Rowing Speed As We Know It

This ones for all the ballers. Those of you who have jumped into our programming. Maybe you’re new, maybe you’ve been at it for a while. Inevitably though, you’ve seen something that looks like “750m+6” basically…Some Distance + Some Variable. If you haven’t seen this, you’re most likely thinking “What…the…hell…does that mean?”

Let’s clarify.

STEP 1:
It starts with distance. The distance you’ll see written is going to be the distance used for testing in your cycle. For example, you’re in the middle of our 2k cycle, the first workout of the cycle will be a 2k test. YOU NEED TO DO THAT TEST. Without it the programming won’t make any sense.

Every cycle we program starts with a test of the thing you’re trying to improve. 500m, calories, 5k. Whatever it is, a test will be workout one so always do that workout.

What you’ll get from that workout is an average. It might be average split, calories, or time. The test will tell you what to record.

This average becomes a stand in for the distance.

SOOOO…

In our 2k example, let’s assume you rowed a 1:55 average split for the entire thing.

When you see 2k + 6. The 1:55 becomes to stand in for “2k”. You would now look at it as 1:55 + 6

STEP 2:
Next is the variable; +2, -4, +10 etc.

This is an increase or decrease of the average from your test.

+2 would be plus 2 seconds. In our 1:55 example, we would be asking you to row at a 1:57 for that piece. -4 would mean minus 4 seconds so a 1:51. So on and so forth.

STEP 3:
Read carefully so you understand what the specific timing is for any given workout.

For example, you may see:

5 Sets of:
Row x 1000m
2k + 10, 8, 6, 4, 2

In this example we’d be asking that in the first 1000m you maintained a split of 2:05, for the second a 2:03, the third, a 2:01, the fourth, a 1:59, and the final 1000m at a 1:57.

That’s it.

We know it can look confusing, but it’s easy once you understand where it comes from. It means our programs are tailored for you and your performance. So learn to love it, because it means your training will follow your fitness and all but guarantee you’ll see improvements.