Resistance
Resistance on the Indoor Rower is adjusted by means of a damper lever on the side of the flywheel. Offering a wide range of resistance the damper lever increases or decreases the amount of air flow into the flywheel. The greater the airflow (damper setting 10), the greater the resistance and vice versa.
The best damper setting for a great cardiovascular workout is in the range of 3-5. Rowing with the damper setting too high can be detrimental to your training program because it may reduce your output and increase your risk of injury.
Workout Intensity
- The harder you pull, the more resistance you will feel. This is because the Concept2 Indoor Rower uses wind resistance, which is generated by the spinning flywheel. The faster you get the wheel spinning, the more resistance there will be.
- You can row as hard or as easy as you wish. The indoor rower will not force you to row at any set intensity level. It is up to you. As you put more effort into your rowing, you will go faster, produce more watts, and burn more calories. All of these outputs will be measured and displayed by the Performance Monitor(PM). Keep your goals in mind. For example, if your goal is to burn a lot of calories, it is more important to row for a long time than to row hard. If you row too hard, you wont last as long.
- The damper setting is like bicycle gearing. It affects the feel of the rowing but does not directly affect the resistance. With a little experimentation, you will find the damper setting that gives you the best workout and results. We recommend a damper setting of 3-5 for the best aerobic workout. This is the setting that feels most like a sleek, fast boat on the water. Higher settings feel more like a bigger, slower boat.
- You can view your performance in pace, watts and calories. The PM displays your output in a choice of units and display options. You can choose the units and displays that work best for you.
Drag Factor
The drag factor is a numerical value for the rate at which the flywheel is decelerating. This number changes with the volume of air that passes through the flywheel housing. Since higher damper settings allow more air into the flywheel housing, the flywheel decelerates more quickly, resulting in a higher drag factor value. The electronic Performance Monitor measures the drag factor on the recovery phase of each stroke and uses it to calculate your score. This method of "self-calibration" compensates for local conditions and damper settings, making scores on different Indoor Rowers comparable. Indoor racing and the Online Community are made possible by this method of self-calibration.
It is possible for you to get onto a rower at an Indoor Rowing race and set the damper at 3 as you do at your local gym and you notice a considerable difference. The race machine drag of 3 feels like a damper setting of 4 on your gym rower. Model differences can offer a different drag factor range, but there are other causes which can affect the drag factor.
What can affect the Drag Factor?
Air Temperature
Cold air is dense, so, an Indoor Rower with a drag factor of 120 at damper setting 3 at room temperature will have a higher drag factor at 10°C.
Elevation/Barometric Pressure
Air at higher elevations is less dense, so, an Indoor Rower that is moved from Boston to Denver will have a lower drag factor range in Denver.
Wind
Air that already has some movement to it will give a lower drag factor, such as rowing outdoors on a windy day or rowing in close proximity to another Indoor Rower.
Lint
If your Indoor Rower is in a high-use or dusty location, lint and dust can get pulled in through the screen on the damper side of the flywheel cover. Much of this material passes back out the finer mesh screen that surrounds the flywheel, but some of it gets caught inside, building up over time and restricting airflow. This has the same effect on the drag factor as closing the damper down and can easily be remedied by removing the flywheel cover and vacuuming out the lint build-up.
Luckily, the monitor compensates for all of these variables by using the appropriate drag factor in calculating your score, but you may need to change the damper setting to make different Indoor Rowers feel "right" to you.
Conclusion
It is important to note that, unlike weight lifting, the goal is not to use a higher drag factor as a means of achieving fitness on the Indoor Rower. It is much better to work with lower drag factor settings (110-140) while improving your speed, form and muscle coordination. Many of the world's top heavyweight competitors use settings in this range.
Much like selecting a gear on a bicycle, drag factor is a personal choice. You should experiment with different damper settings (and resulting drag factors) in order to find the setting that works best for you.
Common Comments
MYTH: Rowing with more resistance will give a better workout.
FACT: The resistance setting is not a measure of your workout quality or quantity.
The settings 1-10 on the Indoor Rower are not work level settings or fitness level settings. The intensity of your workout is controlled by how hard you pull on the handle and is calculated and displayed by the electronic monitor as you row. Your accomplishment is indicated by the monitor, not the setting of the wind damper. As your fitness level and rowing skill improves you will be able to achieve better scores... i.e. faster pace, higher watt output, or greater rate of calorie consumption... regardless of the damper setting in which you choose to row. Think of the Indoor Rower as your boat. If you row at low intensity you can row for a long time. To make the boat go faster you pull harder; and if you try to make the boat go very fast you will be exhausted in a short time. Air resistance on the flywheel fan works just like the water resistance on a boat.
Now that you are thinking in terms of a boat on the water, let's examine the effect of the damper settings 1-10. In the lower numbers 1-4 the feel of the Indoor Rower is like a sleek racing shell. In the higher numbers 6-10 the feel is like a big, slow rowing boat. Either boat can be rowed hard; and as you try to make either boat go fast, you will need to apply more force. Making the sleek boat go fast requires you to apply your force more quickly; and when trying to make the big boat go fast you will feel a high force but at a slower speed of application.
QUESTION: "If I am exercising why don't I want to work at the highest force possible?"
If you were weightlifting you would be interested in creating a high force to work against. However, indoor rowing is intended to be a cardiovascular workout lasting 20, 30 or more minutes. You should not be limited by muscular fatigue before your cardiovascular system is able to benefit. Rowing in a setting that results in too high a force can be detrimental to your training programme by reducing your output, your enjoyment and the duration of your workouts. You should choose the setting in which you can achieve your best output score.
QUESTION: "Wouldn't I get my best score in the lowest setting ... the sleekest boat?"
This would be true if the flywheel speed were taken directly as the speed of your "boat". However the electronic monitor is doing a lot of work while you exercise. As you are moving forward for your next stroke the monitor measures how much your flywheel is slowing down. It can determine precisely how sleek or slow your "boat" is by how much it slows down between strokes. It then uses this information to determine from the speed of the flywheel how much work you are doing. In this way your true effort is calculated regardless of damper setting.
If you have a question relating to Drag or Resistance please contact us today.