less time while the cardio guys would be far better off with a lower drag factor.
I row with the lever at 4.5 which today was drag factor 110 (Spotify ep 30 - 2000m Week 3 Session 3). Last time I checked it was 115, must be temperature variation), and that seems to work fine to me.
Regarding the science of drag factor I take it just like Newtons second law, you don't need to understand the formula, You just need to be able to use it...
Haha! Very true. I don't need to know how the internet works - I just use it. As to your machine, it could well be dirt on the 'mesh' around the fan cage. Give it a hoover / wipe and see if that helps.
There are some programs that have most rowing in the appropriate mid-range, but a small amount of "strength" work at +2 and "power" work at -2.
The high drag factor, as you show, can be faster for very short distances, but a lower factor gives better training on how to sustain power for minutes or longer
That you can hit good speed on the lower factor is a very good indicator of technique and efficiency
I really appreciate you demonstrating how the damper lever affects the rate. I was actually surprised to see you could get a similar result at drag factor 1 as at 5. Would you be able to tell me if changing the damper lever (and thus the drag factor) will greatly affect the calories? In CrossFit there will be workouts where we’re trying to complete a given distance in meters as fast as possible and it seems a lower drag factor would allow that with less resistance, but is a higher drag factor better when trying to complete a given number of calories as fast as possible?
It's all the same thing, no matter where you put the lever. If you row at 100W for 1 hour, you'll hit 644kcal. It doesn't matter whether you're at lever 1 or lever 10 - 100W = 644Kcal for an hour.
What the lever DOES do however, is allow you to fight the resistance, and get that power up. So at lever 1, with little resistance, try as I might, I can't really get past 350W - 1:40 pace.
But. If I crank the lever to 10 - I can get down to 1:25 pace - around 570W - which therefore burns calories quicker.
HOWEVER. It's a LOT harder to row at 10 than it is at 1 - so I then run out of muscles and fitness a lot quicker than I would at 1.
The trick, is finding the right setting where you can put in loads of power, but not run out of energy too quick.
Does that help / make sense?
Yes, that makes a lot of sense, thank you!
How about showing 1ks at the same speed and spm to demonstrate the effects of different dampers/ techniques based on effect on hr?
That's a really good suggestion. Especially as I'm not at racing fitness right now, it'll be really revealing. I'll try to do this as soon as I can.
If you want to perform your low intensity rows (low stroke rate) with the same "snappiness" (time for the drive) as your race pace you need to lower your DF accordingly. At low stroke rates the flywheel has more time to decelerate in recovery phase than rowed at race pace. Therefore it's harder to overcome the inertia and can lead to injuries, especially when aging, when DF not adjusted. I tend to lower my DF from 125 for race pace to 100 at UT2.
When I row along to John's fantastic rowalongs I can directly observe the difference in drive speed compared to John's, when I go same pace at low rate rows. I have to recover slower to match.
Hope your get my point. Englisch is not my mother tongue. 😂
Perfect comment. And perfect English!
@@rowalong Still learning. 😂 Keep up your great work. See you soon online.
What do they set drag factor to in competitions?
Whatever you want. The beauty of Concept2 is that it doesn't matter if one person has it on 1 and the next has it at 10 - the monitor knows the drag factor, and calculates the speed so that it's an even race. (Like if two people were racing up a flight of stairs. One does it 1 at a time, the other does it 4 at a time. It's still the same stairs, it's just HOW they do it that's different.)
Hi. I want you to advise me. If my goal is 3 min rows for max distance. What is the best level for me? Last time it was(lever 10) 840m. But I need about 900.
It's not about the machine, it's about how much power you put into it. When you hit 840m, how did it feel? What went first, muscles, or cardio? If you push harder into the machine, you'll go faster. So don't think about altering the settings, think about altering YOUR settings!!
I usually set my damper at 6.5 which results in a 152-156 drag factor. How about you John?
It depends what I'm training for. Every day rowing, around 130 df (on my machine, that's around 5) but for HYROX I'll bump up to 145 (around 6)
@rowalong That sounds good. If I feel like a legs dominated or power row, I will go a little higher, but lower for a timing/flow/feel row.
Okay, *that's* what's going on. I just started rowing. Granted, I've got big legs from cycling, but I've had no problem going 3600m at 10. The machines are obviously dirty.
Well, check the actual drag factor to be sure.... You could just be amazing!!
One more thing -- the only way I think you could have improved this video would be to remind people to set the lever to produce an optimum drag factor for them, depending on their fitness level and the distance and pace they intend to row. I find 125-130 to be my optimum for most workouts. Your mileage may vary.
I think that although I didn't specifically hit the nail on the head for that - I'm hoping my rant at the end did!! Haha. Actually, these two videos are preludes to a bigger one I'm making - which dives a lot deeper into it. I just hope people see it....
Thanks. While C2 is the gold standard, a lot of people have water rowers and others. We’re not all elite athletes. You could increase your content and relevance by publishing videos using one or more of the popular alternatives. Thanks again.
Or you could join the elite and get a concept 2.
@@potterportraits I have physical limitations preventing me from elite status, but I’m doing the best I can and enjoying it.
@BobbieGWhiz fair enough! Personally. I don't care what people row on. I'm just glad to see it gaining popularity again
I totally get what you’re saying. However, bear in mind I don’t charge anything for this. So to lay out £900 (approx) on a water rower is quite a big ask when I get nothing back!! I’m constantly on the lookout for a cheap second hand water rower for exactly this reason though.