Alright alright - I should have cleaned the machine first! It's a dirty floor, and I've got a little blind to all the dirt I track into the rail and footplates. I hope you enjoy the video though!!
As a brand new rower (C2) I have watched quite a few instructional videos on YT. While all info is usable at my level, your channel is top shelf. Very much appreciate your content.
That's amazing. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. I know I'm not a hyper personality type - but I'm really hoping this style will be what people respond to.
As I'm considering ordering a Concept 2, I decided to watch some videos on the Concept 2 settings. Yours are the best presented and most thorough videos (and text) I have seen. A great help!
The drag factor works like a deralieur in a bike. You can go on high gear and you go fast at the same cadence at expense of the big force (or rather torque) on pedals, you can have low gear and you go slower at the same cadence. The cadence on bike is the same as strokes/minute on a rower. It depends on you on which gear you want to go, two competitors can choose the gear as they wish, the first one on the finish wins. It works the same with the drag factor on a rower. The rower just measures the mechanical power, that an athlete puts into the machine. From this power there are all other data (velocity and calories) calculated by simple formulae. It is all explained on a C2 website. You can put he same power by higher force and less stroke rate or lower force and higher stroke rate. That's all. Every athlete sets it to his/her preferences. One thing that PM lacks is a kind of metronome. Some graphical description of a rowing stroke at desired s/m so I could row along this metronome to keep the stroke ratio.
You’re totally right. The reason I don’t explain it like bike gears however, is that in that world, you’re constantly changing gear to suit. And ideally, for drag factor, you want to find what works best for you, and leave it there. Which is why I like my idea of needing to decide how many steps you’d take in a race. You’re right about the metronome - but again, there are apps for that. The monitor doesn’t need to complicate itself by adding bits that developers themselves can create.
Thanks so much. 4 weeks ago Me and my gf bought a simple entry rower. We discovered your channel and started with the 2k+ 4 week plan. Yesterday we decided to send the crappie rower back and get a Concept 2. It will arrive tomorrow. Hopefully 🙏🏻 your videos a really inspiring, so keep going. Cheers Sascha
@@rowalong hi John, the Concept2 arrived today. And yes, it’s a total difference. I immediately joined Team RowAlong and participate in the fall challenge 🤣 will bring us in the top 10 😬
I just bought a C2 and this is my first video watched. I’m wasn’t sure where to start but this was a great help and very thorough introduction. Thanks a lot. I will be. Checking out some of your other videos next.
Awesome! I'm really pleased you enjoyed this one. If you've go any questions, please feel free to get in touch. Hopefully you'll find some workouts and technique tips on here to keep you interested for a long time to come!
haha so much for not talking about the lever drag factor. thanks so much for the vid - just bought c2 rower and going to be rowing along through the beginner sessions.
Trust me, this was a short version!!! The whole Drag Factor thing is such a confused and misunderstood concept that novels could be written about it! Good luck with the beginner series. Any questions, just get in touch.
Amazon adventure was good 👍 reminded me of years ago rowing on a machine with a crude pixel screen which had adventures where you were chased by sharks 🦈 or a pase boat 🚢 where extra rowers were helicopter 🚁 in to make you row harder. As a gym exercise it made an interesting addition keep up the adventures 👍
Haha, thanks. One of the genius moves of Concept2 is designing a product that we basically sell for them by using them and spreading the love! I hadn't really imagined anyone would row along to this video - but actually, if you just want something to distract you that isn't a TV programme etc, it makes sense. I sometimes watch Colour Correction tutorials while I row my longer pieces (geek alert!!)
Looking at the memory of my gym rowers, an awful lot of people don't really know how to use them lol. 3-4 minutes splits popped up a fair bit, not sure how you get that slow.
@@rowalong I have had my rower for nearly a year and got a bike erg a few months ago. I wish I had watched this video months ago. I also downloaded the ErgZone app last night. Why have I been punching so many buttons for so long on the monitor?!?😂 I look forward to doing some of your workouts! Thanks for the great info.
Wow. Where to start? And can I keep myself from writing a book? I will try. :) Actually have owned my Concept 2 Model D with PM4 for several years. I've never really been into fitness / working out, but I enjoy rowing and used it on and off for several months, then just didn't use it. About a year later, I started again, but my motivation wasn't as good as the first time, and I didn't last very long. Found uploading my times to the Concept2 site more difficult than it should be, bought RowPro and tend to use that for my "sessions"... but have never tried anything else. And used a chest strap but was never really thrilled with it's operation. In the past couple weeks I bought an Apple Watch 6 for it's heart rate, EKG, and other health functionality. A RU-vidr I watch had a heart issue, and the info his Apple Watch collected and could provide the ER was amazing. I had a Series 3, but figured for $330 it was worth the upgrade. And while I'm 6'4", I'm usually about 225 lbs. During the pandemic, I didn't watch my weight, and at a annual physical discovered I was 260 lbs. So I'm looking to get some of the weight off. Was watching a Christian Horner interview, and he's such a charming speaker, I felt myself motivated and that's when I got on the rowing machine for the first time in a LONG time. It wasn't for long, but it was good to know I had it and could still use it. While setting up for that row, I realized my new watch had a "rowing" function (not a great one, but it's there). Took me a while to figure out how that worked. And not having used any software or heart monitors for a while, I ended up finding one of your Apple Watch videos. I've been through the lot, and I decided I wanna make my workout as simple as possible. So I've got a PM5 ordered, and I plan on using the Bluetooth BLE app to sync to the PM5 once it's installed. As I mentioned before, I've had my machine for a while. But I don't remember having much info about how to set it up. I assume I knew I could move the foot straps up or down, but I didn't know about my ankles, being vertical and not too far forward or back until watching this video today. And I haven't even finish this video, but the way you talk to us. Not a drill sergeant (not that there is anything wrong with that!), but straight forward and helpful. That's the kind of personality style I appreciate!!! I'm gonna finish the video, but my main question I haven't seen answered anywhere else... is what "software" do you prefer to use when you row? Seems like many aren't impressed with the "ErgData" interface. I downloaded ErgZone to my phone, as it seems to have more favorable reviews, and sounds like setting up or downloading routines is easy. Is that something you and folks that follow you use? Do you use RowPro? Something else? Just wondering what folks prefer. My apologies if this is too long. I REALLY appreciate your channel, have subscribed, and hope to learn more about technique and motivation... once I figure out what the next video is I should be watching! Cheers!!!
Hi! Well, first off thanks for spending the time to write such an interesting comment. I find it fascinating how technology can be a gateway motivator to new things. But like everything, they’re just gateways - you still need to put in the actual effort. With any luck, my workout videos will help with that side of things. As to the software side of things - the ones I use most and hear about others using most are ErgData and Ergzone. ErgData is good, but it’s just a mirror of the PM5 and a simple way to upload to the logbook. Ergzone will program the monitor for you, let you pick from a database of your previous rows, or sessions posted by groups and coaches. And gives you a good amount of info. Plus, you can row in real time with other people. If you have android; Krew is something to look at too. RowPro is awesome for real time racing. As long as you row in a time zone that others are rowing, it can be very motivational to race people around the world. I push myself on RowPro in ways I don’t when just training on my own. Anyway, great to hear from you. Do keep in touch if you have any more questions.
I will get my C2 in 2 months time. Thank you for posting. I am receiving c2 daily emails with short/med/long rows of the day. Each of them has a sequence buttons A-A-d-C-C-A etc... When i tried to input them in the gym - according to the accurate monitor - the intervals were very often wrongly set. Has anyone else experienced that?
I’ve never even tried programming in via their button sequencing. Hopefully this video shows you how easy it is just to use the menus to get there, rather than following their sequence. And as I say in the video - if you connect an app like ErgZone of Krew, it’ll really simplify the process.
Hi John, I am getting a new C2 in a couple of weeks so I'll make full use of the information here but I'm also looking into the apps I can use with it. What's the difference between Ergzone and Ergdata and will either of these upload to Strava? Thanks, Pete
Hi Pete. Good to hear from you. First things first, if you set up an account at log.concept2.com, then select Strava in the applications, that'll take care of that side of things. But in order to get you row data into the logbook, that's where the apps come in. Ergdata is basically just a good mirror of the PM monitor. It gives you more info to look at, and then will sync with your logbook (and then to strava). Ergzone does all of that, but in addition, it'll programme the monitor for you too. So where you still have to press the buttons on the monitor if using Ergdata, in Ergaone, you just select the row, hit send, and it does all the work for you. And it'll store a history of your rows that you can then come back to re-row - AND you can choose from rows other people have put up too (like my RowAlong workouts). Ergdata is rock solid - but really, it's just a mirror of the PM with a few extra metrics. Ergzone will really expand the functionaliity of your monitor.
I'm so sorry it's taken so long to reply to you. No excuse, just missed this comment completely. My answer is that unless you're actually training to row on the water, why tie yourself to that setting? If your power and fitness works better so you can make the machine go faster at 100DF or 180DF - and you're not injuring yourself, and are getting the right kind of workout - then why hold yourself back by choosing to match something you'll never actually do?
But a great session. Very informative and I like the end bits on changing the display. I realize I never do that, so perhaps I should. One day I may even explore the games button to see what those are about.
@@rowalong apologies for being snarky. The Model D I used for 8 years at the Y was filthy and the drag factor couldn't get above 90. It was only after the Y closed and I got my own erg that I learned about drag factor, cleaning the chain, and later this year cleaning the flywheel. I plan on keeping mine pristine for a long while. But I also joined the board at the Y, and told them that I'd mask up and clean their two rowers to make them work better....they said good idea, but never called....pity
Haha, don’t worry about it. The head of my machine is always clean and that’s what matters. Whatever blue “covering” is on underside of the rail has started to bubble off - and leaves a heck of a mess. So I confess I just leave it and the dust from the floor as it’s a never ending job - each row it’s filthy again. But you’re right to point out my need for professionalism when making videos like this with close ups of the debris!! Good to hear it helped you regardless of this.
