rowing

Most gyms these days have indoor rowers, and of these most popular is the ubiquitous Concept 2. As cardiovascular machines go, the indoor rower is in a class of its own in terms of range of exercise intensities, muscles worked and calories burned. That said, it is also the most frequently misunderstood machine in the gym, and as such is often not used to its full potential.

Damper setting

What is the damper?
The damper selector on the right hand side of the flywheel has settings from 1 to 10. It is understandable that most users set the selector to 10 in the belief that this will equate to a higher resistance and thus more work done, however this is not necessarily the case.

How does it work?
The way the damper works is to vary the air flow through the flywheel, the higher the setting the more air will be pulled through. This has the effect of reducing the speed of the flywheel between each stroke, which leads to a higher requirement of force to it going again on the next stroke.

Maintaining momentum
Consider your first stroke on the rower when it has been standing still for a few minutes - it feels very heavy but once you've put in a few strokes it becomes easier as the flywheel retains some of its momentum. This is because you have to accelerate the flywheel, which takes more energy than simply keeping it going. Think of how a car uses fuel - it is easier (and requires less fuel) for it to keep going along a nice flat road than to have to keep slowing down and speeding up again.

Increased loads through the lower back
The other major down side to a high damper setting is that because it requires more force per stroke, you are repetitively putting your lower back under high loads. With a lower setting, these high loads are only experienced at the very start of the row, until the flywheel is up to speed.

Low damper settings
Conversely, if the damper is set too low it becomes a lot harder to develop enough force to accelerate the flywheel in the first place, and so the benefits gained are significantly reduced.

So why do rowers have dampers in the first place?
The drag (amount of resistance to your stroke) on an indoor rower will vary over time, depending on maintenance of the working parts (most notably the chain), and build up of dust and other debris on the flywheel and housing. There is a feature on the Concept 2 rower that allows you to check your drag factor. If you know the drag factor you normally row at you can make adjustments to the damper setting of any machine to increase or reduce the drag factor to your optimum setting.

What is the best setting to use?
There is no "best setting" when you take into consideration the variations between machines discussed above. However, it is generally suggested that somewhere between 4½ and 5½ is ideal, with the resistance of real water being the equivalent of around 4½. Return to top

Stroke rate (spm)

On an exercise bike or cross trainer, increasing the rpm will ultimately result in an increased speed and more work done. This holds true on the rower, but only if the power per stroke is maintained, and it usually isn't.

It is one of the most commonly made mistake in the gym to assume that a high stroke rate is the key to a good row, and this mistake will at best result in slower times and less efficient rowing, and at worst a serious back injury as technique is compromised in order to attain ridiculously high stroke rates.

Surely rowing quicker will results in a faster speed through?
The simple answer is yes, but only if, as mentioned above, you are able to maintain the power per stroke that you had at slower stroke rates. When you increase the rpm on a bike, your level stays the same (unless you manually take it down at the same time) and so you go faster. This will make you cycle quicker. On the rower however, increasing the spm is usually concomitant with reducing the power per stroke (or level). If you are able to maintain this power per stroke, you will indeed increase your speed, just as you did on the bike!

So how is speed measured then? Speed is a measure of how fast you cover a given distance (common forms are miles per hour, or meters per second). On the rower, the universally accepted measure of speed is time per 500m, expressed as /500m on the console. On the concept 2 you are able to display equivalent measures of work expressed in terms of calories per hour and watts, but by far the most useful is the /500m reading. It is fairly logical that if you row 500m in 3:00minutes you will not be working as hard as if you had rowed it in 2:30minutes.

The only indication of how fast you are going is your /500m reading, and so it is advisable to have this on your console at all times!

Going back to stroke rate for a moment, if you increase your spm and don't notice a drop in /500m (ie an increase in speed) you would be better off rowing at the slower stroke rate. Return to top

Rowing technique

Ideal towing technique may differ slightly depending on who you talk to, but there are several fundamental guidelines that should be followed.

Back position

Throughout the stroke the back should remain straight. This maximises the lever length and enables maximum torque production. Excessive rounding will not only reduce the lever length, but will also compress the discs between the vertebrae of the spine, possibly leading to prolapsed discs (slipped disc).

There are four main phases in the rowing stroke:

The catch is the position you move into to prepare for the next pull. With your body angled forwards and back flat, you should experience a stretch through the hamstrings. Notice how the seat is well back from the foot plate, as to contact them would result in a more upright position of the body and less available extension of the hips.

The drive is initiated with the legs and bum (glutes), the body's main hip extensors. The arms remain straight through this phase as they transfer the force developed by the legs into the rower itself.

When the legs are almost fully straight, the hip angle changes to bring the upper body into a backward leaning position. This uses the erector spinae muscles (low back) and requires a straight back, as discussed above.

Notice also that the head remains upright rather than dropping down. Try focusing on the top of the pace monitor console

The pull through happens with the upper back, shoulders and arms and should only start once the legs are fully extended. Starting this phase early will reduce the efficiency and length of the stroke. The handle should be brought in to the top of the tummy, with shoulder blades pinched together at the rear. Once the arms have been fully pulled through, the forearms should be horizontal and this position is know as "the finish".

Once you have reached the finish position you need to start returning to the catch position for your next stroke. The recovery should be the same as the drive but in reverse: first the arms straighten and the body leans forward, and then the knees bend to bring the seat forward.

As there is no power developed during this phase, you can relax the grip and take a moment to relax before the next stroke. Return to top