Damper Settings - How to Find Your Efficiency Point 

Keep up the great work!

Did you see this video? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PV2kRY9m91A.html Give it a watch and see if finding your personal setting might help?

Not sure that's the greatest idea but to each their own.

hahahaha classic!

Wacko Banana-Pants Ahhhh that brings back the good old days lol.

HAhahaha

They’re called Spokey Dokeys in my part of the world

🙌 Great work!

Me too! My wife's in to Crossfit and she's always sticked to 10, HEHE!

Actually it's not about what number it's on its about drag factor. Different machines will give different drag depending on age and wether the thing gets mantained.

@@Oncewasdonka While all machines vary a bit in drag factor, Concept 2 drag factors generally mimic the drag of boats on the water. Basically, the air intake in a given damper setting correlates to the water resistance created by the beam width of a boat. So, 1 is roughly equivalent to a one-man scull, which is a very slippery, fast boat with a narrow beam. 3 and 4 are roughly comparable to varsity shells for 4 or 8 rowers. 6 mimics the drag of a conventional rowboat, and 10 is like those gawdawful lifeboats on oil tankers and such. I'm not certain I have those numbers exactly correct but that's the principle.

@@cisium1184 Thanks my point is the drag may be set to 6 but because the machine is not serviced and is full of dust and other stuff it has less resistance. I'm not a rower but have been using these machines for 25 years. I'm self taught so could be wrong. Thanks

@@Oncewasdonka No you are right. Individual machines definitely vary - as do individual boats of the same type.

@@cisium1184 if thats the case. Wont having it on 1 be better if you wanna row a distance as fast as possible?

Such a well thought out and articulated question. A lower damper requires a faster catch and faster drive, and once good connection is established we can add increased stroke rate to that list because it will be effective stroke rate. Always work to achieve better positions first and foremost then move to rate from there. Does that make sense?

@@DarkHorseRowing It makes sense indeed. Quality over quantity. It's tempting to just be seduced by a lower splittime, but in the long run that will prevent reaching maximum performance. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks.

No. You want to mimic the "weight" of the water for your event.

Hope it helps Daniel!

Well that’s cool! Where do you work?

@@DarkHorseRowing SDPD Crime Lab

Thank you for this, I'm happy to hear we've created clarity for you. The C2 measures force, acceleration, and distance. All three of which can be manipulated independently thus why lower dampers can create equal outcomes. Your brain is on the right track. Report back with your findings!

Philip have you seen our other Damper setting videos that help you test different damper and drag factors?

Which ones?

Thank you for watching, Mike!

To each his own!

Great questions Adam, but it's not really fixed to any distances. It's purely a decision of one's own as to what feels best for any given distance or time.

I see, so it just boils down to preference then? Should a rule of thumb be try to match the resistance of the water for long distance? I was watching another rower on here and they were explaining what drag factor to look for if you want to match water. I just want to try and optimize and get as much as I can out of my sessions on the erg is all. Any advice, tips are very welcomed :)

There is no hard and fast rule to Drag Factor, only what feels best. GENERALLY, the longer the piece, the lower the drag factor though and the shorter the piece the higher so your assumptions are fairly in line!

Absolutely, have you checked out the rest of our channel? I have a feeling we could be very helpful to you.

I think I've watched most of your videos. I can guess my question would be a hard one to answer. I realize everyones different. Thanks for the reply.

Check out British row teams, water is 3 to 5, they do meter rows for time on the concept. A 10 is not recommended due to injuries. Your time are excellent!

dynamite479 The higher the drag the more force can be applied per stroke, but at a 10 the efficiency is not as good as a lower drag with higher stroke rate for the rowing athlete. As a lightweight rower (

I'm 6'2 225 and feel the same way. I've done 1:21 500, 6:33 for 2k and 17:57 for 5k and I agree. I feel like all of my power is wasted on lower damper settings. Leveraging my weight again the resistance also helps when keeping lower stroke rates. It keeps my heart rate in my efficiency zone.

Unless you are doing sprints (

It's all about intensity. If they are going to hard even the best rowers in the world will want to get off after 2 mins. Have you seen our pain cave video? Give it a watch: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3sT147uZl5o.html

You will still burn the same amount of calories, especially if you're able to persist for more than 300m and all the way through 500m. So definitely lower your drag factor so you can find better movement quality which will give you a better workout.

Appreciate the reply. Have definitely learnt from this channel. Thank you!

You're very welcome.

Hey Carl, Understand that if you've been doing this for 20 years at the same drag factor then adjusting it is going to fly in the face of what your body understands fora bit. So there is guaranteed to be a drop in performance if you decide to make the switch. Initially it says nothing about your technique, other than that's how you've developed your body to connect with the machine. Make sure you check out the drag factor workout we just released and give the workout a try to see how it influences you and your perception of damper/drag factor. Cheers, The Dark Horse Crew

Atif, you've really unpacked a lot here, thank you so much: 1. If you want to get the best results out of any particular workout per your current fitness then yes. 2. Yes, I'd say every other month test would be good for this to re-test where your drag factor lives as you progress. 3. Absolutely, just because you found 4 to be most effective at this moment doesn't mean you shouldn't train at other drag factors. The key being that when you do, you have a reason and training response designed behind WHY you're using it which comes back to your example of the parachute. So by all means, mess with it even when your test results say otherwise because you will be training at drag factor for a reason and at the end of the day that's what it's about is improving your ability to understand and connect.

Thank you for the reply! If i understand correctly, using the examples of the runners, training at a decreased drag setting will increase the fast twitch fibers of an endurance runner, and training at a higher drag setting (assuming you apply the same explosive stroke maneuvers) will increased the amount of power a sprinters fast twitch will generate? I would assume that the only way you would increase slow twitch fibers is by slowing down your "stride" on a higher drag setting, so as long as you use the higher drag setting like a parachute, you will maintain your fast twitch, just make it more powerful per contraction. This still confuses me a bit because if thats the case, it still always makes sense to train at a higher drag setting because, if you imagine an actual rower, wouldnt training with a less hydrodynamic boat make them better and faster in their boat? So while my work generation at the other settings wasnt as much, wouldnt that mean im getting a better workout? The only objection i can think of to setting the drag to 10 is the analogy of trying to squat the whole rack; obviously one is supposed to incrementally add weight. Thanks for you patience and i hope im on the right track and making sense.

P.S. i dont know where the "love" button is or id do so to your comment :)

Great question. It’s whatever the person wants. There’s no standard damper to use for testing purposes.

@@DarkHorseRowing so how you can compere results then ??

Might be worth watching it again!

🤣

Yes. Fast turn around > high stroke rate. High stroke rate can be helpful but not without a good catch.

+Blubbox once an athlete is comfortable with their technique and being able to push through the entire foot it's OK for the athlete to lift the heels slightly because they know how to place the heel and still push through the whole foot.

It’s dependent on each coach and the water conditions they’re trying to emulate

Dark Horse Rowing thanks for the reply

The one that gives you the best workout and lets you get the most out of each stroke.

Hi Catherine, We just tested it on our side through the form on the home page of our website and it worked. Can you please try it again? Thanks!

Dark Horse Rowing hi guys. Tried again and no luck. It says "too many subscribe attempts for this email address. Please try again in about 5 minutes #8467"

Have you since been able to sign up?

Dark Horse Rowing Yes thank you. I was contacted a while ago and always enjoy your e-mail newsletter.

Great! Glad you've been enjoying the content.

It may on a new machine, unfortunately on used machines that get dirty or see more use, damper setting will actually change resistance the dustier a machine gets. For example, if you put 5 machines next to each other from 5 different locations and set them all to a 4, they would all report different drag factors even though the damper was the same. It's why we like to talk about Drag Factor over damper setting.

BandB1111111 just when u thought u knew what you were talking about

If you erg to train for 8's, you could leave the damper on 3 or 4 for a million meters and be just fine. Unless you erg in a lint factory.

Couldn't care any less right now about what you're saying

Dark Horse Rowing I've been wondering about that a lot! I row at a bunch of different gyms where the maintenance of the concept 2s I use can vary widely. Where can I check to dial in whatever my preferred drag factor winds up being when I'm on a different machine? Also, can you give me a rough idea about HOW much variation is possible between ergs? I want to estimate about 30%, but I don't really know if that's just in my head.... Thanks much! I just discovered your channel yesterday and I'm devouring it! 👹 I like the blend of influences in your coaching style.

Les Jensen because ur a rookie, they know what they're doing

What's that supposed to mean? I'm just asking for an explanation of why they teach it one way and demonstrate it another. I appreciate Dark Horses videos and he's doing a great job... I'm hardly a rookie though. I'm 57 and have been rowing on Concept2 since the B-model in the late 80's... so nearly 30 years... and I've owned C and D models.

Les Jensen great job

Dark horse rowing provides extremely inaccurate and faulty information. The informations provided in this video is just outright wrong. Using a 10 is for sprinters, using a 1 for long distance(no one excpet weak girls use 1, maybe a dude on a long row would use a 4-6). what they say in this video, is exactely the opposite and outright wrong. Their information comes from Fitness Rowing, and not actual Rowing. I saw the video about the heel lifting aswell, and had to correct him there aswell. Most of the time you do not lift your heels in an extreme sprint, but all the other time its an absolute must that your heels leave the board. Altough, its important that you build up the power on the erg and get your heels back down as fast as possible to get the most out of your calves. And remember, 10 is for sprinting, not a 1!

Because it's the best indoor rowing machine you can purchase. Do you own an erg?

​ Um ...Beaches? I am very curious. Did you see the bottom line on that "pro rowing" contract? Was it enough to get credit at Starbucks?

It's often isn't the opposite but forums will be forums and you can find someone who believes each side of the argument in a forum. It's a great place to discuss opinions. This is ours and I would welcome you to try it before making any assessments of its validity.

In this video we are talking about rowing efficiency. Everyone has their preferred damper setting depending on their athletic abilities. You can row the same time with max and minimal damper setting. They will both feel different . One will feel better than the other. Of course the stroke rate will also change. Our point is about the efficient power application so you can achieve the best results in any situation.

😂 excited to hear yours

Thanks for commenting Emmy. It's definitely questionable when both of these athletes are competitive rowers. The first has a 6:02 2k while the second has been a US National Team rower for the past 9 years. We'd love if you would direct us to your own video where you more properly demonstrate the concepts we're discussing. Go ahead and drop the link here. Thanks so much!