There is an old rowing term for going out so hard in a workout that you can’t possibly keep that pace through to the end:
fly and die
As a former collegiate rower, my goal was to push my body just hard enough to get a little tunnel vision, but not pass out completely as I finish my workout. This makes sense since my only goal was to make the boat go faster (or get the best possible time on the erg).
It is rare that you will have a CrossFit WOD that is only on the rower.
During a multi-modal WOD, you need to take into account the other tasks that are asked of you. How many times have we seen someone take about 15 seconds to stumble off the erg and then another 15 seconds before they can even pick up the barbell? That, my friends, is Flying and Dying.
The bottom line: Pacing, pacing, pacing
How do you figure out the appropriate pacing with so many different workouts?
It is important to understand how to use the rower most effectively in order to allow you the best workout, without wasting all of your energy on the erg.
From a technique perspective, re-read my prior post to get more insight into being more efficient with your stroke.
But how do you decide when to push your limits on the row? Remember those workouts I posted last month for the rower? To jog your memory, here they are:
WOD 1
For time
4000m row
E4MOM (every 4 minutes on the minute): perform 20 shoulder to overheads
WOD 2
5 rounds for time
400m row
15 overhead squats
WOD 3
3 rounds for time
30/25 calorie row
30 wall balls
How do you attack each of these workouts differently?
Let’s break these down based on units of measurement for the rower.
Meters vs Calories.
When you have the unit of measurement as METERS, Concept2 designed the computer to mimic the drag of the boat on the water. When the unit is CALORIES, the computer doesn’t take that “drag” into account.
What this means is that it depends on what setting you have the monitor measuring.
If you are using the meters setting (ie: splits per 500m), a higher effort won’t result in a better time for that distance.
If you have the setting on calories (cal/hr), a higher effort will achieve the calorie goal faster.
clear as mud?
If we apply what we now know about the Concept2 computer, we can think about how to attack the rower in a workout that is measuring distance in meters, rather than time spent to burn a specific number of calories.
Workouts 1 and 2 are both asking for a row in meters. It may be worth holding a less spicy per 500m split. Going just 5 seconds slower per 500m feels SO much easier that you will likely shave off time on the transitions and have more energy to perform the shoulder to overheads more quickly The result? A possibly faster finish, and a much less pukey workout.
Workout 3 is in calories. If we go with the logic above, you get rewarded more for extra effort. So, with this workout, it makes sense to push a little harder in this section of the workout, knowing you will get a bigger payoff for your effort.
JUST REMEMBER
Regardless of how you decide to attack any rowing workout, be sure to have one item close by… a trash can.
Credit and research from of these articles needs to be given: