After 4 months back on the rower....

[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! ;-)

[Arcam]

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! ;-)

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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[Nigel306]

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

[solwisesteve]

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

Hope you make a full recovery.

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

Put on a stone as well :-(

[Arcam]

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 :-(

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.

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[Saint-Just]

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.

[Captain Morgan]

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

Best wishes for the recovery.

[thieuster]

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

[bambam]

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.

[mitch1956]

"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

[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

[deepreddave]

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!

[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

[tertius]

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

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.

[hilly10]

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