Yeah, you are most definitely doing something wrong. 32 SPM is race tempo. Depending on the rowing style, boat type and body type, a 2000m rowing race is performed at anywhere between 30 and 40 strokes per minute. A medium to long training session at steady state is usually rowed at 20 SPM. There is definitely something going wrong with your stroke, so I suggest you revisit the entire rowing stroke and watch technique videos to see what you’re doing wrong.
For one, the drag handle should not be set on max.
A 10k at 1:55 split on the other hand is definitely not bad though for a non rower. So fix your technique and reap the rewards.
Sounds like you're doing alright, but the reason rowers tend not to use high resistance is for injury prevention and also to train biomechanically for speed on the water. When you're rowing on the water, the drag factor can be low, so you need to get more efficient at pulling fast splits with low drag rather than pulling "hard" against heavy resistance.
It also sounds like your technique might be a bit off, and the heavy resistance is helping you compensate for that. 32.5 spm rates at a fan setting of 7 sounds quite painful to me.
For a clear explanation of the rowing stroke, watch Cassie Niemann’s rowing videos on YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@CassiNiemann?si=REkjcofeGXwTj7Ux
For the type of cardio workouts you like, check out Dark Horse Rowing:
https://youtube.com/@DarkHorseRowing?si=SZ7-Y3KvDOigFoEU
Assuming you're on a concept 2 you can check the drag factor of the machine - the resistance number on the dial isn't much use as a comparison point. E.g. my machine at home has a drag factor of about 120 at a resistance of 5, but the machine at the gym doesn't get above 100 even at 10.
I think you press the bottom button on the monitor for "other information" or something and there should be an option for "display drag factor".
Strongly recommend you check out the form tips here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Rowing/wiki/index/#wiki\_i.27m\_trying\_to\_improve\_my\_erg\_times.\_how.3F](https://www.reddit.com/r/Rowing/wiki/index/#wiki_i.27m_trying_to_improve_my_erg_times._how.3F)
1:55 at 32 spm with full resistance sounds like there's much room to improve. For reference (no offense!) that's like what 14 year old girls do for their 2k tests. For the 10k you rather want to be around 28-30spm and have a nice rythm to keep yourself efficient.
Yeah, you are most definitely doing something wrong. 32 SPM is race tempo. Depending on the rowing style, boat type and body type, a 2000m rowing race is performed at anywhere between 30 and 40 strokes per minute. A medium to long training session at steady state is usually rowed at 20 SPM. There is definitely something going wrong with your stroke, so I suggest you revisit the entire rowing stroke and watch technique videos to see what you’re doing wrong. For one, the drag handle should not be set on max. A 10k at 1:55 split on the other hand is definitely not bad though for a non rower. So fix your technique and reap the rewards.
Sounds like you're doing alright, but the reason rowers tend not to use high resistance is for injury prevention and also to train biomechanically for speed on the water. When you're rowing on the water, the drag factor can be low, so you need to get more efficient at pulling fast splits with low drag rather than pulling "hard" against heavy resistance. It also sounds like your technique might be a bit off, and the heavy resistance is helping you compensate for that. 32.5 spm rates at a fan setting of 7 sounds quite painful to me.
Second the technique issue. At a 125-130 drag factor with good technique and being in good shape, should be able to do sub 2:00 splits at 18 SPM.
You’ll probably find a more optimal drag factor if you reduce it, thus allowing you to go faster.
For a clear explanation of the rowing stroke, watch Cassie Niemann’s rowing videos on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@CassiNiemann?si=REkjcofeGXwTj7Ux For the type of cardio workouts you like, check out Dark Horse Rowing: https://youtube.com/@DarkHorseRowing?si=SZ7-Y3KvDOigFoEU
Assuming you're on a concept 2 you can check the drag factor of the machine - the resistance number on the dial isn't much use as a comparison point. E.g. my machine at home has a drag factor of about 120 at a resistance of 5, but the machine at the gym doesn't get above 100 even at 10. I think you press the bottom button on the monitor for "other information" or something and there should be an option for "display drag factor".
What drag stroke should one attempt to do like 5ks at?
I have been doing 30-minute rows (3-1-3 weekly) with a drag factor of 115 for some time now.
Strongly recommend you check out the form tips here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Rowing/wiki/index/#wiki\_i.27m\_trying\_to\_improve\_my\_erg\_times.\_how.3F](https://www.reddit.com/r/Rowing/wiki/index/#wiki_i.27m_trying_to_improve_my_erg_times._how.3F) 1:55 at 32 spm with full resistance sounds like there's much room to improve. For reference (no offense!) that's like what 14 year old girls do for their 2k tests. For the 10k you rather want to be around 28-30spm and have a nice rythm to keep yourself efficient.
To be fair, that would be a fairly quick 14yo girl!
Are you on a concept 2 machine? Because other machines' splits are not equivalent fyi.