Ratio and Torque in Rowing a question answered:

Dear Xeno:

Please know how much I appreciate your Web site and Blog. Your dedication to rowing and love of the sport is truly inspirational (You are a stud!). I just started training on the Concept 2 for the first time about 2 months ago and I am already obsessed! If you would be so kind, I have a quick question. . .

OK, here goes. . .

I am following a level 3, 16-week, 2,000 meter, 4X per week training program that I downloaded off the www.concept.co.uk/training site. The chart says at the UT1 training level my stroke rate should be 22 – 24 SPM; however, I find that to row at my 2:00/500 meter UT1 pace I need to row 33 – 34 SPM. My entire training group has the same problem (i.e., our SPM is 10 SPM higher than the SPM indicated in our training chart), regardless of their UT1 pace. Are we nuts or just missing something?

Thanks in advance; peace and all good things for you and your family,

S.

Hi S.

In rowing there is much emphasis on RATIO and TORQUE
per stroke.

The recovery is roughly twice as long than the drive.

Torque is how much you can accelerate the flywheel in
one acceleration.

To learn torque see how much you can accelerate the
flywheel by keeping the stroke rate VERY low like 16.
You will notice that the recovery takes a long time
whereas the drive is fast. Make sure that on the recovery you get the
forward body angle BEFORE you raise the knees.

You should get my indoor workout DVDs because the
ratio and torque are clearly shown.

All the best and I hope this helped.

Kindest regards,

XENO

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

Let's fight cancer together please follow the link

On May 20, Iron Oarsman will take part in the fifth annual fund raiser in Newport Beach to fight cancer. Please follow this link:
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=152619&lis=1&kntae152619=3E5540ABD418499A
AE0FCFC5DE60A165&supId=0&team=1283951&cj=Y

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

Here is a nice piece on Rowing and Fighting Cancer

Colleen Carey

By Ashley Lerch

Each year over 1.3 million people are newly diagnosed with cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. The rowing community is full of people who have battled cancer, and our rowing friends are also among the millions of people who also die from the disease.
Interested in rowing since college, it was a fight with breast cancer that finally guided Colleen Carey into the boat. After recovering from the treatments to battle her cancer, she found rowing was the perfect exercise to help her body and mind to recover from the drain that the cancer had put on her body.

“It’s fairly impossible for me to separate my cancer recovery from rowing.” Carey said. “Cancer is very good at teaching you to accept things that are out of your control. You have to accept that your body will never be the same, which was a hard lesson for me to learn at age 27.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, “Physical activity improves quality of life among cancer patients and survivors. Studies are beginning to explore the potential for physical activity to improve cancer survival.”

Colleen enrolled in a learn-to-row program at the Albany Rowing Center, in Albany, New York on her 29th birthday. She found rowing to be a wonderful exercise on her weakened body, but provided her with the full body workout she needed to gradually regain her strength.

“Rowing was crucial in giving me my body back. I eventually had new proof, proof that my body was strong and flexible and capable of doing something pretty special.” She said.

A year later, Colleen has enrolled in the adult competitive rowing program at Albany Rowing. She intends on participating in many regattas in the 2006 rowing season, especially the 2006 FISA World Rowing Masters Regatta, in Princeton, NJ.

Colleen is one of the many rowers who attribute rowing to helping them overcome illnesses. The rowing community is full of amazing people who have greatly benefited from the health advantages that rowing exercise provides.


Aside from rowing, Colleen is an active volunteer for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Last year she participated in the Boston Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, and she is fundraising once again this year for the San Diego 3-Day Walk. For more information on Colleen, her battle with cancer, and her 3-Day Walk fundraising efforts, please visit her site at http://www.colleencarey.com/3day/boston/.

Also she has designed rowing themed merchandise to aid her fundraising efforts, and you may purchase these items at http://www.cafepress.com/crewclothing.

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

Cool indoor rowing picture

Concept2 Indoor Rowing Machine

After looking a little on google I found this pretty nice picture

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.

Stating what is not obvious to everyone:

Indoor rowing is a sport that can be practiced by many many different people of different ages and physical ability.

My phrase to explain how accessible rowing is to people who think they can not do it:

"If you can sit in the coach without pain, then you can row."

We have now been in business for three years. The diversity of the rowers at the Iron Oarsman is remarkable. Young and old, limber and not so limber, all enjoy the zero impact motion of indoor rowing and the great cardio vascular exercise they get out of it.

You don't need to pull hard to enjoy rowing.

If you want to workout harder then all you need to do is pull harder.

So come on down to the Iron Oarsman and check it out for yourself.

We use Concept2 rowing machines.

You can look at our website:

www.gorow.com for information and indoor rowing DVDs.

Call me if you have questions:

9494007630

Sincerely and all the best,
XENO

Xeno Muller, Olympic gold and silver medalist, indoor rowing, rowing technique.