For my new Concept2 RowERG, I’m still trying to come up with guidelines for a solid workout.
On Tuesday, I recorded my workout session with Apple Watch. During those 11min of rowing I only burned 50 calories (aka ~4.5 cal / min), so something was off. For comparison, walks usually burn 2.5 cal / min; runs usually burn 8.4 cal / min. To be fair, my BPM did reach a high of 146, so I wasn’t doing everything wrong.
Looking around online, my main fault was that my workout was too short. Of course, workout time varies depending on your goals, but the standard seems to be 20 to 30min. I also realized that pacing is important. Concept2, as well as most other machines, use “split time” (or the number of minutes it takes to row 500m) to calculate your pace.
My split time for that Tuesday session hovered around 3m40s. (Dad’s pulling was 2m30s.) I can’t confidently say what’s good for me, but I do know that my current pace is on the slow side. As for resistance, my brother Chris sets his much higher at 8, but that seems to be the exception, not the norm. Generally, 3 to 5 is what’s recommended.
Anyhow, I’m going to start my future sessions at 16min long (with resistance 4) and slowly work my way up to 20min and beyond while keeping an eye on my split pace. Once my workouts become sweaty enough to warrant a sweatband, I’ll know that I’ve done enough.
PS: to show my dedication, I re-purposed my Skechers slip-on sneakers for indoor use on the Concept2
