i did the ramp test today and at 161bpm I was out. So I now reconfigured my max HR to 169bpm and LCTR to 150bpm. I guess this is more realistic for rowig.
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As far as I can tell on Garmin connect they only allow sport hr settings for cycling, running, and swimming. And no idea how that affects their training metrics
it is a strange system:
You can set specific HR zones for Cycl/Swim/Run, so whatever you set as general HR zones will be used for all other sports like rowing, cardio etc
It’s definitely weird. I’ve also found it weird in their app you can look at your news feed but if you try to filter by type they don’t have a full list of activity types. So I can’t filter by rowing. I have to select Other
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go on their connect website, you can filter your activites by name. This way you can find all rowing workiuts and even export all of them to excel etc.
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Indoor rowing sounds like a nice form of cross-training but I’ve also been considering joining my local club, which has produced numerous Olympic medalists. Someone I talked to suggested flat-water rowing technique is too difficult to pick up as an adult. Is this really the case?
Coastal rowing is also popular around me–and it’s less driven by technique I think–so that also might be an option.
No. For sure difficult but not too difficult. Exercise your brain: learn to row.
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My wife and I took up rowing last fall (in our 50’s) and it’s quite humbling. It didn’t take too long to get “serviceable” technique, but progress after that has been very slow. We started last October and I’m still not at a point where I can leverage any power/fitness without getting sloppy. But we generally only get out ~3 times a month. I spent quite a bit of time on the ERG last Nov/Dec. and was putting out some respectable times, but it has no relevance to my abilities on the water. Agree 100% on the brain exercise. Learning how to do hard things is filled with adversity and frustration, a big part of what makes it fun.
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Yup, 3 times a month I would think technique would plateau fairly quickly. Rowing is more akin to swimming where you need to do it pretty frequently initially to bed in good habits and get the feel for it. And then once you’ve made that initial investment to get good technique it tends to mostly stay with you for a very long time.
It’s not as hard to get good as swimming. I would say a year of really focusing on it can get you to a pretty high level that can then be maintained with less work. But that’s really focusing on it as in getting out on the water at least 3 days a week, doing a fair bit of rowing focused land training, having good coaches overseeing most or all of your water sessions, being a good listener/learner, etc. And that’s based on having coached adults who were getting in a boat for the first time in their late teens to 20s when it’s maybe easier to build muscle memory as well as certainly being easier to address any strength/mobility deficiencies that are getting in the way of executing good technique. Might be a slower learning curve in your 50s! Worth sticking at though, it’s a lovely feeling when the water is calm and the boat is moving nicely under you, and great non impact sport for building/maintaining muscle mass.
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Yes, the challenge would be good.
I’ve never used a rowing machine either. Is the technique similar to the real thing just without the coordination of the oars?
Yeah, it’s kind of like golf that teases you with moments where you feel like you are in the groove (even when you suck). Smooth water definitely helps. We’ll see how it goes after the cycling season, might try to get on the water more next winter. I’ll definitely be back doing some hours on the ERG, it’s a great change of pace from cycling and you can definitely get in a suffer groove on that thing.
I’m far from the expert, but there is definitely technique involved on the ERG. Some overlaps with the water, some not so much. I’ve been told I have pretty decent technique on the ERG, nobody is saying that when they see me on the water… I can get a great workout on the ERG, the water stuff is still mostly about technique and I’m barely touching my aerobic engine. If you are interested in a machine (and don’t have access), buy a used Concept2. They are the gold standard. If you don’t like it, you can sell it for what you bought it for. They last forever and parts are available and cheap.