Damper settings and SPM

[Shaughnessy]

Any guidance re damper settings ? I was working on damper 10 with a drag of 175 - 185, but someone recently suggested reducing to damper 7/8 with (yesterday) a drag of 135. Re SPM in a 2k time trial / race what is the ideal SPM start / mid race ?. I appreciate it is likely to increase in the sprint phase from 1500m onwards. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Stan]

Hi Shaughnessy, welcome to Free Spirits.
Drag factor has always been a somewhat tricky topic. My own personal thoughts on this are that you should do what you are comfortable doing. Having said that, I did improve a lot by going down from similar figures to yours, to 140. Most of the top rowers probably do it between 125 and 135, so there must be a reason for that!
The damper lever settings are going to vary from machine to machine depending on how crud has built up in the flywheel - a new or well maintained machine will have a drag factor of up to 220 on lever 10, but we have all heard horror stories of drag factor 90 on lever 10. On a well maintained machine I row at 140 with a lever set on 6, so it sounds like the one you are using needs a bit of a clean.
As for spm - again its a personal thing and depends to some extent on your build. My own 2k spm is about 30, increasing to 34+ at the end- but I am rather on the short side. Others will have other ideas. There is a lot to be said for doing low stroke rates in training to build power, though I absolutely hate it!
Good luck with your training and keep us posted!

[kirbyt]

During 2k races I try to get up to speed at the start with maybe 5 or six quick pulls slightly faster than intended pace and then settle in to both intended pace and rating. My rating will tend to creep up gradually from R31 to r34 over the first 1700-1800 metres and then I go completely nuts for the last 200m finishing at around R38, eyes closed, lungs and legs on fire, etc. Lots of fun.

Drag factor. My understanding is that DF130 closely mimicks the resistance in a boat, so it seems logical to me that a range from 120-140 is most reasonable but everyone has their "sweet spot" where they feel most natural. Right now for me that's around 123 (lever setting 6 here on the high prairies) but all my pb's were set at around 130. When your stroke feels smooth and connected and your joints and back are not aching you've probably found the right drag factor.

[webberg]

My contribution.

Most races and training are done at a constant drag. You seem to suggest that that drag will increase towards the end of a piece. Normally that's not permitted and anyway would slow you down changing the damper.

My advice is to learn how to use the PM4 to set a drag that's comfortable. I think it's "other options" on screen 1 - bottom button, then "display drag" on screen two which is the top button. just have a go and see what the drag is at different settings. Most of us like to use the same machine at the gym so once you're used to it, the process is easy. (That is until they clean it and your damper setting suddenly produces a heavier drag).

As has been said, most rowers go for something in the 125 to 140 range for most pieces.

The balance you're seeking is a drag that is not heavy enough so that you leave your arms behind on the drive (i.e. bend your back forward) nor light enough that you are moving your hands to chest before the leg drive is complete (which is inefficient).

After saying that a couple of points strike me.

First, many of the more powerful guys and girls out there will use higher drag on short sprints and I suspect that over those distances the imbalance is less of a factor.

Second, as Stan said most of use a narrow range. However "most of us" will encompass 6 foot plus, 17 stone (238 pounds) young and strong men to 5 foot, 112 pounds, more mature ladies (still very fit but not muscle bound hulks with massive VO2 max). So why I wonder does that narrow range fit all?

Answers on a postcard please.

BTW, welcome to the team

[gregsmith01748]

Three topics to be careful with in a group of rowers. Politics, Religion and drag factor.

Nevertheless, here is my take.

1. The main purpose of adjustable drag factor is to simulate the feel of different styles of boats. There is a great article on this here: http://biorow.com/RBN_en_2011_files/201 ... News06.pdf

Here is the money chart:


So, if you row a single, you'll want to use a higher drag factor than if you typically row a quad.

2. If you are a landlocked rower, focused solely on the erg, then it is really a matter of what works for you. Most folks use a higher drag factor for sprints than they use for distance. Here are mine:

Sprints: 140-150 or even higher
middle distance (2K to 10K tempo pieces): 130-140
endurance (L4 and other Long Slow Distance): 115 to 130

In my experience, there is a slight correlation between rower size and drag factor. Smaller rowers seem to prefer somewhat lower drag factors, but it is not a huge difference.

[Liefcat]

Any guidance re damper settings ? I was working on damper 10 with a drag of 175 - 185, but someone recently suggested reducing to damper 7/8 with (yesterday) a drag of 135. Re SPM in a 2k time trial / race what is the ideal SPM start / mid race ?. I appreciate it is likely to increase in the sprint phase from 1500m onwards. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My contribution.

Most races and training are done at a constant drag. You seem to suggest that that drag will increase towards the end of a piece. Normally that's not permitted and anyway would slow you down changing the damper.

Yes, difficult subject And I normally don´t interfere in communication by others - just in this case I don´t think there´s any suggestion to increase DF towards the end of a piece - but rather an increase in Stroke Rate...

[zootMutant]

1. The main purpose of adjustable drag factor is to simulate the feel of different styles of boats. There is a great article on this here: http://biorow.com/RBN_en_2011_files/201 ... News06.pdf

Very interesting article, Greg. Thanks for posting the link!

[gregsmith01748]

In the spirit of making this totally incomprehensible. I just remembered a very well written technical explanation of the physics of rowing machines.

here: http://www.atm.ox.ac.uk/rowing/physics/ergometer.html

There is a section on how the drag factor is determined and how it is used to calculate the power output (and therefore pace) achieved on the erg.

It's not for everyone, but if you tastes are somewhat nerdish, it's a good piece of work.

[kirbyt]

Greg said:

It's not for everyone, but if you tastes are somewhat nerdish, it's a good piece of work.

You can say that again. Maybe it's because I'm looking at this while drinking my second glass of wine but I got through a few sentences and I think Scooby Doo says it best: [youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpsEdM74 ... er[youtube]

Are you still with us, Shaugnessy?

[plummy]

Interesting stuff Greg!

[zootMutant]

It's not for everyone, but if you tastes are somewhat nerdish, it's a good piece of work.

If being nerdy means missing your workout because you are too busy reading about how you should work out, then I certainly am.

Thanks for the link, Greg.