What's a good time for a 2k erg?

Hi I heard my sis who had trials with GB youth rowing that a test rowers sometimes do is how fast they can do 2000m on an erg, so I decided to try it myself on an erg we have at my house, but I have nothing to compare my results to so thought I'd come here.

I did it on resistance 5 (I know it seems low but our rower hasn't been used much and it feels a lot stiffer and harder to pull than the ones at the gym, on which I go on res 7). I'd say it was roughly equivelant, maybe a bit harder to pull than at the gym.

I did 2k in 7 mins 19 sec with a split of 1:50.

how is this?

info appreciated

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

TomInce6666

Basically aim for 7 minutes and you're going fine. If you want to get up to race standards, you need to be aiming sub 7 minutes espescially in higher classes, and higher levels like GB level. My 2k is coming down to about 6:50, split of about 1:40+ ish.

Reply 2

hec

TomInce6666

thanks for the reply

damn 6:50 is a really nice time! i've only been training for 4 weeks haha and i do gym just for fun, so in the context u give i'm happy with my time.

cheers

Reply 3

Xtrm2Matt

That's a pretty decent time for someone who's not been doing it long!

The last 2k I did (probably 3-4 months ago) was 7:20.7.

Reply 4

Chumbaniya

For someone who's not into erging, 7:19 is a pretty decent first time to pull. In order to have a 'good' time you certainly need to be under 7 minutes, but it's also dependent on your size. If you're a midget like me just getting under 7 minutes is pretty good but if you're a big guy you might have to get under 6:40 to be equivalently good.

With a relatively untrained time of 7:19 you'll probably be under 7:00 fairly quickly though.

Reply 5

Tyraell

Is it only me who thinks resistance 7 is quite high? I swear I train lower than that. o_O

Then again, not erged for a while.

Reply 6

Xtrm2Matt

I believe 5-6 resistance is meant to be more like a water-row (never rowed on water so can't compare myself). I do all mine on a res. of 8.

Reply 7

*Katie*

Wow I think that's really good! Especially with that resistance.

I assume your sister having an immaculate technique and teaching you must have helped, but I imagine you're really fit anyway! Thought of taking up rowing?

Out of curiosity, what is your sister's split for a 2k erg?

Reply 8

Chumbaniya

*Katie*

Well the resistance doesn't affect the difficulty because the erg adjusts your split based on the setting so you need the same amount of power to hit a split regardless of resistance - unless you meant it's harder because it's a bit less natural to row that sort of distance at that resistance.

Technique is going to be a massive factor early on - most new ergers you see at the gym have shocking times because they don't have a clue what they're doing.

On the subject of girls and GB trialling, an ex-girlfriend of mine is going to trial for GB this year and she pulls a 6:57 or thereabouts.

Reply 9

*Katie*

Chumbaniya

Haha yes I meant the former but I guess I should have thought that he hasn't rowed in the water before so it wouldn't feel more or less strange.

I KNOW about poor technique. The weird thing is people do quite clearly look like retards and yet they don't even bother to think and copy someone who looks like they know what they are doing. I don't mind the ones who basically just use their arms, but it is the ones (always guys, that I've noticed) who race up and down like jackrabbits (would not like to get them in bed :rolleyes:

) and then give you a smug look as if to say "I'm soo in shape". ARGH :rant:

. Ergs have got to be the most poorly used piece of equipment at the gym.

Reply 10

Scipio90

*Katie*

I KNOW about poor technique. The weird thing is people do quite clearly look like retards and yet they don't even bother to think and copy someone who looks like they know what they are doing.

Not that you can blame them at my gym, when the instructors tell people during inductions that they shouldn't go below rate 30...

The time one of them came over to try and sign me up for a poker game when I was in the middle of a 500m piece was a major wtf moment.

Reply 11

Chumbaniya

*Katie*

I KNOW about poor technique. The weird thing is people do quite clearly look like retards and yet they don't even bother to think and copy someone who looks like they know what they are doing. I don't mind the ones who basically just use their arms, but it is the ones (always guys, that I've noticed) who race up and down like jackrabbits (would not like to get them in bed :rolleyes:

) and then give you a smug look as if to say "I'm soo in shape". ARGH :rant:

. Ergs have got to be the most poorly used piece of equipment at the gym.

Tell me about it! I find it quite satisfying erging next to one of the macho rushing guys. My favourite moments in erging are the times you get some guy who thinks a lot of himself belting it up and down at rate 34 pulling 2:00 splits when I'm warming up at rate 20 and matching him :biggrin:

Reply 12

partoftheweekend

Best erg around 6:45, im more like 6:55 atm though.

All this talk about resistance. People need to think of resistance more like gearing on a bike. You just need to find the optimum setting for you for that distance. Its going to be different for everyone, lighter people will be better off with a small resistance at a higher rate in most cases. On the newer machines they've started to fade out the numbers a lot more so that people stop shoving it up to 10 and thinking that they're hard because they can row for 30 seconds at 1:30.

Reply 13

Chumbaniya

partoftheweekend

Exactly. Although to be fair most people can't row 30 seconds at 1:30. They might be able to row 30 seconds at rate 40 with 10 resistance, but with the kind of technique these people have it's not a 1:30 split :p:

Reply 14

TomInce6666

Chumbaniya

Shush you, thats my party trick, i do 250m at rate 40 with res 10 and i pull 1:20 splits. Scares the hell out of my brother who's only 5'9 :smile:

Reply 15

Chumbaniya

TomInce6666

Shush you, thats my party trick, i do 250m at rate 40 with res 10 and i pull 1:20 splits. Scares the hell out of my brother who's only 5'9 :smile:

I'm not saying it's not doable - of course it is; I'm a 5'8'' 11 stone midget and I can pull 1:18 splits - but that most people who rush up and down for a few seconds don't actually bring the splits down that much, which is the hilarious thing. 250m at 1:20 is pretty good though.

Reply 16

hec

hi all thanks for all the replies i thought the thread had died after the first reply!

i tried the 250m on resistance 10 that you guys talked about, i got 43 seconds flat with 1:26 average split. my rate was only about 30 though :frown:

was pretty easy so i could probably do better (haven't eaten yet today)

@chumbaniya - i am 6'4" and quite broad shouldered so i think i have it easier than you for rowing! :P

@*katie* - my sister didnt teach me anything and i don't think her time was under 7:30, she didn't get a spot with GB

i had no idea splits were done including your resistance! very interesting

i'm gonna have a good meal and then try another 2000m see how i do and report back

thanks again for all the info guys

Reply 17

Chumbaniya

hec

was pretty easy so i could probably do better (haven't eaten yet today)

@chumbaniya - i am 6'4" and quite broad shouldered so i think i have it easier than you for rowing! :P

That's a strong pull for someone relatively untrained (I'm not sure I'd be able to pull that and I've got legs like tree trunks - I'll blame the shortness :p:

)

How heavy are you? You've obviously got a great natural build for it so if you keep it up I imagine you'll get some pretty impressive times before long.

Reply 18

Xtrm2Matt

Coooooooor tell me about technique! Very rarely do I see anyone with a semi-decent technique. Usually the kids are flapping about thinking they are well 'ard for going as fast as they can for 10 seconds.

Speaking of 1:30 splits, my gym had some 'competition' about who could row the furthest in 1 minute / row 500m and 1000m the fastest. I tried the 1 minute for laughs and managed 1:31 which was something like 322m. Don't think I've ever been that knackered even after 10k's.

Reply 19

hec

well....i tried :frown:

started another 2k, did 1200 with an average split of 1:45.1, but then the aches from rowing/cross training/weights yesterday caught up and i had to stop

i will give it a better go when i am fully rested! :P

thanks for all the nice comments very motivating