Rowing machine times

[RoyalStallion]

I walk a bit but otherwise I’m not good at keeping up exercise, it’s been decades since I went to a gym or ran.

Ive decided, obviously, this needs to improve. I got on a rowing machine this morning. 2k in just under 12 min, I felt quite energetic! Looking online this is apparently appalling and expected for a 90yr old man!

Would others mind sharing their rowing time when they started to help me gauge my fitness? It feels surprisingly bad….

I HATE the rower but see if you can get someone to show you the right technique- that does make all the difference.
Watching the time per 500 metres helps me to keep pace and I very rarely do 1000m as I hate it so much. But, I can do it in under 5 minutes now and I think I was about six minutes the first time I timed myself.
Not to show you up at all but it does sound like your technique is the trouble rather than your fitness.

I'd love to see a 90yr old man do it in 12 minutes. How do they KNOW this?!

I row at 2:20 per 500m on longer rows, so a little over 9 minutes for 2k.

DH rows at 2:00, I’m late 30s.

Technique matters a lot in rowing, both for times and to avoid injury, are you sure you have good form?

The condition of the machine makes a big difference too, it’s really hard to do good times on a rattly one.

Finally, it’s using muscles in a different way to other exercises, so takes time to build up.

My advice is to aim to work up to longer
rows, with a proper warm-up and cool-down at each end, concentrate on technique, and do not chase a high pace or fast times. Those things will come naturally.

The Concept II site lists all records by age, sex, and weight category.

it is a lot about technique. My DD was an elite level rower. And the GB cut off time for an athlete to go to trials was about 7:10 for a 2K.

I was not a good rower and mine was about 9 mins. 😃

The men’s’ time was poss 6:10. Although not sure.

@Tiffan They know because rowers are obsessed with statistics! And unlike many other sports there actually are people still rowing in their late 80s (and uploading their stats!)

To answer the OP’s question, when I started my stats were not too dissimilar from yours. You’ll improve very quickly in the first few months, especially if you improve your technique. Check out Dark Horse rowing on YouTube for good technique videos. I can row 2k in just under 9 minutes now, but that is apparently still pretty mediocre for someone my age....Good thing I’m only competing with myself 😄

@ImmigrantAlice oh I see - so that was a record for a 90yr old man. Not that it's expected of a 90yr old man? That makes more sense!!

There is a welsh lady called Val who holds world rowing records at indoor and she is 94!!!

On the concept 2 site there is, or used to be, a training programme starting from about 10 mins.

With rowing it’s not always all about speed though, it depends on your goals and how high you have the resistance set at. It’s much easier to go fast with very low settings.

Rowing slower for longer is better for weightloss for example, and some rowers are not primarily concerned with cardio fitness. Also different types of machine will give different types of resistance and therefore times. If you are going to row a marathon then you won’t be going full tilt from the start and will have a higher split than someone only doing 500m.

Rowing is classed as a full-body workout so keeping fit by walking won’t be as much help with rowing as it would for cycling or running.

I tend to do 8k about 3 times a week on maximum resistance. When I started I couldn’t do more than 1k on medium resistance.

Really you should only be in competition with yourself.

With rowing it’s not always all about speed though, it depends on your goals and how high you have the resistance set at. It’s much easier to go fast with very low settings

This is a basic error that many people make. The damper on a rowing machine is NOT resistance. This is a quote from Concept 2 (who are the gold standard of rowing machines and what almost all competitive rowers use for training):

Damper Setting is not resistance. The damper controls the air flow into the flywheel. It affects the feel of the stroke, but does not directly determine the resistance—which is generated by the speed of the rotating flywheel. A setting of “10” is not “better” nor indicating strength or speed.

More info here:
www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/training/tips-and-general-info/damper-setting-101

In simple terms, the damper helps replicate how it feels rowing in different boats. On a low setting, it's like you're in a single or pair in a light racing boat whereas in a high setting it's more like being in a heavy eight.

Lots of people (especially men!) who don't know anything about rowing let their egos get involved and put their damper on 10 because they think it's "the highest resistance". I see this all the time in my gym and it just makes me laugh as it shows their ignorance. Just FYI those indoor world rowing records are done at a damper setting of 5.

If you're not use what setting to use, start on 4 or 5 and see how it feels. Don't be intimidated by people putting it up to 8, 9, 10. (Serious rowers look at the drag factor to tell them what damper setting works best for them and it's often around 4).

(I'm a former international rower).

Came on to echo what @HundredMilesAnHour said about the damper settings as it's not like the C2 bike damper and will depend on the maintenance of the machine for drag etc.

I row 5k at 2.15 per 500m and would generally hold round about 2 mins per 500m for short stints in a workout or up to 2.20/2.25 if it's a longer workout with lots of other movements so using the row as "recovery". My technique definitely needs work though as I know I revert back to a high stroke rate under fatigue (and I'm short so I tend to have a higher stroke rate anyway!)

We’ll, I listened to technique and splits and tried again. The difference was wow!
yesterday was 11:55 and this morning I did 2k in 10:15! I think I could push harder too, I sped up when I realised the difference.

Well done!

Nice work @RoyalStallion Try not to stress too much and just focus on each stroke and the time will fly by.

I usually row for 50mins-1 hour (on damper 5) and am very casual for my first 20 mins. I don't even look at the screen. I'm just daydreaming and thinking about my job and whatever random stuff is going through my head. And then the endorphins kick in and I find some focus and settle down to work then. Still always thinking about each stroke (due to habit from rowing club days and the constant quest for perfection).

By the end of the hour, my average pace for the period works out around 2:25/500m and I maintain a stroke rate around 22-24 the entire time. For me these days rowing is more about mental benefits and a longish slow row is a good way to clear my head. Focussing on each stroke means it almost becomes mindful/meditative. Unless someone has really pissed me off, in which case I'll put some power down and have a good thrash until I'm panting and need to ease off. Sucks getting old!😜

That's a huge difference, well done

Thank you, it felt good!

I think yesterday I put a lot of power into rowing against the natural rhythm. Today I went more with the natural flow of the wheel and I guided in comparison to yesterday.

Feels like there’s a bit more hope for my fitness. I’m in my late 40s now and I’ve become aware it’s a bit now or never with muscle bulk, balance and strength. Once it’s gone it’s gone.

A bit of structure to erg sessions is what you need to really get the most out of it.
Try a few weeks of building endurance - long relatively easy rows of 30min and more at a steady stroke rate - find what is comfortable - mine is around 2:25/500m at 20 spm - I'm mid 40s, 2k of 8:35 but I'm also only 5ft 2.
Then once you have built that endurance, you can mix it up with more intervals and sprint sessions. The concept website sends out a 'workout of the day' which is great for trying different things.
But what is VITAL is getting good technique - plenty of videos about this around, I really like Training Tall on insta etc - leading with strong drive off legs then torso swing then arms, then a steady slower return ready for the next stroke.
The erg is the best full body workout I think, and the concept 2 rower has so much data to share, you can really see rapid progress.
I always have my damper set around 5/6 - no point in going to either extreme IMO.

But in a nutshell, technique, consistency and efficiency matters way more in terms of building strength and fitness than any actual times, so work on that.
Try first to maintain a consistent low stroke rate (20 or 22 maybe) for ten or fifteen minutes. Then see where your split time is - might be 3:00/500m.
Then focus on maintaining that split time and stroke rate over longer times, then gradually aim to reduce that split time down by a couple of seconds without speeding up your stroke rate.
Then just before the boredom kills you and you swear never to go near an erg again, find some nice interval workouts which are over quickly and a lot more fun! Then back to endurance ;-)

Are you still rowing op?

im a couple of months in and really enjoying but my time is still only 2.36 per 500m 😳

I’m just about to start. So am happy to have found this thread. Am up for any hints and tips.

I may be chatting to myself but I don’t care 😀 I watched the Training Tall checklist several times this morning and rowed vvvv slowly to try and get it right. Did 5054m in 30 mins.
It was the first time it actually felt like my legs were doing work as well as my arms and I enjoyed it. Now just need to keep it up.

The rower is my favourite. I'm 50, so I row a bit slow at 2.30/500m, but I'm going to try and improve that. I have the damper at 10, so I've learned that's wrong from reading this thread! Will put it down and see what difference it makes.

You've all motivated me to get back to the rower after some time away! I'm going to look at some of these videos on technique. I won't post times at the moment because I want to get back into it and not feel pressured to get back up to my best times right away. Thank you for the thread.