The Coffey SimulatOar review: Is this the ultimate rowing machine?

After a nearly two year absence the RFP blog rides again.  I will not belabor my absence but suffice it to say that only something of sufficient interest could bring me back to my keyboard.  That something is the Coffey SimulatOar.  Yeah, I finally bought one.  It is no secret that I love to row.  I am damn near obsessed with it.   It was a crushing calamity of circumstances that kept me off the water for nearly the entire past year.  (on one warm october day when I had no other responsibilities I managed to get on the water for an hour, thus snatching one small remaining morsel of victory from the jaws of defeat).  It took me about 10 minutes to get the hang of it again but I had a good row.  In any case I resolved to never get in that situation again.  After being off the water so long, I never want to feel that out of synch again and I decided that if I couldn't be on the water I'd treat myself to the next best thing.

You may recall my extensive review from a couple years ago of pretty much every dynamic erg there is.  In case you missed it, here is the link  http://rationalfitness.blogspot.com/2013/01/comprehensive-dynamic-erg-review.html.

If you would prefer my condensed and possible updated conclusions, I thought the Rowperfect Indoor Sculler was the best of the dynamic ergs as long as the somewhat limited monitor interface is not a deal breaker.  Also the fiscal outlay for this machine is a bit high.  Nonetheless I love mine and I would buy it again.   I still have the C2 static, I sold the Oartec and the C2 dynamic (I ended up hating that last one, it gave me a backache because it always made me open my back to early).  Enough about that.  Let's talk about the SimulatOar.  In fact, better yet, I will let these videos do the talking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU22wapQFiA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p69gHTUIYfQ&list=UUbtDypZwfCSEnYQ4EZP8KRA

You can clearly see that this has a lot of boat-like action.  Using the Concept2 slides and springs made by Coffey (additional cost)  as well as the speedcoach monitor really makes this feel like being in a single.  The resistance can be adjusted by opening or closing the fan vent .  Also the cleverly designed feathering mechanism adds to the experience.  I plan on mainly rowing this during the winter.  When I'm not on this I will likely be lifting or on the skierg.  I also plan on using the Rowperfect a bit still.

The SimulatOar was easy to assemble and the fine folks at Coffey rowing were great to work with.  My first unit had some issues courtesy of FedEx but this was all handled and they had me up and running in no time.  The monitor, as I said is a Speedcoach.  It is easy to use, nowhere near as fancy as the concept 2 monitor, but that really doesn't matter.  As long as I have elapsed time, stroke rate, and some measure of effort like heart rate or distance I am fine.. Out of the box it gets fairly comparable numbers to the C2 static and the Rowperfect (set at 100kg 4x).  The other day I did some 10 min pieces on each machine at the UT1 training band (for me thats a heart rate from 141-154).  The meters rowed were as follows:

Rowperfect 2710m, SimulatOar 2686m, C2 static 2587m, Rowperfect 2632m, Rowperfect 2612m

The reason I did more pieces on the RP is that my ass was killing me because the skin over my tailbone was getting chaffed on the SimulatOar.  That is my only complaint.  My favorite seat so far is the one on the Rowperfect.  I chafe on every other seat over my tailbone.  On the water I liked the Dreher carbon fiber seat too but thats about it.  Unfortunately that seat doesn't fit my boat, so the SimulatOar is even boatlike in the respect that my ass hurts and I need skin grafting after 15k.  I just ordered a seat pad so we shall see if that fixes things.  In any case, I am thrilled with the SimulatOar.  It is the most boat-like of any erg out there.  It is a bit expensive coming in at just under 3k (including the Speedcoach, springs and sculling setup)  this does not include the slides as I had those already.  However when you look at how well constructed this device is, you will probably realize that your money was well spent.  Because of the width required, space may be a concern for some.   The total space required is 7 feet in width and 9.5 feet in length.  If you prefer not to use the slides (bad idea) you can shave off about 3 feet in length.

As the Coffey's say, "the only thing missing is the splash" I would like to add that the track bite is also missing thank God. Bottom line, if you like to row on the water and you have the space, get the SimulatOar.  Put it on your Christmas list, sell your plasma, cash in your 401k, just make it happen.

Book Review: Sculling In A Nutshell

Since the weather seems to be taking a turn for the better, at least in my neck of the woods, I think it is time to focus on training outdoors.  Summer to me means rowing, running and being outside as much as I can.  Today I want to tell you about a great book that just came out about rowing on the water.

I met the author, Gordon Hamilton at the Florida Rowing Center.  This is where I first got exposure to sculling and much of this was under Gordon's watchful eye.  As a first exposure to the sport I was a bit overwhelmed and a lot of the teaching has been forgotten or was never fully processed in the first place.  Yeah it happens, and we all need a reminder.  Enter "Sculling in a Nutshell".  This was a much needed refresher for me.  I have read several books on the subject between working with Gordon at the FRC and purchasing this particular book.  I love this book.  It serves to remind me and at the same time re-teach me the lessons I learned previously.  I found myself thinking "Oh, so that is what he was saying".  Now that I can read and re-read at my leisure it really gets a chance to sink in.  Gordon has a very unique way of looking at sculling and his teaching may seem a little different, unlike what you may have learned from others.  Suffice it to say, this book is a worthwhile investment for the veteran rower or the novice.  There is a lot of good information here.  If you are a rower go buy it.  I bought my copy on amazon.com.  Better yet if you can, next winter or spring, escape the cold and go to the Florida Rowing Center.  Here is a link.  You can have Gordon sign your copy.

Product Review: Lifeline Jungle Gym XT

I am beginning to wonder if I am turning into a Gearwhore.  I suppose the thought would not have crossed my mind were it not at least partially true.  Fair enough.  The good news is I am really impressed with this product and I am going to give it a favorable review.  Reader's Digest version:  If you have been looking to add suspension training to your regimen get this instead of the TRX.

Now for the rest of us that want the Full Monty review....  

You may have considered adding suspension training to your regimen.  I think that is a great idea as it offers opportunity to hit the core pretty hard and also develop stabilization strength.  Do I think it should form the basis of your training?  Absolutely not.  It will not develop maximal strength, it will not get you "swole", it will not by itself optimize your training.  It will offer a novel way to train the muscles including major movers and stabilizers, it is super for core, and it is great for working in circuit training. It is also quite versatile in that it can fold up in a small box, you could easily throw this in a gym bag or a suitcase.  You can hook these handles behind a door, over a bar or even over a tree limb.  This can go anywhere.  We all know most hotel gyms suck and when they suck they suck mightily.  You'll see maybe a lifecycle and a treadmill and if you're super lucky some dbs and a big blue exercise ball.  There is usually some creeper already in there training so most rational folks either go for a run outside or find a local gym.  You can always bang out some burpees and skip rope in the parking lot but you're likely to attract the wrong kind of attention  doing that (any kind of attention is the wrong kind).  I used to bring a kettlebell on trips. I will never do that again because it weighs a lot and I don't like the idea of having a cannonball floating in the back of the car no matter how well I strap it down.  Also you can't take it on a plane, the jungle gym, on the other hand is made to travel.  Enough about that.

Most people who are in the market for this have considered, or are considering the TRX.  I have used it extensively.  It is well made, just like the jungle gym.  There are things I dislike about the TRX that the jungle gym circumvents.  Firts with the TRX you are stuck with a "V" configuration.  The Jungle Gym allows you to move the sets of straps independently.  Also adjusting the strap length is simple, easy and quick.  I like the handles better on the Jungle gym.   They are much easier to keep clean and the foot stirrups are much easier to get in and out of.   The best part is the Jungle Gym XT comes at close to half the price of the TRX, and it is better!  It comes with a great DVD where a lot of great drills are demonstrated and explained in detail.  Some of these drills are really demanding.  Have a look at my setup and if you have questions let me know!   Click here to read more about the Jungle Gym XT.

Dynamic Rowing Machine Decision Algorithm

Quite a few questions have come up regarding the dynamic erg review posts on the blog.  As I continue to work with all of my equipment I am convinced that if you can swing it the Rowperfect Indoor Sculler is the best option out there.  It is pretty much all I use anymore.  It has taken me a little over a year to come to this conclusion.  It may not be for everyone however so here is my attempt at an algorithm to sort things out.  Sorry it is kind of hard to read.  Old guys like me might have to zoom in on the screen a little bit.

Product Review: Concept 2 SkiErg

I was all set to call this post SkiErg II Electric Boogaloo, but then I realized there was never an initial review.  This is a major oversight on my part as I have owned this machine for almost 2 years.  Put plainly, I have a love/hate relationship with it.  I love it because it is well made, it always works, and it uses the familiar Concept 2 PM Monitor (Mine has a PM4).  What do I hate about it?  Nothing really...aside from the fact that it is an absolute ass-kicker to the extent that an alternative working title for this post was "Hail Satan".   After further consideration, I concluded such a title would be a google-fu dog whistle for  Satan worshipers, goth teenagers, and the like.  They wouldn't like it here.

Let the record state I am not a cross country skier.  I purchased this machine because I felt that it would be a great conditioning tool that would undo a lot of the bad stuff that endless rowing might do.  In fact I still believe this to be correct.  Rowing involves a lot of legs and posterior chain, this also hits the legs to a significant extent but majorly hits the anterior chain and also involves the upper body.  This is the yin to rowing's yang or something like that.  The SkiErg can even be used sitting in a chair for example to isolate more upper body or to work around a lower extremity injury.  It is important to realize that it only simulates the double poling action in cross country skiing and a lot of people may take issue with that.  Fair enough but at the end of the day it involves all the muscles used in skiing and it delivers on the conditioning side.  The worst I have ever felt in my life was after a 1k all-out effort.  Keep in mind that I have gone to great lengths to torture myself.  Concept 2 is very good about creating online opportunities to generate H+ ions and fun in the form of online competitions both with the rower and the SkiErg.  This month the "Tour de SkiErg" is going on.  Each week is a different race which you can do any time over those 7 days.  This week is 2k, last week was 500m and the week before was 5k.  Next week is 10k.  I can't wait till next week.

For less intense aerobic efforts the SkiErg works well too.  Longer intervals are enjoyable, the machine is not loud at all so listening to music is always possible.  As far as putting the machine together, it is no big deal and the instructions are clear.  You can buy a stand for it which will allow you to move the unit around.  This costs a bit more.  I opted for the wall mounted version because I am cheap frugal.  Using the machine is pretty straightforward and I do not find it to be as technically nuanced as rowing.  Hence this a great device for intense circuit training.  Why there aren't more of these things in commercial gyms or especially Crossfit gyms I'll never know.  This seems like just what the doctor ordered for those adult daycare centers gyms.

Do I like this machine?  Put it this way, if someone told me I could only keep 2 items from my gym I'd be hanging on to my Rowperfect Indoor Sculler and my C2 SkiErg.

If the floor doesn't look like this when you are done, you didn't try hard enough.

On-line training: Lesson Learned and Lenten sacrifice

Anyone who followed the old Rational Fitness blog will recall my fondness for having others program my training.  I believe that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well and therefore one should strive for optimal results.  Of course, the first ingredient is showing up.  The second ingredient is doing the right thing when you get there.  It is a lot easier for me to negotiate both of these hurdles if I know what I will be doing ahead of time.  As far as training for rowing I have worked with Xeno Muller and I have also utilized the Rojabo program.  I have done well with both.  Xeno is really good at video analysis of the stroke and also programming.  I rowed my best ever 2k race on the erg (6:36.9) while working with him.  I was 39 at the time and about 75 kg.  Being a vertically impaired (5'8") old man, I was pretty pleased with that result.  Xeno has a great website and blog and always has good informative posts.  He isn't excactly cheap but he knows the sport and he has the olympic medals to prove it.  Check out his blog here.  

I also use a Dutch website called Rojabo for my training.  To use this you run 2 tests on your erg and it will spit out a program.  It requires you to periodically redo the tests to guage your progress.  Once you do the tests, in addition to generating your next few weeks of training it will tell you your predicted result and also your potential optimal result.  Based on my last test it told me I had the potential to row 6:17.  Very flattering.  But my next question was, then why the heck did I get a 6:40.5 at my race the other week.  I am leaving oceans of time unaccounted for.  I emailed Bo from Rojabo to figure out what the deal was.  The Danish rowers are well know for having some of the fastest lightweight rowers anywhere.  Their training appears to be briefer and more intense compared to the way training is done by others.  Apparently most of these guys do other things besides rowing, they have jobs or go to school just like the rest of us.  There is no arguing with their results.  For a recent example check out Henrik Stephansen who just recently set the lightweight world record (again) on the 2k erg.  The guy goes sub 6 as a lightweight!  The scary thing is, if you check out Xeno's site, Xeno thinks there are still issues with his technique that if addressed could make him even faster!  Have a look....

Anyway in my emails with Bo I was informed that even in practice at capped rates (say a piece that calls for 20 strokes per min) these guys are always in little competitions with each other.  The program gives you a good idea where you should be at a given stroke rate so you have some parameters.  And herein lies the lesson that I perhaps have been failing to incorporate in spite of what so many people have probably been trying to tell me over the years.  If you are at a capped rate, or any rate, make every stroke count.  There should be no such thing as garbage time and I think that is where people get led astray particularly with those Concept 2 challenges where you try to log the most meters etc.  Long steady state is good but make that count too with technique drills etc.  Xeno is big on that.  If you have an interest in Rojabo, the website is www.rojabo.com.  You can try it for a month for free. 

Since it is lent and I don't want to offend the new Pope, whoever that's going to be, I have to give something up.  I am giving up wasting time with rowing garbage meters.  

Here is an interesting little aside... I repeated the power test on three different ergs (it is a 6 min test and you cover the monitor so you can't see your splits.  1 min at 20 spm x2 then 1 min each at 22, 24,26,28 spm.  Once thats done you have your splits for each of those ratings.  I tested on the c2 static, c2 dynamic and rowperfect indoor sculler.  If you set the boat in the rowperfect as a 4 and the weight at 94 kg You will in theory generate numbers almost dead on with the static c2 for the same effort.  Here are the /500 m splits all are 20-20-22-24-26-28 spm respectively.

Rowperfect:  1:51-1:51-1:49-1:47-1:44-1:40  

C2 static:  1:53-1:54-1:50-1:48-1:45-1:42

C2 dynamic 1:59-1:58-1:56-1:52-1:49-1:47

In order to convert for the rowperfect I used time splits as the monitor does not store watts in memory furthermore for any given pace the watts are higher on the rowperfect as it also accounts in its calculation for work done against the internal bungee whereas the C2 monitors do not account for this.  I used the "ultimate erg calculator" available here to make those calculations.  It is interesting that with the C2 dynamic the amount of work done at a given pace is less.  Perhaps the explanation is that is quite easy to rate higher with any dynamic machine, particularly with the Concept 2 variant because the footstretcher and handle weigh next to nothing and changing direction is almost effortless therefore maybe 23 -24 spm equates on that equates to 20 spm on the static.  You engage so instantly at the catch on the rowperfect that this does not seem to be an issue.  I suppose this is more than anyone wanted or needed to know but hopefully it is of interest to someone.

Training music

If you spend any significant time on an erg you'll likely come to appreciate the benefit of listening to music while you train.  Since you are pretty much sitting in one place with almost no change of scenery, any external stimuli is a welcome relief.  This is in sharp contrast to rowing on the water where I strongly advocate NOT listening to music because it can be a dangerous distraction.  Anyway on the water there is the wonderful sound of oars clicking in the oarlocks, the blades moving through the water and the boat sliding through the water.  Those are great sounds.  Other not so great sounds may occur but you still need to hear them, for example: your oars slapping the water if you are rowing like shit or the sound of motorboats or douchebags on jetskis.   I have a strong dislike for that last group, can you tell?

Enough about that, this is about great songs for the erg.  Now a large list was compiled on Row2K recently and here is the link to that.  I came up with my own list and you'll see a few songs that they mentioned on Row2K but naturally my list is different better ; )

1.  "In Your Honor"  Foo Fighters --  Who doesn't like this one.  Particularly good as a warmup for a race

2.  "Paper Planes"  M.I.A.  -- Gunshots used as percussion, samples The Clash.  Its all good.

3.  "Pinpricks"  You Am I -- The best band no one in the USA has ever heard of.  I am not kidding.  Did I mention they are the best band you've never heard of?  They are that.

4.  "My Body"  Young the Giant--  "My body tells me no but I won't quit cuz I want more"  Has a more erg-appropriate song ever been written?  I think not.

5.  "Rusty Cage"  Soundgarden--  No explanation needed for this one

6.  "If You Want Blood"  AC/DC--  yeah because at the end of a hard 2k you are gonna be tasting it.   I have no idea why you taste blood after a max 2k but most people do.  Does anyone know why this is.  Pulmonary capillary congestion?  I never cough any up or anything though.  What gives?  Anyway almost anything by AC/DC is good for the erg or anything else.  If You am I is the best band you have never heard of well AC/DC is the best band you have heard of.  If you don't own all their albums I pity you.

7.  "Wolf Like Me"  TV on the Radio--  Pretty visceral and quite good

8.  "Where the Streets Have No Name"  U2--  Amazing song from an amazing album by an amazing band.  'nuff said

9."Submission"  Sex Pistols--  For a band that allegedly couldn't play their instruments this is pretty good.  Excellent choice for those lower rate higher drag pieces, which by the way you should be doing

10.  "Ain't No Right"  Jane's Addiction--  Its a song about pain tolerance.  You'll need it.

11.  "Surrender"  Cheap Trick--  Make sure its the live version from the Budokan album.  Cheap Trick is one of the few bands that sounds way better live than in the studio.  In fact for a longer steady state session you could throw the whole Budokan concert on and have an nice time.

12.  "Lit Up"  Buckcherry--  Good stuff right here

13.  "Aneurysm" Nirvana--  Make sure it is the live version from "Muddy Banks if the Wishka"  They play this one so hard that it seems like at times its gonna fall apart but it doesn't.  Kinda like the way you should feel on a hard interval.

14.  "I Turn My Camera On"  Spoon--  This is a good one.  There are so many Spoon songs that deserve honorable mention here it is ridiculous.

15.  "Jail Break"  Thin Lizzy--  One of the best bands ever.  This is a classic.

16.  "Police on my Back"  The Clash--  The thing speaks for itself

17.  "Teenage Riot"  Sonic Youth--  "You're it"

18.  "B.O.B."  Outkast--  Maybe a little fast but what a great song.  Might get you up to 40 SPM

19.  "Sweet Emotion" Aerosmith--  Phoned it in on this one cuz its a no-brainer plus there are a lot of rowers in Boston.

20.  "Till I Collapse"  Eminem--  Arguably the best erg song ever.

So there it is.  20 erg-tastic songs....Now off you go to itunes, spotify or wherever to make your playlist.

Comprehensive Dynamic Erg Review (Rowperfect, Oartec, Concept 2)

I had originally published this article but after further analysis and time spent comparing the machines I have made some changes which I think shed more light on which of these is best.  In the way of disclosures, I have no conflicts of interest.  All machines were bought by me with my own money and none of these companies have given me anything.  When it comes to dynamic ergometers there are 3 main players presently on the market.  Concept 2 (C2), Oartec, and Rowperfect.  I should add that with respect to Rowperfect (RP) there are actually 2 different versions for sale and these are made by different entities as far as I know.  The original RP company split into two factions I guess and I'm not exactly sure how that works.  There is the Rowperfect Indoor Sculler and the RP3.  I own the Indoor Sculler and I have briefly rowed the RP3.  I'll talk about both of them.  In addition, C2 has two dynamic offerings:  The good old static machine mounted on slides and also the newer Concept 2 Dynamic.  I have both of those too.  Don't ask me how or why I ended up with all of these, I just did.  If you are in the market for such a machine perhaps I can clarify things for you.  I wish someone would have done that for me.  

It is very important when trying to evaluate things to compare them side by side, rowing something one day and then something else weeks later is sometimes the only option but it is suboptimal.  There is nowhere that I have access to where all of these machines could be tried side by side so I just made it happen in my basement.  Apparently at Rational Fitness we will stop at nothing to arrive at an answer.  Here we have the Oartec Slider, the Rowperfect Indoor Sculler, the Concept 2 dynamic and the concept 2 model C on slides in a virtual erg-mageddon.  Where is Michael Buffer when you need him?  Lets get ready to rumble.......

Let's start with the Oartec Slider which I purchased in early 2011.  This was my first dynamic machine. I reviewed this previously and I found it to be a fine machine in general.  It is definitely solidly built and has a nice smooth flow once you get going on it.  If you get out of sync at all you will bounce back and forth between the front and back stops so it rewards good technique.  The machine requires about 10 feet for use so it is not exactly small and it cannot be dismantled for storage.  The machine is designed to give about the same 500m splits as the concept 2 so splits are fairly comparable.  I always had better splits on the C2 for an equal amount of effort but they were close.   The monitor is just decent, you can set up intervals both time or distance based, you can express your effort in watts or speed and generally you can do many of the things that you can with the C2 PM3 or PM4 monitors with a few important exceptions.  There is no log card function on the Oartec.  It will only store your immediately preceding workout in memory.  In addition there is no optional pace boat to give you a visual reference to race against.  You have the option of purchasing a pickup that plugs into the monitor that will allow you to display your heart rate assuming you are wearing a Polar monitor.  This is similar to the C2 PM3 monitor in this respect.  The PM4 will wirelessly pick up any ANT+ enabled HR strap.  One problem with the Oartec monitor is that you can only display one of the following extra data options at a time (drag factor, hr, stroke length, drive ratio, strokes).  So for example, while it might be useful to see stroke length and HR at the same time, you can't do that on the Oartec.  Some of these parameters you couldn't get previously on the C2 monitor but now you can with an option which I'll get into later.  I know that at one point in time Oartec was supposed to release a PC based program to provide additional data but that hasn't happened and it has been almost 2 years since I have heard any mention of that.  I ran into a few glitches with the monitor and Oartec was very responsive regarding software updates to correct them.  Bottom line regarding the monitor is that while it is adequate, it does not measure up to the C2 monitor.  Soundwise, it is definitely louder than the Concept 2.  It is not as loud as the RP however.   Overall it feels like a heavier boat, in fact it is very very similar in feel to a concept 2 on slides.   The construction of the machine itself is solid and at the price point of $1295 USD it is a good value.  I love the orange and black color, by the way.  I ended up switching out the seat and handle for the concept 2 model D seat and handle.  This was a very inexpensive modification and I am sure more people would prefer the OEM Oartec seat and handle because both are softer, but that's just me.

Liked:

-Quality construction

-Good dynamic movement

-Attractively Priced

Didn't like:

-Monitor does not allow storage of multiple sessions

-OEM Seat and handle didn't suit me

Next we come to the Rowperfect Indoor Sculler.  This machine could and should be the best of all of them.  Given that the cost is well north of $3000 it should be nothing short of amazing.  Is it all that?  Let's see...  Here is what I like about it... It feels possibly the most like being on a single scull than any of the other ergs.  It has a built in limited tilt seat which forces the rower to keep balanced through the core.  This is great but one must keep in mind that a lot of the balancing of a shell on the water is dictated by hand height.  Still this is a cool feature.  Another nice thing is the "Oarflex" handle.  This features a built in spring in the handle that gives a bit of flex to the handle as you start the drive and theoretically places less stress on the upper extremities at that moment of highest potential force.  My battles with tennis elbow made this a major factor in my decision to get this machine. As it turns out it is not that hard to modify the Concept 2 handle to possess a similar feature.  Drop me an email and I can explain that.  The fan cage is designed so the air from the fan blows on the rower which is a welcome relief once you get going.  The design of the machine itself is pretty simple and actually quite brilliant.  It is the easiest of all of them to put together and the easiest to transport.  You could take this outside on a nice day and it would be quite easy to do.  The heaviest part is about 35 lbs and it comes apart and back together with an allen wrench.  I think the monitor is waterproof but I am not planning to test that out.  The monitor is pretty easy to use and it does some things that other monitors don't.   What do I like about the monitor?  First you can select the type of boat you are using. You can choose between a 1x, a coxless pair, a 4- and an 8.  Your results are also weight based.  So if you select an 8 for instance, your result will be what you and seven of your exact clones would row in an 8.  They say if you want results to compare with what you would pull on a C2 you just set the weight at 95kg and select a 4 person boat.  When I do that I am a bit better than I am on a C2  but you can play with the settings to get close to what you'd get on a c2 for the same effort.  The monitor comes with a HR strap and lots of options for the display including watts, stroke length, meters per stroke, total strokes, and also a cool function showing watts per heartbeat.  This last item could give a lot of good info as far as knowing how you are progressing in your fitness or maybe if you are overtraining or getting sick.  Very cool, but like many things, what is a great idea in theory gets derailed in execution.  There are some problems with this monitor.  You can't set it up for intervals.  You also can't store data.  It will only show the results of the last workout.  There is no way to interface the monitor with a computer so if there is a software update you can't get it without sending your monitor to Rowperfect either in Canada or Australia.  This can be a pain in the ass.  My first monitor got swapped out because the software version I originally got was a steaming hot mess.  The new monitor is a lot better but I still can't get it to recognize a steady heart rate; one minute it will say my HR is 150 then it will double count it to 300.  So I was looking to use watts per HR on the monitor but I really couldn't.  Of course I figured out a way around that.  I just set the monitor for avg watts and using my HR app on my iphone I can see where I am at.  The nice thing is no matter what boat type you select or weight you program, watts don't change.  This way I always know how much work I am really doing.   Also the information the monitor stores from the last session is limited in that it won't give average heart rates or watts.  I have found ways around some of these things.  I have complained to the folks at Rowperfect and they are great folks.  I was having a problem with the monitor giving erratic rates and the owner of the company walked me through repositioning the monitor pickup as it was in the wrong position.  Customer service is very responsive.  Once I corrected this the machine suddenly got a lot more pleasant to row on.  One other thing I didn't like about the machine are the footstraps.  I took them off and put on concept 2 footplates.   This is the loudest out of all the ergs but it is not an annoying sound.  You'll just have to crank up the tunes a bit louder.  The footprint of the machine is a lot smaller than the C2 static or the Oartec.  It doesn't take up much space and if you have about 7 feet or so of space you should be good to go.  This may be the ideal machine for someone who doesn't care a lot about the data collection and wants to train on perceived exertion or maybe do like I do and monitor HR with my iphone and a FISCIA key.  I like an app called "Heartworks".  It gives you nice graphs like this:  

One thing I really like about this machine is that there is nothing holding the seat like a bungee or anything.  There is a concavity in the bar that kind of keeps the seat where you want it but if you get sloppy with your technique you will know immediately. Out of all the ergs tested this feels the most like a boat, is the most pleasant to row, and provides the most feedback in terms of technique.   In summary I love this erg.  A 70 min steady state piece rowed on this machine will leave you feeling like you had a good session but not sore and irritable like I would feel after getting off the old static erg.  If I was going to do a long session it would be a no-brainer, I'd do it on this machine.   Both the C2 on slides and the Oartec feel heavy and slower by comparison.  I mentioned that another descendent from the original Rowperfect was the RP3 .  I believe these are sold here in the US now by Carlos Dinares and also by Durham Boat Company in NH.  Durham boat are nice folks to deal with and I tried their version of the RP while I was there picking up a boat.  Felt largely the same as the indoor sculler but has a different handle without the Oarflex feature.  Also it requires attachment to a computer and some software as it does not come with its own monitor.

Liked:

-feels most like being on the water in a single

-monitor allows different boats to be selected and allows rower bodyweight to factor in

-small footprint

-airflow from fan cools the rower

-oarflex handle is really nice

-amazing customer service

-very easy to transport

-solid stainless steel build

Didn't like:

-expensive

-no way to store more than 1 session data

-prefer C2 footstretcher

-heart rate pickup is dodgy

This leads us to the Concept 2 static on slides.  This has been around for quite a while and slides are simply an add-on that fits underneath the concept 2 rower.  The real drawback with these is they require a lot of space.  We are talking about 11 and a half feet of level ground.  Not everyone has that kind of space.  As far as using them goes, they feel a lot like the Oartec.  They feel like a heavier boat than the the RP. Slides run $290 per pair plus shipping from Concept 2.  If you buy a new Model D and a pair of slides it'll run you $1190-$1340 depending on whether you go with the PM3 or PM4 monitor.  The great thing about these is that if you already have a C2 and you have the space, for a little extra $ you have a dynamic option.  I picked mine up used on row2k.com.  Then if you want to train for an indoor race (which presently are all done on static machines) you can put aside the slides just before the race to get back to the feel of the static.  I put a coreperform seat on my erg to get the tilting seat feature that I have on the RP.  This works pretty well but I had to take all the hardware out of the seat and put it on loose because it wasn't tippy enough.  You can learn about coreperform here.  In summary the slides are a nice option if you already have a static and some space.  It feels like a heavier boat like I said. 

Liked:

-simple add on to the classic static concept 2 model B, C, D, or E

-better than rowing static machine

Didn't like:

-takes up lots of space

-not even remotely portable

Finally we come to the Concept 2 Dynamic.  Concept 2 was a little late to the dance with their dynamic entry but in fairness they released the slides a long time ago and probably felt that was a satisfactory dynamic option at the time.  When this erg came out there was a lot I didn't like about it.  I hadn't tried it but I didn't care for the location of the flywheel under the rower and the use of cord instead of a chain attached to the handle.  I finally got to try one a few months ago and liked it enough to get one.  My concern about the flywheel location was a non issue.  I was worried about sweat getting inside there but  the fan blows the sweat away and provides a nice cooling effect for the rower. C2 provides a plastic cover for the fan in case people don't want the fan air blowing on them but I actually like the fan.  The cord is made of something called Dyneema which is a fiber made of high molecular weight polyethylene.  This material is ultra strong.  There is a potential for wear over time and C2 includes an extra cord just in case.  My skierg uses the same material and mine has held up perfectly over the past couple years so I think this is just fine.  I think the dynamic movement of this machine is ok.  It feels more similar to rowing a single after I put on the coreperform seat.  (I still like the RP seat better than the coreperform though).  I had elevate the coreperform seat a few mm with some washers to clear the fan cage on the dynamic because of its location.  This seems to set the seat too high for me to get in a good position on the footstretcher though.  There have been some complaints about the Dynamic with some users complaining they couldn't get good connection at the start of the leg drive.  This does not seem to be a huge problem for me.  I feel the connection between the footplate and the handle and I initially felt that I had no problem suspending my bodyweight.  However, the way I think i make this happen is by opening my back too early.  I figured this out because my back would bother me after rowing on this and I couldn't figure out why.  I think there may be a bit of slop in the foot to handle connection based on the design. I really have to concentrate on not opening the back.  The machine is fairly quiet and the familiar C2 PM4 is as reliable as ever.  One thing that really differentiates the C2 dynamic from all the others that is lost on people unless they do a side by side comparison, is the absence of handle tension on the return.  There is no shock cord retracting the handle on the recovery on the C2 dynamic.  There is nothing like that on a boat either.  If you get off the dynamic and get on the RP or the C2 on slides you will feel like the handle and your hands are being pulled forward a bit on the return.  This is not boatlike.  One thing that is important in rowing on the water is getting the hands back toward the stern ASAP.  There is a tendency to want to pause at the finish.  (I was taught that "finish" is a bad word for this reason).  That is a boat stopper "GTF outta tha bow" I always tell myself.  Without the shock cord pulling you toward the catch, getting the hands out is all your responsibility.  This is good practice.  As far as actual technique, you can get away with a lot of bullshit on this machine since the seat travel is limited by a strong bungee so if you get out of kilter you won't hit the frontstops or anything.  So unlike the RP or the slides or the Oartec I don't sense a lot of punishment for poor technique.  In a sense it may almost encourage it with the tendency to make you (well at least me, anyway) want to open early with the back.  On a positive note the footprint of the dynamic is the smallest of the bunch.  At just over 6 ft, it isn't hogging up a lot of space.  Having said that, it is pretty heavy and can't easily be taken apart for storage.  The machine runs 1250 plus shipping with a PM3 monitor vs 1400 for the PM4 monitor.  I can't say enough good things about the Concept 2 monitors.  They are reliable, functional and easy to use.  Customer service is great and they are always improving their products.  Recently they came out with a free app for the iphone called Ergdata.  If you buy a special cord from C2 and a plastic holder (~$40 total) that secures your phone to the PM monitor you can have your data show up on your phone.  It is brighter than the monitor screen plus it shows tons more data that wasn't previously available unless you were running rowpro or some other computer program concurrently.  By the way, if you like Rowpro you had best stick with a C2 product because neither the Oartec nor the RP interface with it.  I personally don't care for Rowpro but that is just me.  Using Ergdata, you can now see things like peak and avg force, stroke length, drag factor, stroke count and HR all on the same screen.  You can also display speed on the PM and watts on your phone or vise versa.  You can also sync with your online logbook if you use one right from your iphone.  This is great and it seems like Concept 2 is the only one doing this sort of thing.  I like it.  

Like:

-small footprint

-uses familiar C2 monitor and Ergdata is another plus

-no tension on the cord during recovery

Didn't like

-relationship between seat and stretchers, I can't find a happy catch position

-bothers my back a little

-tiny bit sloppy at the catch (all of the above could just be me)

Conclusion:

I definitely think that dynamic is the way to go over static because I think they are easier on the body and more fun to train on.  Both those factors will foster frequent training sessions.
The ultimate question is which dynamic rower should one purchase.  The answer is it depends.  Lets look at some hypothetical scenarios.

Example 1:  An on the water rower who trains exclusively to improve for boat racing.... If this individual would find themselves needing to transport a machine frequently and had the $ then the RP would be best.

Example 2:  An athlete who cross trains and may be interested in doing some indoor competitions.  In that case a concept 2 static plus slides makes a lot of sense as long as sufficient space is available.  (Having said that I'm pretty sure you could exclusively train on a dynamic machine and jump on a static for a race and do really well or even better than you would have training on a static).  Maybe I'll try this.

Example 3:  Someone who rows for fitness and isn't interested in indoor rowing comps or maintaining an online log book .  Depending on spatial and financial constraints , the Oartec or the C2 dynamic might be a good option.

Example 4:  An individual who loves to row whilst being overly analytical and picky and has no sense of restraint.  In that case buy em all!

Battle of the Ergs

My rowing obsession started innocently enough. I bought a concept 2 from one of the guys I worked with and used it for some interval work and cardio.  Then because I had to back off the kettlebells I got a bit more serious about using the erg.  I did a few indoor rowing competitions nearby and I was hooked.  At that point I realized that because indoor rowing is a substitute for real rowing, I was essentially living in Plato's cave.  I can't seem to be able to do anything half-way when it comes to anything so early in the spring of 2011 I was off to the florida rowing center to try the real thing.  I enjoyed that and decided that it was something I wanted to do so I picked up a sculling shell and have been doing quite a bit on the water when the weather permits.  The on the water experience for me has been full of stories, adventures, and misadventures which I may go into at another time but long story short, I'm hooked on rowing.

Because I love rowing on the water I am always looking for ways to improve.  The rowing stroke is a bit like golf, there is always room for improvement.  In looking to improve there are two general areas in which improvement can occur.  These are fitness and technique.  Fitness to me is comprised of injury prevention and work capacity.  The erg adresses some of these things well and others not so much.  Ergs are great for fitness as far as work capacity goes.  You can get an excellent workout in a controlled setting and generate lots of useful data on the erg.  Injury prevention may be a different story.  Static ergs for some people are a recipe for injury, particularly involving the low back.  On a static erg the body slams into the catch position repeatedly, this involves a lot of directional changes, the force of which must be absorbed by the body.  Thus, injury risk is a concern and it is also part of the reason why more and more people are changing to dynamic ergs.  As far as technique goes, rowers like to say "ergs don't float".  This is true.  Just because you can pull a great score on the Concept 2 doesn't mean you are any good on the water.  The reason for this is because you can get away with a lot on the static erg.  The dynamic machines are designed to more closely simulate what happens on the water with the boat moving beneath the rower.  What it does not do is simulate bladework.  Bladework is a huge component to being able to move a boat.  Hence, ergs don't exactly float.  What they can do, in my opinion is develop excellent conditioning in a way that minimizes injury risk.  The dynamic ergs also to a fair extent allow the user to work on technical issues like body movement sequence and timing of the catch and drive ratios.

I talked a lot about dynamic vs static ergs in this article where I reviewed the Oartec Slider.  You may want to take a look at that and then read part II of this series because I am going to compare the Oartec Slider, the Rowperfect Indoor Sculler, the Concept 2 Dynamic and the Concept 2 static on slides.  Yeah I ended up owning all of them.  I distinctly remember saying that no way would I drop all that money on a Rowperfect.  Well I did... Was it worth it?

Tennis Elbow

Ok. I have lots to catch up on and hopefully something really big in the next few weeks. I haven't quite completed that project just yet but when I do it'll be interesting. In the meantime, here is something that I think will be helpful to some folks. Please note that this blog does not constitute medical advice, I am merely reporting on my personal experience and what has worked for me. Your mileage may vary. Always consult your personal physician when in doubt. I don't know about you but it seems like when I hit my late thirties I started to get some of those things that I recall hearing "old people" complain about. I am referring to things like plantar fasciitis and tennis elbow. I wrote about the PF quite a bit before and I had a good result dealing with that. If you need to know more about that, hit me up via email or post a comment. Today I want to talk a bit about tennis elbow or what smarter people than me refer to as lateral epicondylitis. I don't know why exactly they call it tennis elbow. Most people who get it do not play tennis. That said, if you play tennis, there is a fairly good chance you may get it. Any repetitive motion involving the extensor muscles of the forearm can lead to it so feel free to insert your favorite masturbation joke here. I have had tennis elbow twice. The first time was a mild case a few years ago and it went away with some stretching and broomstick exercises. I developed it from too much rope climbing. The next time I developed it was much worse both in terms of severity and duration. I got it from rowing and I think it was more from rowing on the water than rowing on the erg. However, once it was present, even the erg bothered it. This really got bad in July of 2011. It kept me off the water for pretty much the rest of that summer and right about that time we moved so lots of excitement and very little rowing. I tried everything, the broomstick exercises, stretching, ultrasound, massage and I wasn't getting anywhere. After a thorough review of the medical literature I found something that looked promising. The device is called the "Theraband Flexbar". It uses eccentric strengthening to bring about a resolution to tennis elbow symptoms. My crude understanding of what goes on in this condition is that there is chronic injury to the tendons of the extensor muscles in the forearm. It is more of a tendinopathy than a tendinitis meaning that the tendon is not repairing itself correctly and tissue is not being repaired in the proper orientation. The eccentric loading of these tissues encourages the proper repair so that the pathological process is interrupted. The flexbar costs less than $30 and can be found on amazon.com or local PT supply stores may have them. The corrective exercise is called the "Tyler Twist"  . Here is a link to the article . The goal is to work up to 3 sets of 15 reps. I used a green bar. The red one is too flimsy and the blue one is too stiff for most folks. The green seems to work fine for the majority of active people. It is important to stick with this because it will not work overnight but in most cases improvement is seen within a few days.

Don't Call it a Comeback...

I'm not sure if it is one or isn't. I announced to my wife that I was going to fire up the blog again and she said "you mean the kettlebell blog?'. I had to stop for a second because I don't have any other blog but I hadn't realized it was pretty much entirely devoted to kettlebells. For the past year and a half at least, my kettlebells have been collecting dust. I have still been training but just using other stuff like barbells, bodyweight drills, rowing (both on the erg and on the water), and running. This past summer I spent rowing on the water and training for a marathon which I ran in September. I suppose I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog if I am going to resurrect it. I do think it may be a worthwhile endeavor because I learnt a few things along the way and some readers (If I still have any) might find some useful info to help their own training. I really took a big vacation from kettlebells over the past couple years and I'd like to spend some time on that subject. While training for Ken Whethem's amazing Outlaw Kettlebell meet in May of 2011 I noticed significant pain and swelling where the body of the bell would rest on my left wrist. It got to the point where it would hurt to even touch it lightly. After the meet I completely gave up kettlebells and focused on rowing instead. The swelling persisted despite the kettlebell boycott. I showed it to a friend who is an orthopaedic surgeon and he thought it might be intersection syndrome from rowing but I told him rowing didn't bother it (although it did give me a wicked case of tennis elbow but thats another story). Eventually we just decided to stick a needle in it and a bunch of old blood came out. I probably bled into the tendon sheath and it just sat there. In spite of draining the fluid the area remains sensitive even now and the lightest kettlebells will bother it. I tried several different wrist guards and improvised ones like small shin guards under socks, I melted some pvc pipe to shape a guard but nothing worked well for me. The guards would shift too much under the bell and slide all over my arm. I really thought I had exhausted my options until I found this. This is an Evoshield wrist guard. I found this at Dick's Sporting Goods. You simply open the sealed bag that holds the insert, slide it into the neoprene sleeve, put it on, leave it on for about 30 min while it hardens in the shape of your wrist and you are all set. It doesn't slide around and it holds up well. It stood up to bells as heavy as 40 kg used for cleans and long cycle so it seems durable. This isn't cheap though. One of these will set you back about $25 but for me it is well worth it to be able to get back to doing long cycle which is the the duck's nuts when it comes to exercise. If your wrists are bothering you from kettlebells you might want to give this a try. In any case I plan on getting back into some long cycle and possibly doing more with this blog.

Sorry, I've been busy...

Too much time out here:




Doing this:



I have a lot of new stuff to share. I hate to say it but this may turn into more of a rowing blog than anything else for a while. Stay tuned...

Dynamic erg videos

As promised here are some videos of the different dynamic ergs I mentioned in my last post:

Here is the new Concept2 dynamic:



Next we have the Rowperfect:



Here is the Oartec Slider:



And finally the concept 2 on slides:

Product Review: Oartec Slider

I have been meaning to review this for a while but I am now finally getting around to it. The Oartec Slider is an example of what is often referred to as a "dynamic ergometer" or "dynamic rowing machine". In contrast a typical rowing machine like the Concept 2 is a "static" erg. The difference is in how the seat moves in relation to the flywheel. A common criticism of static ergs is that they do not mimic what happens in a boat. Instead the whole body mass is moved up and down the slide during the rowing motion and the feet remain anchored. On a dynamic machine the seat moves as does the the mass to which the feet are anchored. This is more like what happens in a boat. In addition there is data suggesting that the body (particularly the low back) is subjected to less stress on a dynamic machine. In this case the body is not slammed into the catch position as it is on the static.

Currently the rowing machine market is dominated by Concept2. Their traditional machine (currently model D and E) are commonly seen (but often neglected) in commercial gyms. These are the machines that are used for indoor rowing competitions. They are superb in quality and design and performance is standardized so what you pull on one machine would be the same as any other assuming you have the same drag factor set. Concept 2 has revolutionized indoor rowing and they provide outstanding customer service. Concept 2 though was late to the party when it came to dynamic machines to an extent. In fairness they offered an option to give their traditional erg a more dynamic feel with the addition of slides that can be ordered from their website for a few hundred dollars. The problem with these is they require a lot of space as they significantly expand the range of movement of the entire apparatus. In the last few months Concept 2 has brought to market their new dynamic erg. The design is interesting and the footprint of the entire machine is about 6 feet, this is nice if space is an issue. I haven't tried it but there are a few things I don't like about it. My main complaint is that the flywheel sit just beneath one of your arms so you will tend to sweat right into it. Also they replaced the chain with a cable. Reviews so far have been mixed. Given all that I decided to look at other options.

Another major player in the dynamic market is the Rowperfect. This is a very nice machine that is well liked. The major problem with this is its cost. It costs about 3x as much as either an oartec or a Concept2. My other issue was that I couldn't find anyone in the USA that had them available. Could be a problem if I need spare parts or a repair. That plus the price equaled a F-that according to rational fitness mathematics. This left the Oartec as the best option. Oartec is an Australian company but they are made in the States now and marketed by the folks at Waterrower. Waterrower is another brand of static erg. They make a really nice machine that looks more like a piece of modern art furniture than an exercise machine. It uses a water filled drum instead of a fan to generate resistance and it is actually pleasant to row. Never mind about that. Lets talk about the Oartec.

The Oartec is a very well constructed machine, solid, easy to assemble. It uses the same type of flywheel as the concept 2 and is reportedly calibrated the same as the concept 2, so theoretically 500m rowed on the Oartec would equal 500m on the static Concept 2. I say theoretically because I think they are actually a bit different. The Oartec is dynamic so the seat and the footstretcher/flywheel assembly move independent of one another. It is easier to increase your rating (strokes per min) on the Oartec but you pay a price in a very short time. I did a little experiment. I currently get my rowing workouts from www.rojabo.com (great site, first month is free so it is worth a try). To use this site you have to do two tests, one is a power test, the other is an endurance step test (not fun). I tested these on both the Oartec and the static Concept 2 a couple times. In both cases the power test results were nearly identical. It is a six minute test with 1 min splits at 20, 20, 22, 24, 26, and 28 strokes per min so not very hard. The results of the power test will tell you how to proceed on the endurance test. In both cases my endurance test ended much earlier with the Oartec because I couldn't sustain the power at the given rating as long. This fits with what others have said about dynamic ergs. Initially you can crank but it catches up with you quickly. I am not exactly sure why but I think it may have to do with additional mechanical factors with respect to the movement of the seat, flywheel and foot stretcher/flywheel apparatus and energy loss from this. Seriously I don't know, its just a good deal harder.

Ok lets review this bad boy. First the good: It is well constructed and nice to look at. Black and orange are a great color combination. I like the color orange for some reason. It is fairly easy to get a good dynamic rhythm going but if your technique deteriorates you will know immediately, it provides instant feedback. It is also great for technique drills like one leg rowing and strapless rowing. It can be stored vertically so if you need it out of the way, that isn't a problem. The handle is wide and comfortable. The foot stretchers are typical and not that different in function from the concept 2. However they connect to a solid plate and the overall effect is almost like you are getting into the machine rather than sitting on it. This thing is solid and the build shows quality. At the price point it is close to the static Concept 2, a little less than the C2 dynamic and way less than the Rowperfect. The monitor is easy to use and actually gives you some interesting features that the Concept 2 monitor lacks, for example stroke length, drive ratio, and you can have your distance in miles or other units. The drag factor is easy to get and corresponds pretty well with the Concept 2 (i.e a 150 drag factor feels similar on both machines).

What about the bad? Although the monitor provides some interesting new features it is nowhere near as good as the concept 2 monitor. It will only store your last sessions data. Want to race a previous performance or see a pace boat? Can't do it. Also with Rojabo I do a lot of intervals. If I want to see my stroke length I have to tell it that for each interval (i.e. when the next interval starts it won't tell me stroke length unless I tell it to again). Same problem applies to heart rate. You can use a polar HR monitor with a pickup device that plugs into the monitor (same as with the concept 2, unless you have a C2 PM4 monitor and a Suunto HR monitor, then you don't need a pickup on the C2). Also you are stuck with polar as far as HR monitors go on the Oartec, the Suunto strap that C2 provides with the PM4 is about 1000x more comfortable. In addition, you can't have two tech functions displaying at the same time on the Slider, you must pick between HR, stroke length, drive ratio, drag factor, or avg strokes per min (wtf is that there for?) I suspect that these issues will all be addressed soon as they are planning to release a computer program to interface with the Oartec. The website makes it sound like it is already available, it isn't as of right now. Also if you like to use other software like RowPro, the Oartec is currently not compatible. Other issues are minor. It is a bit louder than the the Concept 2. It has a throaty sound especially when you get cranking on it. This isn't a big deal. If noise is a big issue for you get a WaterRower maybe. One thing I didn't like that everyone else seems to like was the seat. It is soft (too soft) and comfortable but after about 10k it starts to chafe. I took it off and ordered a spare Concept 2 seat which I mounted. It cost me $15. Fifteeen bucks! Did I tell you Concept 2 had good customer service and good prices on parts? Well let me tell you, they are the cat's meow when it comes to that. Oartec also has been excellent as far as customer service goes. Initially I had a problem with my monitor and they spent a lot of time on the phone troubleshooting it. It ended up that they overnighted a new monitor because the first monitor would not allow interval programming and would not accept a software update.

Overall despite some minor limitations, I am happy with the Oartec. It does seem easier on my low back and I enjoy rowing it. I think the release of the new computer software will address any remaining problems and i can't wait for that. Bottom line though is, as they say, "ergs don't float". There is no substitute for being on the water but with the weather we have been having lately, the Oartec is the best game in town much of the time. Tomorrow or thereabouts I will provide links to videos of all the machines mentioned here. This post is testing the limits of the human attention span (mine in particular).

Re-post of Rostov program

Charge up the time machine... Here is one from the vaults. This is the Rostov program I did a couple years ago. The original post was 1/13/09 I still think this is a great 1 month training program for someone who wants to build up to a competition. So lets say you want to compete with 24kg bells, use those for the heavy set and 16s for the lighter sets. You can also adjust the reps based on your goals and current ability. Here you go:

Well Comrades the 4 week Rostov experiment is now complete and I will give you full disclosure here. Here is pic of Rostov -on Don for you to enjoy. Each microcycle is one week so it is a 4 week program as there are four microcycles. It is all 2 arm long cycle thus where you see 32 +32 would refer to a pair of 32kg bells. the numbers inside the bracket are the reps I was supposed to get. The time of the set is written next. For some of the sets there might be a situation where I would do multiple one or two minute sets. Here I will indicate the time between sets. If not otherwise specified I would rest 3 minutes between say sets with the 32 kg bells and the 24kg bells.

Microcycle 1
Day 1. 32+32 / 16 / - 2'00" + 24+24 / 30/ - 3'00" I got all the reps for these sets. (This turned out to be a rare event!)
Day 2. 32+32 / 20 / - 2'30" + 24+24 / 42 / - 3'30" I got all the reps with the 32s but 38 reps with the 24s.
Day 3. 32+32 / 24 / - 3'00" + 24+24 / 48 / - 4'00" I got all the reps with the 32s but only 42 with the 24s.
Day 4. 32+32 / 28 / - 3'30" + 24+24 / 60 / - 5'00" 26 reps with the 32s and 51 with the 24s
Day 5. 32+32 / 32 / - 4'00" + 24+24 / 72 / - 6'00" 27 reps with the 32s and 62 with the 24s

Microcycle 2.

Day 1. 32+32 / 10 / x 9 = 1'00", rest 1'00" Here I did 10/10/10/10/9/8/8/8/7 This was a bitch!
Day 2. 32+32 / 13-14 / x 6 = 1'40", rest 1'00" I got 13/13/11/12/12/10
Day 3. 24+24 / 48/ - 4'00" I got 45.
Day 4. 32+32 / 15-16 / x 5 = 2'00", rest 1'00" 15/15/14/14/13

Microcycle 3.

Day 1. 32+32 /4-5/ - 30" + 32+32 /12-14/ - 1'30" + 24+24 / 24 / - 2'00" I got the recommended reps (5/12/24)
Day 2. 32+32 / 9 / - 1'00" + 32+32 / 17 / - 2'00" + 24+24 / 30 / - 2'30" Came up a little short (9/16/28)
Day 3. 32+32 / 24 / - 3'00" + 24+24 / 42 / - 3'30" Recurring theme, short again 24 w/ 32s and 37 w/ 24s
Day 4. 32+32 / 38-48 / --- 5'00"-6'00" 39 reps at 6 min (6 min PR!)

Microcycle 4.

Day 1. 32+32 / 16-17 / - 2'00" + 32+32 / 16-17 / - 2'00" + 24+24 / 50 / -5'00" Came up short again (16/16/47)
Day 2. 32+32 / 22-24 / - 2'00" + 32+32 / 22-24 / - 2'00" + 24+24 / 60 / -6'00" This was insane what they are asking for (17/18/56)
Day 3. 32+32 / 56-64 / -- 8'00" 51 in 8 min

Overall Impressions:

This was tough. This is supposed to be a program for folks near or at the level of Master of Sport. Looking at the numbers I would think depending on one's weight class it could be a little more than MS for lighter guys. For example at my weight class 75 kg, 54 gets me MS. According to the template I would be hitting those numbers at 8 min. Two more min at that pace gets me close to MS world class. I can honestly say that isn't in the cards for me. One of my goals though is 60 reps and based on results through 8 min, it seems doable. So overall I am pleased. This offered a nice change of pace and it forced me to get faster. Now 6 RPM seems fairly easy,

I think I said before that for a beginner, I would not recommend this approach as the speed may foster poor form and the shorter duration doesn't teach you to go the distance. For me this was worthwhile. For the next couple months I will go back to the old training style. A main set of LC, then a lighter fast set with 24s or probably 28s. (My 28s are feeling a little neglected). Then some one arm work and some leg and back work and some rowing. About a month out from the Arnold I'll add back the jump squats. After yesterdays 8 min set I hit a couple other PRs. 25/25 Pistols and 12/13 One arm jerks with 48kg.

Just walk away

Sometimes it seems like my greatest breakthroughs occur by accident. As far as my training goes, well I have been on a serious rowing kick for the past several months. As I result. it was only recently that I picked up the kettlebells again. I am tentatively planning on going to the North American Outlaw Kettlebell meet in May so I felt like I should get back to the bells for a bit.

Getting back into long cycle this time was great. I say this for a few reasons. First it is nice to do something different. Don't get me wrong, I love rowing, I know it sounds totally perverse but I love the erg. I also like my ski erg. By the way, I still need to do a formal review of that along with my new dynamic Erg (which is really fun). Anyway, too much of the same thing equals no fun plus overuse injury. Crop rotation is your friend. I digress.... The other nice thing about this revisiting long cycle is that I am no longer chasing anything. Like the rabbits we talked about last post, anything you chase will try to run away. This time it just came right to me. Relaxed with no serious goal I noticed something. For the first time I was not using the alternating rack to rest. I am not sure why but I seem to be able to find rest in the rack now. I do not think I am more flexible, I have not been practicing the rack or really thinking about it at all. I am probably aerobically better conditioned from the erg and maybe less "tight" because I haven't been lifting as much. I think the real reason has to do with the fact that in the past I never really walked away from the bells for very long. It was a relentless death march of money sets and assistance work. I knew what to do but when the fatigue hit I resorted to what I had taught myself, the side rack resting position. I couldn't get away from it because there was never any distance between me and it.

It is hard to walk away from something you enjoy training with. It was only because I found something else I liked doing that this happened in the first place. In any case I think the result is kind of cool. I am working with my old friend, the Rostov program, again. Maybe I'll pull that one out of the vaults and post it here.

Bottom line I guess is keep up the variety, don't take training too seriously and if you aren't improving, walk away for a while.

Rabbits

Last week was a lot of fun. I spent it learning how to scull at the Florida Rowing Center. I felt itwas time and money well-spent. Unfortunately I think I may have been bitten by the rowing bug which has created a whole new set of problems such as: 1) How am I going to get a boat? 2) Where will I keep it? 3) Where and when can I row it? Honestly the big issue is where will I keep it. There are no actual clubs around me which is a little odd given that I live a few miles from one of the great lakes. This of course creates yet another issue. A sleek racing boat isn't going to cut it here on most days. Windy conditions and cold slightly choppy water is par for the course, even in the bay. Yep, I need a stable open water type boat. Having had the distinct pleasure of capsizing at rowing school made me realize that if that happened in my cold lake, I'd be in big trouble. I also got to row home during a sudden storm with 60 mph gusts. That was my second day on the water. Luckily I was in a stable boat that could handle the whitecaps in spite of my near zero skills. That's the boat I'm going to get. In a nutshell I loved it. I learned a lot and it will take me the rest of my life to get better at this. Sculling is sort of like golf. No matter how much you practice or play, there is always room to improve. For some reason I enjoy that sort of thing. The instructors were great and very patient with this novice. In fact the title of this post comes from something one of the coaches, Harvey, taught me.

As with any complex skill when you are learning you are doing many things wrong, in this case maybe it is using the arms too soon, not manteling, allowing the core to collapse, feathering out of the water, not waiting for the oars to fill, gripping to tight and about twenty other things. Harvey calls these things rabbits. Why? What happens if a fox chases 3 rabbits at a time? He gets zero rabbits. So it goes with learning. It is easier and more effective to focus on correcting one thing at a time and then moving on to the next rabbit. So take the golf swing for example. Perhaps you are struggling with a slice and usually there are several reasons why. A good place to start may be relaxing the grip so you can get the hands around a bit more. Once that is grooved move on to the stance or something. In any case if you try to do everything right all at once you won't fix anything. Food for thought.

If you are at all interested in rowing you might want to consider the Florida Rowing Center. www.http://floridarowingcenter.com/ It is near Palm Beach and I enjoyed the 85 degree temperatures whilst it was snowing back home. Here is the view of the lake we rowed on:

Regarding the "retro" material

After reviewing and saving the content of the old blog (took me all morning), I have a plan for what I will do with the old stuff. Every so often I'll just put up one of the old posts from out of the vault. Of course if there is a post someone wants me to put back up just let me know and I can do that too. I still want most of the stuff on here to be new but some of the old stuff was ok I guess.

I just can't believe how much stuff was on there, it was like a trip down memory lane. I might have to bust out the Barbara Streisand vinyl collection (I don't actually have any, don't worry its all on 8-track).

Scott

Recent kettlebell sport videos and intro to the concept (from 5/4/07)

Kettlebell sport or Girevoy sport as it is know in the former USSR is a challenging athletic endeavor consisting of two events, the double kettlebell jerk and the single kettlebell snatch. In competition for men both events are tested with a ten minute time limit for each event. In the Jerk the bells cannot touch the ground or the set is over. Rest can only occur in the overhead locked out position or in the racked position. In the snatch only one hand switch is allowed and the bell cannot touch the ground or any other part of the shoulder. Rest can occur in the overhead lockout or in the hang position (the latter position is not used because it is extremely fatiguing for the grip. Women only compete in the snatch. Competition weights are 12 or 16 kg for women and 32 kg for men. Senior men can compete with 24 kg bells. One additional category for men is called long cycle. This involves a clean before each jerk. The ten min time limit, rest positions and weights are the same, with the additional option of resting in the hang position. It doesn't get much tougher than this. I don't think most people will have any idea how hard this is until they try it. I think the potential carry-over of this type of work to other athletic endeavors will be dramatic. If you like hard work you'll love kettlebell sport!

Here are two videos from youtube. The first is Catherine Imes getting her Master of Sport in the Snatch event. Unbelievable as she is the first American born woman to attain this elite level. The second is Marty Farrell doing 61 Jerks in 10 min w/ 32 kg bells. An amazing feat for anyone but really outstanding considering Marty weighs around 155 lbs. He puts most people even twice his size to shame in this event! Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stORjc5XSdk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leKayOU8tik

Till next time... Train Smart!

Scott

No excuses (originally published 4/28/07)

often do we come up with excuses for not training or we try to rationalizing half-assed attempts at training when we know we should be working harder? Common excuses are I am tired, or the gym is closed or I worked late. Note that these are excuses and not reasons. What's the difference? I left my gym bag at home is an excuse, I broke my leg is a reason. Bottom line: we call things reasons but they are merely excuses. If you wish to continue putting off the training you know your body needs, by making lame excuses.... go back to your blueberry scone and catch up on another episode of the Christopher Lowell show.

The truth is you can train pretty much anywhere and with a little bit of thinking you can do this with a scarcity of time, space or equipment. Got 15 minutes? I bet you do. Push ups, burpees, hindu squats, deck squats and jump rope. Mix them in a circuit for a body weight total body work-out. Got a kettlebell? Even better! Snatches, Swing-flip & catch squats, and presses, do a few circuits with those and have a wastebasket handy. Maybe there is a playground nearby with some chinup bars... great, do some chins, hanging leg raises and push-ups. Lot's of excuses just went up in smoke, like a joint in a Cheech & Chong movie.

We just got back from what has become an annual family roadtrip. Usually I will try to work in training to fit into this and sometimes it ends up being suboptimal. This time was different, I had some great workouts in a very small hotel room doing just pistols, swings and snatches. The above picture was taken during these sessions. I was sweating my ass off. Not much room to work and I was a little pressed for time as I didn't want to hold up everyone elses fun.... they think I am crazy anyway but that is a different story.

Till next time.. Train Smart!

Scott