After 4 months back on the rower....

4 four months after the heart attack and 3 months after the heart bypass I was back on the rower today for the first time. I finally got the okay yesterday from the physio people.

This afternoon I did a 20min session. The instructions from physio were to keep the heart rate no higher than 120. Using the chest strap it averaged out at 116bpm so not bad.

However it was a bit of a surprise so see how out of condition I am. I set a target of 20mins thinking it would be easy... nope :-(

So I did 20mins but I had to keep the 'hardness' level at 4 (before the heart attack I was doing something like 10 or 12!). Distance was 5Km at 40 strokes per min. In comparison, before the heart attack (in fact the day before!), I was doing c. 15Km, 45 mins and 'heardness' setting 10!! Anyone that has an R200 rower will understand the settings but, suffice it to say, this was a very light session.

Oh well early days... I suppose I should be happy I'm actually walking around and not ashes in an urn! ;-)

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Originally Posted by solwisesteve

4 four months after the heart attack and 3 months after the heart bypass I was back on the rower today for the first time. I finally got the okay yesterday from the physio people.

This afternoon I did a 20min session. The instructions from physio were to keep the heart rate no higher than 120. Using the chest strap it averaged out at 116bpm so not bad.

However it was a bit of a surprise so see how out of condition I am. I set a target of 20mins thinking it would be easy... nope :-(

So I did 20mins but I had to keep the 'hardness' level at 4 (before the heart attack I was doing something like 10 or 12!). Distance was 5Km at 40 strokes per min. In comparison, before the heart attack (in fact the day before!), I was doing c. 15Km, 45 mins and 'heardness' setting 10!! Anyone that has an R200 rower will understand the settings but, suffice it to say, this was a very light session.

Oh well early days... I suppose I should be happy I'm actually walking around and not ashes in an urn! ;-)

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Wow, would you say you were fit and in the "proper weight" range before the attack?

Hope you make a full recovery.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

4 months off and your bound to have lost fitness, nice and steady you'll get there.
All the best.

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Originally Posted by Arcam

Wow, would you say you were fit and in the "proper weight" range before the attack?

Hope you make a full recovery.

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Before the 'event' I used to aim for 160bpm which the physio people tell me was correct. I'm on beta blockers now so they're saying my current target, once I'm further down the recuperation path, will be 130bpm. However I'm told that before I had two arteries with 90-100% blockage so I'm hoping, now I've got new plumbing, I'll eventually be better than I was pre-op!

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Originally Posted by Nigel306

4 months off and your bound to have lost fitness, nice and steady you'll get there.
All the best.

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Put on a stone as well :-(

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Originally Posted by solwisesteve

Before the 'event' I used to aim for 160bpm which the physio people tell me was correct. I'm on beta blockers now so they're saying my current target, once I'm further down the recuperation path, will be 130bpm. However I'm told that before I had two arteries with 90-100% blockage so I'm hoping, now I've got new plumbing, I'll eventually be better than I was pre-op!

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Put on a stone as well :-(

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Fantastic, as a 57 year old my own mortality comes more into focus each time I read threads like this.

Good luck with the recuperation.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

40 spm is never going to be light, regardless of your setting. I would have thought you’d be better aiming somewhere between 25/30, and adjust strength so that your heart rate remains within 120.
Speed will come. Give it time.

Glad you're back in it. I've a Concept Dynamic that I'm trying to use more as winter training and it's a decent workout.
Is your 15km time correct as 3 minutes per km is pretty impressive, never mind for 15km!

I struggle to beat 32spm over 30 mins so your beating me already!

Best wishes for the recovery.

Step 4 or 5 on a Concept2 is the same as real-water rowing; setting 6 perhaps when you're rowing upwind in heavy weather. Everything above setting 5 is what you want to do in the gym. Just keep it on 4 or 5. No need to overdo it.

Be sure to take some additional protein: your heart is a muscle and like the other muscles in your body, it needs protein to gain strength. (That's what my cardiologist / neighbour-across-the-park told me 8 yrs ago when he'd operated on me).

Menno

Great that you’re back on the rower. It will take time so don’t rush it
Like you said you have new pipes now so it may better than before once you’ve eased into it.
Good luck with the recovery.

"However I'm told that before I had two arteries with 90-100% blockage " and that's the scary thing to me , not knowing till its too late ! and I am part of the 50s heart attack club.
I am on a cholesterol busting drug but was upset couple of week ago when my consultant advised all it will do is extend the time frame to the next attack!
speedy recovery fella

40 spm for 20 minutes is crazy high unless you are rowing very short indeed; even Olympians won’t do that for the sub 6 minutes it takes them to cover 2000 metres. A reasonable target for 20+ minute pieces is somewhere between 18-24 spm.

Edited to add:
1. Well done for getting back into it after a major op; and
2. I don’t know the machine you are using so there may be something about it that requires such a high stroke rate

If it's a Concept II, select 'Menu', then 'More Options', then 'Display Drag Factor'. Start rowing, adjust resistance lever till drag factor is around 130 - 135. That's equivalent to actual water rowing.

Male heavyweight (over 75 kg) – 125-140

Male lightweight (under 75 kg) – 120-135

[emoji106]

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Originally Posted by tertius

40 spm for 20 minutes is crazy high unless you are rowing very short indeed; even Olympians won’t do that for the sub 6 minutes it takes them to cover 2000 metres. A reasonable target for 20+ minute pieces is somewhere between 18-24 spm.

Edited to add:
1. Well done for getting back into it after a major op; and
2. I don’t know the machine you are using so there may be something about it that requires such a high stroke rate

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Agreed.

40spm indicates that your technique is way out. I'm 22/23 spm with sub-8min 2000m.

There's great videos for technique but if you're lifting the handle over your knees, you need to change. If your ass starts moving forward before you finishing pulling the handle towards you you need to change.

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Originally Posted by 33JS

If it's a Concept II, select 'Menu', then 'More Options', then 'Display Drag Factor'. Start rowing, adjust resistance lever till drag factor is around 130 - 135. That's equivalent to actual water rowing.

Male heavyweight (over 75 kg) – 125-140

Male lightweight (under 75 kg) – 120-135

[emoji106]

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It’s not: from the OP it’s an “R200” which a google suggests uses magnetic resistance with variable settings.

Agree with you about using Drag Factor on a C2 though I would tend to the lower end - as a fairly average masters rower I generally set for 115-120.

Well done, I bet you feel great getting back in to it. Keep it up

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Originally Posted by tertius

40 spm for 20 minutes is crazy high unless you are rowing very short indeed; even Olympians won’t do that for the sub 6 minutes it takes them to cover 2000 metres. A reasonable target for 20+ minute pieces is somewhere between 18-24 spm.

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I'm glad someone said this, when I read 40spm i started to feel very I adequate with my distinctly average 18-22 spm @ resistance of 8 over 15 mins.

40spm, regardless of resistance would have me on the floor in less than 5 mins, and I'm not completely unfit!

40 spm, setting 10-12 @ 2000m would shoot you right in the lead of the Concept2 online ranking!!

https://log.concept2.com/rankings

Thought I'd post an update...

I'm now up to 6Km each morning. c. 40spm which is about 2'05" for 500m. I start at Level 7 for 3Km and then level 8 for the remainder 3Km.

Give it another week and I should be level 8 for the whole 6Km. This is ensuring the heart rate doesn't exceed 120bpm which was the recommendation by the hospital physio staff.

The problem is I'm ahead of what the physio sessions are set at by the staff at the health centre. What I mean is I'm finding the exercises at the monitored physio sessions (2 x 1hr a week) just too easy. I keep on dropping hints that perhaps it should be increased but they're very slow at adjusting the exercise regime :-( However last time I took things into my own hand, so to speak, and increased the speed and hardness. For example they put me on a treadmill for 10 mins. At the speed etc... they want, my heart rate stays in the high 80s when, they admit, the target should really be 113 (though the hospital staff said 120). Last time instead of 5Km/h I cranked it up to 6.2Km/h. Heart rate settled down at 115bpm which I'm happy with and, judging by my text book blood pressure/heart rates after the session (120/70, 70bpm), my body agrees and so did the staff!

What I've also noticed is a marked drop in sympathy from SWMBO. e.g. when I was in hospital post heart attack, SWMBO definitely said, if I survived, I could get a V6 Lotus Exige. That's gone out of the window now... She admits she did say that but now it's 'but I didn't mean it' :-(

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Originally Posted by solwisesteve

Thought I'd post an update...

I'm now up to 6Km each morning. c. 40spm which is about 2'05" for 500m. I start at Level 7 for 3Km and then level 8 for the remainder 3Km.

Give it another week and I should be level 8 for the whole 6Km. This is ensuring the heart rate doesn't exceed 120bpm which was the recommendation by the hospital physio staff.

The problem is I'm ahead of what the physio sessions are set at by the staff at the health centre. What I mean is I'm finding the exercises at the monitored physio sessions (2 x 1hr a week) just too easy. I keep on dropping hints that perhaps it should be increased but they're very slow at adjusting the exercise regime :-( However last time I took things into my own hand, so to speak, and increased the speed and hardness. For example they put me on a treadmill for 10 mins. At the speed etc... they want, my heart rate stays in the high 80s when, they admit, the target should really be 113 (though the hospital staff said 120). Last time instead of 5Km/h I cranked it up to 6.2Km/h. Heart rate settled down at 115bpm which I'm happy with and, judging by my text book blood pressure/heart rates after the session (120/70, 70bpm), my body agrees and so did the staff!

What I've also noticed is a marked drop in sympathy from SWMBO. e.g. when I was in hospital post heart attack, SWMBO definitely said, if I survived, I could get a V6 Lotus Exige. That's gone out of the window now... She admits she did say that but now it's 'but I didn't mean it' :-(

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Good effort, and you appear to be making great progress.

My resting heart rate is 85bpm... it's never been lower than 70, even back in the day when I was playing football / cycling 200+ miles a week, due to open heart surgery in 1975. Just running up a flight of stairs can hit 140bpm these days :neutralskull:

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Originally Posted by amnesia

Good effort, and you appear to be making great progress.

My resting heart rate is 85bpm... it's never been lower than 70, even back in the day when I was playing football / cycling 200+ miles a week, due to open heart surgery in 1975. Just running up a flight of stairs can hit 140bpm these days :neutralskull:

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140bpm... ouch!

Great to hear that things are going well on the rower. However, your wife's change of mind regarding the Lotus could mean a set-back in your recovery and should be re-considered...

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Originally Posted by solwisesteve

Thought I'd post an update...

I'm now up to 6Km each morning. c. 40spm which is about 2'05" for 500m. I start at Level 7 for 3Km and then level 8 for the remainder 3Km.

Give it another week and I should be level 8 for the whole 6Km. This is ensuring the heart rate doesn't exceed 120bpm which was the recommendation by the hospital physio staff.

The problem is I'm ahead of what the physio sessions are set at by the staff at the health centre. What I mean is I'm finding the exercises at the monitored physio sessions (2 x 1hr a week) just too easy. I keep on dropping hints that perhaps it should be increased but they're very slow at adjusting the exercise regime :-( However last time I took things into my own hand, so to speak, and increased the speed and hardness. For example they put me on a treadmill for 10 mins. At the speed etc... they want, my heart rate stays in the high 80s when, they admit, the target should really be 113 (though the hospital staff said 120). Last time instead of 5Km/h I cranked it up to 6.2Km/h. Heart rate settled down at 115bpm which I'm happy with and, judging by my text book blood pressure/heart rates after the session (120/70, 70bpm), my body agrees and so did the staff!

What I've also noticed is a marked drop in sympathy from SWMBO. e.g. when I was in hospital post heart attack, SWMBO definitely said, if I survived, I could get a V6 Lotus Exige. That's gone out of the window now... She admits she did say that but now it's 'but I didn't mean it' :-(

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I should love to see a video of you rowing - there is something really weird about either the machine you use or your technique and I wonder it that's the reason for the heart rate out trade. But its really hard to comment sensibly when your data is so different.

For comparison the British record for 6000m is at an average 500m split of 1'40.7" and was set at 27 strokes per minute. I know its not 5k but it was the nearest I could easily find that showed the spm. Your 40 spm is extremely high - even lightweight women aren't at that rate for 2k let alone 5!

Though of course that doesn't explain the treadmill findings ... perhaps you are just ... unusual ... apols if you have already posted it but what's your height/age/weight and resting heart rate? For reference I'm 53/87kg/6'3" and my resting heart rate is usually in the high 40s - I row a lot and I couldn't do a 40spm piece for more than about a minute!

Of course it may be that the real issue is the lack of a V6 Exige ... ;)

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Originally Posted by tertius

I should love to see a video of you rowing - there is something really weird about either the machine you use or your technique and I wonder it that's the reason for the heart rate out trade. But its really hard to comment sensibly when your data is so different.

For comparison the British record for 6000m is at an average 500m split of 1'40.7" and was set at 27 strokes per minute. I know its not 5k but it was the nearest I could easily find that showed the spm. Your 40 spm is extremely high - even lightweight women aren't at that rate for 2k let alone 5!

Though of course that doesn't explain the treadmill findings ... perhaps you are just ... unusual ... apols if you have already posted it but what's your height/age/weight and resting heart rate? For reference I'm 53/87kg/6'3" and my resting heart rate is usually in the high 40s - I row a lot and I couldn't do a 40spm piece for more than about a minute!

Of course it may be that the real issue is the lack of a V6 Exige ... ;)

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I believe there is a difference between rowing correctly, as in to maximise stroke efficiency like in a real boat, and exercising on a machine, which is a cardio and calories burning exercise with no other constraints. Provided that your movements in the latter do not result in back injuries, live and let live...

I say that as I was shocked too by the spm, especially as the OP mentioned it at the beginning of the thread. I had a look on the internet and indeed it is a thing. Used in that way the distances 'rowed' lose any connection they might have with the actual distance the same exercise would take you on water, but they remain a benchmark against which you can measure your efforts.

With this data (spm, heart rate etc) and provided the stroke is well-executed, I would strongly advise you the search for the email addresses of Pinsent, Redgrave and Donald McDonald to form a team to win the Summer Olympics!

I've just done my 'tour' on the 10 y/o Concept2 this morning; I'd read this thread last night and I wanted to see what I am capable of. 2K meters, resistance on 4.5 (between 4 and 5): 9min 2 sec. Average spm 34. That's including an all or nothing sprint at the end...

What's your age, height and how much do you weigh?

M