Fantastic video explanation, really helpful. Bought a Concept 2 and have just been increasing the resistance as didn't understand drag factor (or how the machine worked at all). Have watched a lot of vids but this is the first one that made me understand things, which I'm thankful for as my glutes/lower back have been in tatters from the past few sessions.
I see people every day who have no idea, they sit, pop the drag to 10, just row setting for a few minutes and done. The more I read the better it gets and this is another good source of info. I did use the DH Drag Factor test and can say that for me it was very useful in trying to find my sweet spot.
To be honest though, I don’t think your average gym user knows. Actually, scratch that. I don’t think the average gym instructor knows. So they don’t tell those who don’t know. And the DH test is a very solid one.
Thank you! Wish I saw this video yesterday. Because I row my longest time. And never thought of lowering the number. Woke up this morning with a sore back. 😂
Well, at you now know WHY you don't row at too high a drag!! I hope lowering helps. Just remember, technique is key when it comes to rowing efficiently, and more importantly, without hurting yourself!
Thank you for this, it was the comprehensive and clear explanation I was looking for. Joined a gym, thought the 7 setting felt really light, checked the drag factor and it read as 107! But by watching your video I've concluded 1) this is probably because the machine needs a clean 2) I shouldn't feel like my times are in any way invalid.
Awesome. Thanks so much for putting this out there. I am getting ready to start rowing after a knee ligament replacement and this gets me pointed in the start of the right direction. My wife has been loving your videos and training so I guess like any good husband I should follow her example.
Haha. I'm glad it helped. You might want to check out this video too: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uDT8ACeD1Oo.html - and yes. Always listen to your wife!!
Thanks. It's long, and not a very exciting watch - but hopefully that makes the point get across, rather than 'smoke and mirrors' editing which then loses the point!
Thanks for all this helpful information! When I first got my Concept2, I’d set the drag factor at 115, as suggested for women, but it’s dropped to 110 now that the Concept2 has gotten a bit dirty. I’ve wondered if I should try a higher drag factor since I feel like my cardio gives out faster than my muscle power. I’ve moved up the drag factor to 120, and it felt pretty good, but I’ll have to try the “baby bear” test soon!
The main thing is just to find that drag factor where you feel all systems in your body are working together at their best. For short sprints, that can be higher for longer distances. There's a school of thought (which I mostly follow) that you should always row at the same DF. But sometimes, like I say - for the shorter stuff - you can get an extra second or two out of the pace by raising the DF. Just always be careful you're not fighting the weight of the machine by adjusting your technique in a negative way.
If you start rowing on Concept2 machines then this setting is maybe important to you. I have used a cheap rowing machine (HS-070R Rush) that had a mechanical breaking system (not a magnetic like in the description) and after maybe 60 trainings I have lowered the load from 4 (max. 8) to 2 and finally to 1. But 2 months ago I have tried a Concept2 D and on level 10 it's easier than on 1 on my old machine. Now I have an old model E with dragfactor of 198 (on level 10) and it's still to easy for me. Maybe I must only adapt myself to this load!?
Thanks for explaining the function of the drag factor. I am new to rowing and everything about is confusing, the machine, the technique. At least I know what drag factor mean. I just started using a dirt old concept 2 with a dead PM2 Monitor. Hopefully adding new battery fixes it and can set the drag factor. I got some resistance at a damper 9. Perhaps we should clean the machine
Haha. I think so!! You’ll be amazed at what a good clean of even just the mesh cage surrounding the top of the fan will make. And if you can’t repair the monitor; replacements aren’t too expensive. And if you get a PM5 - you’ll have the Bluetooth side of it too.
That’s good. It’s a subject that needs to time to get it across well enough. I wish there was a 3 minute version of this, but there’s just too much to say!
#100 steps. - Thank you for the lecture, it really helps to explain the nitty gritty of the how it all actually works. The starting point of DF130 - are you referring to all people, from short ladies of a certain age and spread, all the way to tall alpha males in their prime? I have found my optimum drag factor is changing as I age...Grrr....
Hiya, well - this is why I say +/- 15 . If you think you can't get the power through to the flywheel at 130 - try dropping it to 115. A lot of governing bodies suggest 115 for lightweight males and for women - so give that a try. In the end, 10 here and there shouldn't make a difference. Remember though, this is all about a leg drive going through to the handle - it's not about pulling with your arms. (public service announcement voice!)
Sounds like choosing the right gear on a bike i.e., low gear = pedal faster and lighter, high gear = pedal slower and heavier, and the speed can be matched. Or is that analogy wrong?
This was really well explained. But one thing I'm not clear on.......by using a higher drag factor do you get more of a chloric burn since you are working harder? Or are you saying you aren't working as hard because it depends on the person. Have you done tests on this that you can share?
If you took the same workout, say 2000m and rowed it in 8 minutes - once at 100DF at 30spm and then again at 200DF at 20spm - but like I say, in exactly the same amount of time, you need to put in exactly the same amount of power (200W) to hold that pace, it's just that one way you're using more cardio and another way you're using more muscle power. Raw data wise, that means it doesn't matter. But everyone's body is different as to how it best deals with effort. So some people may burn more calories than others. If you have more muscle, your BMR will increase, meaning you'll burn more calories off the rower. But if you can row longer at lower DF, you'll get a better burn on the machine. It's all a bit unsatisfactory, I know. But this is why training plans vary the intensity. Low and slow, mid and mid, and short and fast - to give you the best of both worlds.
So if you are training for a rowing test with a government agency that requires it and have to beat a specific time, then in the world would you ever train for it without knowing their machines drag factor. If the test is at a damper setting of 5 then the one you train on at the gym could be cleaner than theirs and you could fail the test on theirs but pass on the gyms rower while training. How do you train for this?
The machine in my gym is 80 at 5 and 90 at 6 it is old but at 92 so am I. Trying to get back to 10 mins for 2000 but it is never going to happen, 12 mins at the moment.
Haha. Well, there's a good chance that asking the gym to clean your machine will get that number up into the 200's in just minutes. You can take your time getting there though!
Cheers John. I've just re-watched this video after initially setting up at DF 130, that I have found comfortable for my 85kg frame at 22 stroke rate and above. For 18 to 20 spm, I find the catch is heavy, so for bottom tier workouts I tend to re-set it to 120. Is this the right way to approach different session speeds. #100steps
To be honest, when it comes to indoor rowing, as long as you’re not doing something weird technique wise - then there’s no reason not to change drag if you want to. Usually, the issue is the other way round, where people want to set it higher and higher because they’re using their upper body instead of their legs. But it doesn’t sound like that’s you issue here?
90% of the time, you should row with the same drag factor. I row anything from 2000m up to 42000m at the same drag factor. It's only for the 500m / 100m / 1 minute rows that I'll consider raising it. Remember, if you're new, and working on technique etc, lower is better. Maybe start around 120-130 and see how that feels.
@@rowalong Thanks ill try that....when i upload and compare to other rowers my pace is really bad even though i think my technique is ok...im well down the rankings i cant get below 2:00:00 and that's going for it where when i see others they are a lot less effort and a much better pace...im 5"9 stocky by the way
@@foowishamewican Just remember that drag factor isn't really meant to play a part in that. Yes - for shorter rows, you can raise it and put everything into every stroke - but you need to make sure you have a good technique when doing that so you don't injure yourself. It sounds harsh - but if you want to go faster, you need more power and the fitness to be able to maintain that power. I'm 5'10 and a bit - so not much taller than you. Work on powr / technique / fitness - and it'll come. If you want to send me a side on video of you rowing, I can help with the technique side.
Newbie - could I just ask how to improve my 5k time ? My machine is set to 5 resistence Drag factor 125-128, however if I take resistence up to even 10 the drag factor is not changing, even on lower setting of 1 ! I row 28-30SPM never dropping below 28SPM, my time is 26 mins.
@@nmacog Always nice when people answer they're own questions. Just think about pushing the machine away with your feet while leaning forwards (through the hips) with straight arms. All the power from your legs will get through to the handle - and then when your leg drive it almost done, swing back through your hips - and pull in with your arms. Remember, the stroke power comes from 60% legs 20% back and 20% arms.
Hi, I'm new to all of this and also don't have a concept 2, but could you explain how you can row as hard as you can but remain at 24 strokes a minute? Does that mean that the drag factor should be set so that at 24spm I would be completely spent aerobically and physically, i.e. If I can row faster than 24spm, I have my drag factor too low? Thanks
Good question. I've never really explained this. The first thing to look at is what kind of session you're rowing. If you're doing 10 x 1 minute at max power at 24spm - you'll be putting everything you've got into each of those strokes. But if you're doing a 10km row at 24spm - you won't want to put max effort into each stroke, as you'll be exhausted about 4 minutes into the row! And this is why the pace guide is linked to stroke rate. You should have spotted a general pattern to how I pace most standard rows. 18spm = 2K+20 20spm = 2K+18 22spm = 2K+14 24spm = 2K+12 26spm = 2K+9 28spm = 2K+5 30spm = 2K+2 32spm = 2K pace To over simply this - assume the distance you get out of each stroke with standard training rows is similar all the time. As the stroke rate increases - because you're putting in more strokes per minute - you'll go faster: Assume you get 10m per stroke. ***** (This is a very over-simplified example - no yelling!!! See below for actual figures) ******* If you do 18 strokes in a minute at 10m per stroke, you'll cover 180m. (2:46.6 pace) If you do 20 strokes in a minute at 10m per stroke you'll cover 200m. (2:30 pace) If you do 32 strokes in a minute at 10m per stroke you'll cover 320m (1:33.7) But the other way to look at it is what happens when you increase the power of your stroke by 'pushing the rate' and doing a max power session: If your power was 10m per stroke - at 20spm you'll cover 200m. If you increase your power to 15m per stroke at 20spm - you'll cover 300m ***** Actual Figures **** It's not quite as simple as this - but it's a good over-generalisation. The truth is, as the rate goes up, in my case anyway, the distance per stroke tends to go down. Here's what happens with my distance per stroke as I go up through the rates: 18spm 13.8 20spm 12.7 22spm 11.8 24spm 11.1 26spm 7.1 (weird) 28spm 10.2 30spm 9.8 32spm 9.3 I'm not sure what happens at 26spm. I'd have to row at 2K+7 in order to get 10.8m per stroke. The perfect thing would be to keep the same distance per stroke no matter what rate you're rowing at - but that's becomes tougher the higher rate you go at. If I were to manage 13.8m per stroke at 32spm - I'd row a 2K race in 4.5 minutes!!! That's not going to happen. So it's best to look at Stroke Power Index - the amount of power you're putting into each stroke. Again, for my example above: 18spm 11.2 20spm 10.6 22spm 10.4 24spm 10.38 26spm 10.39 28spm 10.8 30spm 10.99 32spm 10.94 On the one hand, I could tweak the pace guide to make all of those a lot closer to each other. But that's taking away the point of some of the stroke rates. 18spm give you a chance put put in a solid drive at a low rate without exhaustion. 26spm is when things start to move from the lower end of training towards the top end of training. Basically though - the point is that for standard rows, you're putting similar muscle power into each stroke - and the stroke rate then makes you go faster. Then there are the power rows, when you're meant to be putting everything you have into a certain stroke rate. I hope this clears it up? Go to www.machars.net/ to work out these calculations for yourself.
Oh, and as well as that rather long answer... As far as drag factor - no. Only increase it if it’s low and you find you’re spinning out and not able to put in power (then maybe you look at increasing it). If you’re in the 130 +/- 15 region, this shouldn’t happen due to drag factor (but it may happen if you’re not driving hard from the legs)
As far as I'm aware, they still do. It may depend on where you live though. I know folks in the UK get free stuff. And I'm pretty sure US rowers do too.
@@rowalong Spot on. I was being lazy when I posted this, so I then checked with C2 support and It’s free stuff for U.S, U.K and Canada. For folks elsewhere, it’s down to the official dealer in that region. Mine said sure, what’s your size so I was pleasantly surprised :-)
No way. I need things to be broken down to get it and the step analogy is really useful. I don’t have a concert 2 nor any drag number measurements on my rower so I’m going by feel and how drag is affecting my form.
