The guy rowing has some pretty solid technique overall. For the people asking, the light bending of the arms at the catch is something that some (very able) on the water rowers do too, it does not detract from his overall performance. His shoulders are relaxed, the drive powerful and the recovery well executed (see @1:00). I'd wager he's done some rowing in college or trained really hard on the erg.
7 minutes is not standard, most of the people in my college boat club haven't beaten it yet. It took me just over a year of rowing (only training during term time) to get to sub 7 from when I started rowing
Exeter college. Most people in the club right now started rowing last year as some of the more senior rowers graduated/quit to focus more in their final year. College level rowing is reasonably casual, but the top crews in division 1 will train a lot more intensely, and the crew in the top boat for the uni will mostly all have sub 6 minute times. We wouldn’t not allow someone in the boat club because they were too slow, it’s just for fun and they would just go in a lower level boat. Also it’s been a long time since we did a 2k test, there’s probably a lot more sub 7s now. My last one was 6:37
Dear Bobby, I read your article and watched your video recently. You say that a measurement of fitness is 7 minutes and the kid who did it in your video seems like a relatively young adult. So, is the 7 minute standard a measurement for everyone, irrespective of age?
andynogueras Age is a number. I’m about to be 54 and I can go under 7 for 2000 meters on the concept rower. Actually, I’ll do an hour of weights and finish with a 2000 meter row in just over 7 minutes. I do have a distance running background, so I think the mental fortitude translates over.
Im needing to focus on getting that push off strength w/my legs. My goal is under 10min…This 7 minute goal would be awesome. Ive done it 2x & missed it by 4 seconds..🤔 Ive been working out for 4 months.(female) Any advice would be appreciated.
hi ! I'm also into these kind of challenges. I would recommand you to row 5k a few times per week to improve your endurance, and manage a few days for recuperation before the 2k. If you fail before the end, keep the pace in mind so that you can lower it for the next time, or make a slower start (500m gradually which works for me). The drag factor can be set higher if you want to avoid "heart beat" at the end of each strokes, or lower if you feel it's too hard at the catch. Good luck !
you can check the drag factor of your current machine in the settings somewhere. Set it to the same value on both machines and the resistance will be the same.
Apparently these folks have never ran in flagstaff in august for 2 hours straight at a 6 minute mile pace….like im all for challenges, but there are other more serious challenges. I dont think there is any thing more mental challenging than pushing yourself at speed when you are doing 15-20 miles. So i look at the 2000m row and go, well, for 6-7 minutes, you could mentally prep for that. Its a whole different hurdle to overcome length of time in hours.
I know what you're saying, having done alot of long distance running at 6 mins mile pace. It's brutal, but it comes down to intensity for me. Try doing anything at max capacity and after 15-20 secs you'll reach failure. To row you're best 2000m you should be going fairly close to max. And this discipline is unlike running in that you will have to use you arms much more heavily. You'll be using around 85% of muscle. When going at max on the rower 10 seconds can feel like an eternity. But I take your point. It's quite different to hours of pain, just not as far from the mothership as some might think
