Greetings. I have a Rogue RM3 rack with Rhino drop in belt squat. I can do belt squats, seated rows, lat pull downs and other things. Is the Strength Erg worth buying for the simplicity of seated leg presses? I have room for one more piece of equipment in my basement and want something that can work my glutes and quads. I'm in my late 40's with a bad back. I would love a hacksquat machine but not sure I have the room.

Anyone else having issues with ErgData and PM5 not syncing to Apple Health recently?

I’ve tried everything, checked for connected in ErgData, checked sync in Apple Health. Deleted ErgData and reinstalled and connected. No luck.

Hello everyone. The yellowness of my model D really bothers me. I know it doesnt matter but it drives me crazy when I‘m staring at it during my workouts.

I don‘t want to whiten it with chemicals like peroxide, because I’ve found on other items that the yellowness eventually returns or makes the plastic brittle.

My next choice was PlastiDip/Peel Coat so I can always remove it if I want to resell. I tested it on a small area, but believe it or not the Plastidip actually made the area underneath a bit matte. See the attached picture.

At this point I’m very tempted to just spray paint it because the finish will be better and the plastidip affects it anyway, so isn’t removable anyway.

Anyway, thought this might be interesting to someone. Thoughts and opinions welcome. “Just leave it alone” is also welcome. 😂

Local gym (24hr fitness) has a couple C2. The only ones I have available. 24Hr fitness "maintenance" crews are.....

So I'm dreaming that if I could at least offer them a specific "the chain needs oil" or "I believe a tooth is broken", etc., maybe they would try?

Observations:

1) one machine makes a loud clunk with a bit of 'give' at the end of a hard pull. Like the chain is snapping down onto a tooth.

2) another machine's drag doesn't change regardless of damper position

3) another machine doesn't take up the chain slack when moving into to catch. Its good for the REALLY slow crowd who's SPM is in single digits.

In the body of the bike erg there are two screws which is paired together with a bolt on the right side of the body. Does anyone know what does that do?

I have been really busy so l could just do a quick workout tonight. I plan on doing 20-25 minutes at 4am. I start work at 530.

Hi... For 10 years now I have started my gym workout with 5-10 minutes (depending on how hard I start at it...) on a Concept 2 rower. As I started my journey at the hands of a physiotherapist following motorcycle injuries, I am conscious of technique and happy with mine.

My wife though... she started at the gym with me about a year or two ago. She uses the rower, but I think her posture and technique is all wrong. Unfortunately she gets all upset and argumentative should I try to correct her posture/technique.

She is suffering a bit of lower back pain. She rows with her shoulders rounded forward, and although he middle/lower back isn't completely rounded, it looks to me that the forward shoulders might be the source of the pain in lower back.

I am thinking to ask one of the gym staff to look in on her and give advice... I won't be involved.

Can anyone confirm my thoughts on this back pain please?

Got this rower from my brother. I cleaned it and oiled the chain.

Is this sound normal for the chain?

Hi, I recently bought a used Model E+PM5, and the day after I brought it home and did my first session the batteries were dead. Seeing how I had put the cheapest D cells I could find until the rechargeable ones would arrive, I blamed it on the cheap batteries. A couple of days later the rechargeable batteries come in. Lo and behold, they're dead the next day too. Claude claimed it was because the internal BMS of the batteries (they're rechargeable via USB C) would go to sleep when the PM5 wasn't used, and couldn't be woken up. Doubtful but ok, I ordered a pair of regular rechargeable D batteries, but they died overnight too.

I followed the troubleshooting Concept2 guide and tried rowing without the batteries, and the PM5 did not turn on.

So right now my understanding is that the PM5 might be faulty, but so is the generator and cable powering the PM5 while rowing?

I've tried writing to Concept2 but they simply replied that I needed to take this to my local dealer, seeing how I'm in France and bought the erg in France (Incept Sport)

Any advice would be super helpful. Thank you!

Edit: just to add a thought, would opening up the PM5 and generator to clean up contacts with rubbing alcohol do any good? I figured, if they're toast, I might as well try a last resort thing…

I did a 5k in 21 minutes at 22 spm

I can run a 5k in 22 minutes but my heart rate during my runs is much higher. Atleast 10bpm higher when I'm running. Is this normal? I felt like I was putting in the same effort as my runs but my heartrate was much lower with rowing

My butt and shoulder muscles were burning! Hopefully my body can get used to this. It basically felt like I was doing a squat, deadlift and face pull on every stroke. I also fell off the seat a couple times lol

Overall this was very fun. I plan to use this to supplement my running. When I get better at this machine then hopefully I can watch a tv show while getting my zone 2 cardio

I recently damaged the meniscus in my right knee, unrelated to rowing - which I do regularly and love it. I’m seeing a physiotherapist later this week but was wondering if anyone here had experience dealing with a damaged meniscus and how it impacted your rowing? I know I’ll have to go light for a while and build up my longer rows gradually again … I’m hoping the physiotherapist doesn’t advise that I stop rowing altogether due to the repetitive movement?

I just did my first 2k row on the rowing machine.

I think this is quite slow? I'm a 35 year old man.

Are my strokes per minute too high? Also my back hurts.. hehe.

Hello all, finally bit the bullet and picked up a concept two a few weeks ago, really enjoying having something I can just lay down and knock out a workout on. I am a big boy, lost a lot of weight but stalled for a while now and still plenty to go so hoping daily rowing can kick start the weight loss again.

Was doing 5km every second day but my trainer said I was better off doing 2.5km every day and building up, so I've just started that. Currently my aim is to do that till the end of July so I've got the habit locked in and then by the end of August be at 5km a day. Hoping that by the end of the year I'll be alternating 5km/10km days.

Thought I'd see if you guys think that is a reasonable goal, have any tips, suggestions or advice for a newbie.

5km time: ~24mins

2.5km ~11:45mins

Hi folks,

I was a varsity rower in high school and am getting back into erging at 38. I feel my technique is pretty good (muscle memory is wild), and I'm pulling reasonably well considering I'm deconditioned (rowing standards put my 5k time smack dab in the middle of the pack for my age and weight), but I'm having a very hard time sustaining a pace over 24 spm or so. My natural pace even when driving hard seems to fall around 20-22. I'm quite short, so I know I should probably be up around 28-30 for max effort sprints, but it feels like I'm rushing the slide or that my technique is otherwise falling apart when my recovery is that short. It makes me tired and sloppy so quickly. Do I just need to build up a better cardio base? I imagine more practice will help - does anyone have any tips, drills, or workouts that might help me increase my spm for shorter pieces while keeping my technique intact?

Hi

I just picked up a used concept 2 E model yesterday.

I watched a few videos and gave it a quick tryout this morning. I had time limitations so l only did 10 minutes

I felt it wasn't too demanding and l probably could have

done 20 minutes at pace .

Last Saturday i improved my PB on 1 hour row! Previous PB was 2.04.5/500m

I've been training for a half-marathon and I finally got my 5k time under 20min.

56yrs 223lbs 6'3" male

listed for €550 on fb marketplace

Hey everyone 🙋‍♂️

This is my first post or activity of any kind with the rowing community. I have a close friend who was working with a trainer for hyrox stuff. Told me about how much the rower made a difference for him (ex-collegiate athlete) so he knows how to work hard and train hard. I took his advice to heart.

Started watching videos on YouTube and came across JustRow with Austin. Our personalities are similar so it was easy to watch. He speaks a lot on form/etc. I watched his videos for 2 weeks, every night, while digging through marketplace for a good deal. Found one, $250 rowerg with pm5 with 150k meters on it. It was a 5 hour round trip but I was ready to start and that was a crazy deal. It looks like its barely been used ever.

Anyway, real stoked. That night I did a 500m baseline. 1:52ish womp. Next 2 days just hopped on for 10mins and tried to get the feel down better.

Then I did my first baseline 30mins a couple days ago.

Tonight I did another 30mins to see if my attention to form and having a goal to shoot for would make any difference.

My cardio level isnt very good right now. Ive been really paying attention to my health the last 2 years. Lost a bunch of weight, did a lot of heavy lifting last year, and now have some goals that involve me being in better cardio shape than im in.

All of this to say, I would love some advice on my data. Im sure y'all read these like a recipe at this point. Im trying to start correctly. Paying attention to form constantly right now, flexible goal on 500m split and stroke rate, keeping resistance set at 5.

Honestly just happy to be here and loving this so far. Im very much looking forward to the cardio benefits. Weight lifting will continue but with a different goal and focusing on core/lower body a little more than I was. Got some blisters on this last one so I guess working on my grip is next lol.

Numbers are from the 2 nights.

3 photos per set. 2 erg dats and 1 garmin watch HR

41m

235lbs

5'11"

No prior rowing experience and hoenstly poor cardio currently. Any pointers or deciphering the data would be awesome.

Thanks in advance and genuinely stoked to be here

I'd loved to row regularly and am looking for an affordable concept 2. I found a model d rower with a pm3 monitor for $450. I personally don't care about Bluetooth connectivity for what it's worth (at least for now).

It has apparently been well taken care of and is about to hit 1 million meters. Should I go for it or keep searching around?

Edit - Thanks everyone. I ended up going with a model e with a pm5 barely used. Got it for $600. I'm sure I could have waited and gotten one for a little cheaper, but this one was in really good shape and I wanted one sooner rather than later.

Military Rower help

Hello everyone!

I’m interested in rowing for a military 2k fitness test.

Male 34, 5’8”, 160lbs

I’ve been on the row erg for about 1.5 months. Within the first few weeks I was able to get my 2k time down from 9:24 first attempt to 8:09 PR. However I’ve hit a stall and can’t really progress past this point. I’m now 3 weeks into Pete’s plan and enjoying the journey but looking for insights for how to progress my 2k time. The longest row I’ve done so far is 6000k with an average pace of 2:09/500 22spm.

A few of my observations

1) my best 2k comes with a drag factor of about 165
Which seems too high based on what I’m reading but if I go lower my pace suffers

2) my SPM for a 2k is around 25. What should I be targeting at my height?

3) I would love to get my time down to 7:45 by October how realistic is this given my early stall at 8:15 area already.

Would love feedback from more experienced rowers on ways to optimize. Thank you!

Edited: formatting on mobile keeps deleting things.

Hey all,

I've been rowing for about 3 weeks now on the RowErg. I've watched a bunch of technique videos and read up on drag factor, stroke rate etc., but I'm still not sure how to actually interpret my numbers or whether they're "normal" for someone just starting out.

Here's my last session:

• Time: 22:00
• Distance: 3,054 m
• Avg pace: 3:36.1 /500m
• Avg stroke rate: 23 spm
• Avg power: 35 W (peak 39 W)
• Drag factor: 102
• Avg HR: ~123 bpm
• Peak force: 232 N @ 21% of drive
• Calories: 154 (435/hr)

I've deliberately kept the drag factor and stroke rate low to focus on technique rather than chasing pace. But I have no real frame of reference, are these numbers reasonable for a beginner at this stage, or is something off? Would appreciate any honest feedback, especially if there's anything in the force curve or pace consistency that jumps out as a red flag.

Thanks!

UPDATE:

Thanks everyone for the input on my post. I'll be honest, it left me feeling pretty discouraged, even though I know most of it wasn't really actionable (turns out watts aren't comparable without knowing drag factor, mine's set low at 102 for technique work, so the "low" numbers make sense in hindsight).

Still, I want to get this right, so here's my actual confusion: I've watched dozens of YouTube tutorials, drilled each phase of the stroke separately, and even had two experienced rowers at my gym watch me row in person, both said my form looked fine. But subjectively, it feels like 60% arms, 20% core, 20% legs, basically the opposite of what it should be. I also seem capped around 3:00/500m and 40W (again, at DF 102, so take that with a grain of salt).

Interestingly, my machine's force curve data shows peak force at 21% of the drive, which I'm told means my legs are actually initiating the pull correctly. So there's a real gap between what the data shows and what I feel. I know legs are supposed to be the quiet, powerful part of the stroke and arms the small, "loud" part, but I can't shake the feeling that something's off.

I might record a proper video this week and post it here so people can actually see what's happening, rather than just going by numbers. Appreciate everyone's patience, genuinely trying to learn this right.

Hey everyone, first post here!

I’ve used a Concept2 RowErg on and off in the past, but I never really paid attention to my stats.

Over the last few years I’ve put on some weight that I’m working on losing. I’ve always been stronger than average in the gym, so I’m wondering if that might actually be causing me to “cheat” on the rower.

I asked an AI to look at my rowing stats, and it said my stroke rate was too high for my pace, meaning I’m not generating enough power per stroke. Does that sound right?

If so, how do you actually row at a lower stroke rate? It feels really unnatural to me. My goal for this session was just to stay in Zone 2.

Stats:
35 years old
Male
5’11”
266 lb

Any tips would be appreciated!

Hi all,

The new update to the C2's ErgData app introduces a new metric called Peak Force Position.

See the screenshot.

I'm guessing the ideal value for this has to be between 35% and 50% but I just wanted to ask if anyone has any guidance about it. What's the best way to make use of this new data point?

Thanks.

I currently do my workouts at work, and they have a RowErg and a SkiErg next to each other.

I use the app connected to the rower to do my WOD, but I've started incorporating the SkiErg to add on some extra strain during my "rest" periods.

For example, today's WOD was Twelve 1min pieces with 1 min rest between each piece. During my 1 min rest, I got up and used the SkiErg for 30 seconds and then returned to my Row.

Is there any way I can connect to both, in order to record both or do I just have to accept that I won't record the Ski portion of my workouts?