May ctc - BW Rowing sprint monster

[JonT]

Do you guys crank up the drag for these sprint events? I raised it, but not all the way. (Usually row at Drag = 130 which is about 5.5 on my erg, but bumped to 7 for first 6 reps and then to 8 for the last 4.)

I'm no expert (and I'm sure the real experts will chip in) but I do increase the drag from 6 to 7 on my erg for these sprint events. You're increase looks quite extreme though. Paul V once told me to move the foot plate setting too, but I can't remember which way

Impressive heart rate. Mine peaked at 186 in the 9th interval - that's just 2 short of my HR max. Which tells us all I was pushing (or should that be pulling) far too hard

[jolo]

I bump my df up a little, not sure if it helps all that much. When I was young and strong I would crank it up to max. Even heard of people taking the flywheel cover off to increase df more.

1575m / 1:35.2 for me. Can't say that this was much fun but got it done.

[paulgould]

I like to use a lower drag for the sprints so I can get the flywheel up to speed quicker.
Somewhere round about DF 175 works for me.

Paul G

[paulgould]

Got round to having a go at this one - I haven't done any sprints for about 6 years so was very wary.
Set the df to 150 and got 1549m @ 41spm.

Built up slowly starting with a 148m on the first rep, and flat out for 166m on the 10th.

In retrospect I think I had the DF too low and couldn't get enough power down(All my training has been at DF 250 - 300).
Will have a few more attempts to try and get closer to 1600m without killing myself!!

Paul G

[Ian Bee]

With the aid of the other half chit-chatting helpfully in the 1 minute rest periods, a small improvement:

Time Meters /500m Watts Cal/Hr s/m 5:00.0 1,475m 1:41.6 333 1444 36 0:30.0 145m 1:43.4 316 1386 32 0:30.0 147m 1:42.0 329 1431 36 0:30.0 148m 1:41.3 336 1455 36 0:30.0 147m 1:42.0 329 1431 36 0:30.0 147m 1:42.0 329 1431 38 0:30.0 145m 1:43.4 316 1386 36 0:30.0 148m 1:41.3 336 1455 38 0:30.0 148m 1:41.3 336 1455 38 0:30.0 149m 1:40.6 343 1479 38 0:30.0 150m 1:40.0 350 1503 38

No consistency, and messy, but The gym machine registers a stunning drag factor of 111 (damper eight).....

[Paul Victory]

Well done Ian. Looked pretty consistent to me. It might be an idea to move the damper setting up to ten the next time you attempt the challenge.

[Liefcat]

Well done, Paul G, in your comeback sprint =D> =D> Amazing to see you with a "normal" DF... And good to see you still have the powerful stroke

[Grobi]

Paul V once told me to move the foot plate setting too, but I can't remember which way

You would move the footplate up for sprinting. Therefore your leg power is working in a more horizontal direction, thus reducing the risk of lifting yourself off the seat. The downside would be that it's a bit harder to reach full catch position, but while sprinting your stroke length tends to be shorter anyway, so that wouldn't be a real problem.

I like to use a lower drag for the sprints so I can get the flywheel up to speed quicker.
Somewhere round about DF 175 works for me.Paul G

So if 175 is the lower DF, what's your normal DF then? Nice ctc by the way =D>

[paulgould]

Paul V once told me to move the foot plate setting too, but I can't remember which way

You would move the footplate up for sprinting. Therefore your leg power is working in a more horizontal direction, thus reducing the risk of lifting yourself off the seat. The downside would be that it's a bit harder to reach full catch position, but while sprinting your stroke length tends to be shorter anyway, so that wouldn't be a real problem.

I like to use a lower drag for the sprints so I can get the flywheel up to speed quicker.
Somewhere round about DF 175 works for me.Paul G

So if 175 is the lower DF, what's your normal DF then? Nice ctc by the way =D>

Thanks Peter,
I have been experimenting a bit since I got back onto the rower in Feb - tried to start from scratch and try and concentrate on technique.
Started out with DF 300 for March, then DF 275 for April, and am on DF 250 this month.
For day-to-day training will probably settle on DF 300 - that feels the most comfortable for me.

Paul G

Well done, Paul G, in your comeback sprint =D> =D> Amazing to see you with a "normal" DF... And good to see you still have the powerful stroke

Thanks Erik, progress is slow but steady-ish.

Paul G

[danfennell]

Gave this another try. Bit of a comedy (tragedy) of errors. Had no plans of doing it but got interrupted by calls 2 times during weights workout so wanted to get something done from start to finish.

1st rep my slightly baggy shorts got briefly caught in the seat roller and on the last rep the 1st split I saw was 4:44. At that point there's was no way I could come close to recovering. No idea how/why this happened as I thought I rolled in to it. Was pretty mentally and physically fried so my recollection my not be accurate. Improved from 1:26.7. On the perfect day I could probably dip under 1:25 but not sure I will try again.

1:26.2 - 42
1:25.7 - 40
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.7 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:28.7 - 40

1:25.8 - 41

[paulgould]

Gave this another try. Bit of a comedy (tragedy) of errors. Had no plans of doing it but got interrupted by calls 2 times during weights workout so wanted to get something done from start to finish.

1st rep my slightly baggy shorts got briefly caught in the seat roller and on the last rep the 1st split I saw was 4:44. At that point there's was no way I could come close to recovering. No idea how/why this happened as I thought I rolled in to it. Was pretty mentally and physically fried so my recollection my not be accurate. Improved from 1:26.7. On the perfect day I could probably dip under 1:25 but not sure I will try again.

1:26.2 - 42
1:25.7 - 40
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.7 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:25.2 - 42
1:28.7 - 40

1:25.8 - 41

Wow, Dan , that is seriously quick - can't remember the last time I saw a 1:25 on the monitor, even for a single stroke!!

I had another go today - put the DF up a bit to 175 and pushed as hard as I dared.
Got 1594m, up from 1549m - slowest interval 149m, quickest(last) was 164m.
Might have one more go to try and hit 1600m - will try at DF 200 although I think that even with lower initial splits I may well fatigue too quickly.

Paul G

[strider77]

Well done Paul =D>

[Ian Bee]

Well done Ian. Looked pretty consistent to me. It might be an idea to move the damper setting up to ten the next time you attempt the challenge.

As suggested, damper at 10:

Time Meters /500m Watts Cal/Hr s/m 5:00.0 1,490m 1:40.6 343 1479 35 0:30.0 146m 1:42.7 323 1409 34 0:30.0 149m 1:40.6 343 1479 34 0:30.0 149m 1:40.6 343 1479 36 0:30.0 148m 1:41.3 336 1455 34 0:30.0 148m 1:41.3 336 1455 36 0:30.0 149m 1:40.6 343 1479 36 0:30.0 150m 1:40.0 350 1503 36 0:30.0 149m 1:40.6 343 1479 36 0:30.0 150m 1:40.0 350 1503 36 0:30.0 151m 1:39.3 357 1527 36

Drag factor registered at 180 - different machine at the gym, both both appeared to have been serviced/cleaned in the last few days. As I'm tied with Ron Pollard, there's a tiny part of me that wants to have another pop later in the week.....

[Paul Victory]

Well done Ian. =D> =D> =D> Another very consistent session.

But DF 180 is probably a bit too high. My suggestion you use damper setting 10 was based on the fact that DF was only 111 at damper setting 8 and I thought there was only one machine in the gym you were using.

If you are doing it again, I'd suggest using somewhere around the 140 mark. It takes a bit of trial and error to find the optimum DF, but general recommendation is around 130 for males and 110 for females. However, this is just a general guideline and lots of people find that a higher DF works better for them. And for most people, it appears that using a higher DF than their normal DF improves their performance on sprints. Hence my suggestion of DF 140 as a starting point.

By the way, although it's not specified in this month's challenge, there was a discussion a few months back about whether or not it's acceptable to change the DF between intervals when doing the CTC. I think the general consensus was that the same DF should be used throughout. But that doesn't mean you can't change it from one attempt to the next.

Paul V

[Ian Bee]

Thanks for the tips Paul. I (foolishly) didn't re-check the DF before doing the set, and will play around a little with the damper before the next attempt.

[Ian Bee]

I'd suggest using somewhere around the 140 mark. It takes a bit of trial and error to find the optimum DF, but general recommendation is around 130 for males and 110 for females. However, this is just a general guideline and lots of people find that a higher DF works better for them. And for most people, it appears that using a higher DF than their normal DF improves their performance on sprints. Hence my suggestion of DF 140 as a starting point.

Keen to learn, I had a little play with the more reliable of the gym machines on offer and settled on a DF of 142. It was going rather well up until the 7th rep when I slipped back from a ragged 148-150 to 143, for no reason that I could fathom. Quite what the chap next to me though of my hysterical reaction to an improvement of 2m on this CTC is anyone's guess

An model D has been in my Amazon basket for a few days now

[Draggon]

Quite what the chap next to me though of my hysterical reaction to an improvement of 2m on this CTC is anyone's guess

Just a sec... if I've been following this thread correctly, you just outdid me by 2 meters?!?

Dang, I really don't want to do this one again... I'll consider it, but for the moment will just offer my congratulations...

[Ian Bee]

Dang, I really don't want to do this one again... I'll consider it, but for the moment will just offer my congratulations...

Thanks - but permission for lower lip to wibble if you post another time?

[Tako]

Neck is better, knee not really, which made me try a new sprint technic with reduce leg bending during catch.
Interesting result, which put me right into my favourite boat FS II
At least for now

[Claudius]

Hello everybody and congrats for everyone who finish this ctc, had my 2nd go...first was interrupted by my pc on 2ndmay...and i did recently only endurance stuff...like mtb bike and hike in tirol, zillertal, very pleasant days, wonderfull the alps...and so lonely over 1800m...but in mid may there was still a lot of snow. So there werent time to row or practice sprints...and so i failed my target to go a overall pace sub 1:30...

[Paul Victory]

I had a disastrous first attempt at this challenge today. The first two intervals went OK, with 150+ meters each time, but my first split on the 3rd interval was 4:52 (similar to what happened to Dan recently) and it was still over 2 minutes after 3 strokes, so I gave up the ghost and just coasted home and left it at three intervals. Still one more chance tomorrow, but I'm still a bit stuffed up (I just can't shake off the last vestiges of this chest infection) and my breathing was all over the place today. My back seems to be a bit better, but I'll see how is it tomorrow before having another go at this.

[Stan]

posted my pedestrian effort from Saturday and was pleasantly surprised to find it floated boat 6. It did represent a 30m improvement on last Thursday.

[Caratacus]

Haven't sat on the erg for over a month other than a very gentle 10k last week because of exams and other commitments. Bad eating choices have also seen my weight go up worryingly fast! Anyway, not really the type of session you want as a reintroduction but I was going to get it done however slow and will get back on the Pete Plan and back up to speed as soon as possible, hopefully

[Ian Bee]

Last go:

5:00.0 1,500m 1:40.0 350 1503 41 0:30.0 151m 1:39.3 357 1527 40 0:30.0 149m 1:40.6 343 1479 40 0:30.0 149m 1:40.6 343 1479 40 0:30.0 149m 1:40.6 343 1479 42 0:30.0 148m 1:41.3 336 1455 40 0:30.0 150m 1:40.0 350 1503 42 0:30.0 150m 1:40.0 350 1503 42 0:30.0 150m 1:40.0 350 1503 42 0:30.0 151m 1:39.3 357 1527 42 0:30.0 152m 1:38.6 364 1552 42

This one with DF of 125. My stroke rate felt higher than previously, and there wasn't quite so much variability in reps.
Seems like a very high quality / high volume turnout too.

[Tako]

Haven't sat on the erg for over a month ....Anyway, not really the type of session you want as a reintroduction but I was going to get it done however slow and will get back on the Pete Plan and back up to speed as soon as possible, hopefully

Good to see you back! Was already wondering when and how hard you would hit this C2CTC

Sounds like I should enjoy the fact of being ahead of you this time as you hopefully will be back to old strength soon!

/Tako