Enrique Pérez (rower) Puns

I’m a new coach in training and constantly nervous when I am there ! I finally felt pretty confident yesterday and during the flexibility block I took a few steps backwards and fell backwards right into the rower in between the rails ! Now I never want to go back !!! Help !!!

I am torn whether I should wait for Peloton to release its rumored rower or just get a Hydrow rower. Any thoughts?

My studio did a NYE 90-minute 3G and we were in teams of 3 (tread/rower/floor). The "competition" was total meters on the rower for all 3 people over the 90 minutes. I started on the rower, so I was last on the tread. 22 minutes into the tread, the coach announced that each team could put their strongest rower back on the rowers for the last minute AO. My teammates exerted some peer pressure on me, so I had 30 seconds to transition from an AO on the tread to an AO on the rower. I maintained mid-400s for most of the minute, and got up to 507 watts. My team didn't win in the total meters count, but that was definitely a NSV.

42F, 5'8", if you're curious.

Since joining OTF this summer I've had a challenge finding shoes that work well across the tread, rower and floor. Running shoes (my Hoka Cliftons) have great cushioning, but are unstable on the floor. Crossfit (my Nike Metcons) and trainers (my On Cloudflows) provide stability, but aren't ideal for running and "all outs".

I've read many threads in my quest to find just the right shoe for OTF -- seeking lightweight, medium cushion and moderate stability (and stylish). I thought I achieved the ideal shoe when I recently switched from Hoka Cliftons and Brooks Ravenna to On Cloudflows. I was happy for a while, but soon realized that I was struggling to maintain speed on the tread, with my PR declining by 1 to 1.5 mph on my all outs. I also realized that my shins were hurting and I needed more cushion.

My quest continued and I have now found the "perfect" OTF shoe. For anyone out there with similar issues, I highly recommend you try out the Hoka Mach 4. They have a good amount of cushion, are firm and are light weight, while also providing great stability on the floor. I am now able to maintain 9.5 to 10 mph on my all outs and feel confident and stable on the floor.

I am not sponsored and this isn't a commercial -- just hoping to share with anyone who still hasn't found their ideal OTF shoe.

I've been asked to perform lactate testing on a cohort of masters rowers - not elite rowers, or former elites, but mainly weekend warrior types. For the life of me I cannot think of what benefits the average masters rower will get from lactate testing. In my opinion they'd be better served by learning to row with better technique, getting stronger by lifting weights and by doing high intensity intervals, rather than spending their money to find out where are their Recovery, UT2 and Threshold heart rate zones.
Do you have any ideas how the average (non-elite) masters can benefit from lactate testing?

I’m short and out of shape so that may really be all it is. But I can’t get out of the 50 watt range overall and maybe 90 as a high. Seeing someone else’s reply at 250 makes me so confused.

I’ve watched all the videos on rowing. Adjusted my foot straps in various ways. Treating it like a jump squat.

What am I doing wrong? Or do I just need to keep going and I’ll eventually see progress? (FYI my legs are jello after a long rowing session like the 2000 m benchmark or today’s endurance).

Exercise has always been one of the only ways for me to stay sane. Just lots of anxiety and anger, and endurance sports are a good way to blow off steam and do something for just me. I used to be a decently fit guy, but crazy work hours, bad injuries, and three kids just make it difficult to find the time to do much. I bought this C2 rower about a year ago, did one row on it and then never got back on it until last week, when I did an easy 30 minutes. Couple days ago I pushed a little harder and got a 41:40 10k at 19 spm and 188 drag factor. I wish I could push harder with my legs, as it feels like I'm hardly using them at all, but a bad low back injury seems to prevent me from putting much more force on it than I already am. I haven't figured out how to properly engage my legs I guess, right now the best way I found is to tense my glutes at the catch and push through the balls of my feet first and into my midfoot next. My cardio fitness is trash after 2.5 years of doing literally nothing, my HR skyrocketed into the high 180s due to being untrained. Maybe I can get my bike set back up on a trainer so I can get some easy cardio in my preferred manner- much easier to eat and drink on a bike, trying to row 1-handed while drinking water isn't fun.

How do you get out of the green and into the orange and red on the rower? I have such a hard time getting my heart rate high enough. I normally do the treadmill first and I never have any issues getting my heart rate up on that, my cardio health is pretty bad. (I have been a member for about a month) but on the rower, I have such a hard time getting my heart rate up even when I’m doing all outs. Help please!

I noticed a few people go for the rower and everyone prefers treadmill. I’m wondering if there’s a benefit behind starting on the treadmill. Does it help you get more splat points? Get your heart rate up and set the tone for the workout?

What do you eat/take before working out for strength/endurance?

Just curious where everyone prefers starting or if you have preference at all? I am a creature of habit and always request the tread first because I feel like I get more splat points and burn more calories throughout the whole class when I start on the tread.

Today was my first class starting on the tread vs the rower and (obviously) noticed that I was much less winded while running and barely got into the red zone at all (usually I’m all orange/red the majority of the time).. it got me thinking: has anyone noticed any benefits starting on the tread vs rower or vice versa

I have trouble breathing when I’m on the tower. Does anyone else have this issue? Any idea on what I’m doing wrong?

I'm a female rower and just finished my first season of D1 rowing. Rowing is tough but I've always enjoyed it and never thought I would feel the way I do. I decided to not come back for the spring season and leave the school as well because of scholarship reasons. I hated my team and felt no bond with any of the girls even though I spend 20 hours a week training and spending time with them. Pair this with long-ass practices and ergs I quickly began to dread going to practice. In just a few short months the sport I love has turned into the sport I hate. But I don't know if my feelings would change if I was to row with a different team. Either way, I will not be rowing this semester but could join the transfer portal and try to go somewhere else next fall. I'm just wondering if anyone has their own similar experience with this? I'm just looking for advice because I don't want to give up rowing so easily but I could not mentally take another season with my team. Do I look into transferring somewhere else or do I just go to school and leave college rowing behind?

Hopefully this is well placed. I struggled to find this in the search.

My brother is wanting to get a home rower. He insists on having a subscription/class that his wife can use as well, but she won't use the rower. She wants it for the yoga or aerobics style exercise. They are new to exercise and are afraid of lacking the motivation without the subscription/class aspect.

I use a concept 2 model D and recommended that, but am not aware of the ability to combine a concept 2 with the subscription/class models. Plus I haven't looked into the various options for a few years so I am uneducated on the current options.

What are your recommendations for the subscriptions that have rowing and other exercises as well?

Which models are considered "good" in those services?

Is there a way to pair a concept 2 (PM4 or PM5) with a subscription service?

Thanks in advance!

Im about 115 lbs and can prob carry 40-50lbs on my own. Since it breaks in two parts, do you think I’ll have trouble getting this into my car? Anybody who can help me is working today so I want to be realistic. Thanks in advance!

I’m trying to focus on pushing with my heels while rowing and want to verify I have my straps adjusted properly.

I understand it’s supposed to go across the widest part of the foot, but I’m curious about everyone else’s adjustments.

If you can, reply with your shoe size and how many holes you can see on the footplates. Hopefully that makes sense.

Shoe-10.5 Holes Visible on Rower Footplates-7

I'll try to keep this concise. Used to lift regularly, was hospitalized for an elective surgery and then fell out of the habit. Now I work from home, put some pounds on, and coupled with some other issues I don't want to go into detail on, I'm really not ready to go back into the public gym setting yet. So a home workout option would be perfect for me.

Primary goal is to lose weight/burn calories/general fitness. I'm not training for anything specifically, and don't want to. But I haven't exercised 'for real' in probably ~5 or so years, and I just need something I can do consistently, at home, to shed 20+ pounds to add to my daily routine to stay relatively in-shape (relative to a completely sedentary person).

I've done some research between these, and I'd like to have the option of doing HIIT when I want to, but think I want to primarily focus on LISS for longer over-all conditioning sessions. 45-60 minutes would be ideal for that.

Based on what I've read, it seems like people say these general things:

• air bikes: definitely good for HIIT, hit/miss on LISS due to the seating comfort, but also inherently because of what air bikes are designed for: generating resistance based on a completely open ended range of input that isn't pre-programmed

• rower: takes on these seem to be consistent: possibly equally good for HIIT and LISS, however form needs to be well practiced to minimize injury

• bike erg (specifically the c2 one I guess): pretty much has the same properties of any stationary bike generally, in that it's obviously great for LISS, and you can do HIIT of course, but stationary bikes are primarily a leg work out

I was kind of wanting a one-size-fits-all piece of equipment that I can use for a good 6 months to a year and then re-evaluate my needs if anything changes or isn't working. And getting full body work outs would be nice.

I think I'm definitely leaning towards an air bike but I don't want to feel like every single work out will leave me with the only option of doing HIIT. I'd like to be able to hop on for 30-60 minutes at least 4-5 days a week, if not more.

I'm currently eyeing a Schwinn AD7 that's near me on CL, and my next best option there would be a Rogue Echo, due to the belt drive. Anyways, figured crossfit would be a great place to ask since many of you probably have experience with most of these kinds of equipment.

Thanks!

Thanks for the huge response to my asking for help on the rower. I couldn’t get out of the 50s in wattage (and even lower in base pace).

After being sick for the week, I was in there last night and got into the 110s!!

The majority of it was where my feet are in the straps. The coach had set me up with 7 holes showing. I played around with 8/9 holes showing with no luck. I just sat down and left them where they were (at like 4) and that seemed to do the trick. I had more mobility on the day back in (bending my knees). The coach also said I was leaning too far back which was taking some power out.

As soon as I took her advice I was up to 117! That’s still low by some standards, but it’s way higher than I was!

Oh and a bonus! I haven’t lost weight yet, but my shirts are fitting differently around my waist! I’m so excited!

Short interview with a Paralympian, anyone?

Earlier last year we sat down with Dani Hansen, one of Hydrow’s Athletes and a member of last year’s US Women’s Rowing Team!
We wanted to get down to how she got into rowing, what kind of motivations have kept her going, and more.

How did you choose rowing?

My first time in a boat was as a rowing recruit at the University of Washington in Seattle. I had been an athlete my entire life, focusing mainly on volleyball and softball. I knew that I wanted to be a Division I college athlete — I just wasn’t sure what sport and where.

I was born with Erb’s palsy — a form of brachial plexus palsy that impacts the network of nerves in the arm. As a baby, my doctors told my parents that I’d likely never use my left arm, and would have difficulty doing even the most basic day-to-day tasks. There’s a difference between being “disabled” and being “adaptive.” Para-Athletes aren’t disabled — they are athletes that have adapted to excel within their sport. The way I think about it is that life is full of setbacks — you can’t let those setbacks define you; rather, let the way that you adapt, overcome, thrive and inspire others be the thing that sets you apart.

The coaches at UW saw my potential and took a chance on me. The moment I got on the water, I knew it was for me. Since then, I have won one National Championship, been on six US National Teams, won multiple medals at World Championships, set a world record, earned the silver medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, and am headed to my second Paralympic Games in Tokyo in just a few weeks.

What is your proudest athletic achievement?

My proudest athletic achievement actually transcends sports. When I got home from the Rio Paralympics in 2016, my hometown of Patterson, CA awarded me with the Hometown Hero award and named November 26th “Dani Hansen Day” as a town holiday. That was the coolest thing ever.

What does that mean to you to have represented the USA in the Paralympics and on the international stage?

It is an honor to be one of the few chosen to represent my country on that large of a stage. I don’t take it lightly and it’s really quite humbling. I always want to go and make everyone proud to have believed in me and supported me.

What type of work went into where you are today?

I pay very close attention to details. My coach says, ‘The way you do anything is the way you do everything’. I believe this mindset helps me lead a more disciplined

Pre-pandemic my box used to offer a 30 minute group class that was rower-based but incorporated other movements. For example, it would be something like a 5 min WU, 20 minute AMRAP of say 200m rower, 15 push ups, 15 KB swings, 10 goblet squats, 15 Russian twists, then the last 5 minutes would be like planking movements. It was a great workout for the shorter amount of time than a typical Crossfit workout.

I don't know if there are templates like what I described available online so I can do this at home. Class was called Burn on Wodify but I'm not sure if that was just my box's specific programming or if it's universally available (sorry if that's a dumb statement as I was a newbie when I started with that class lol). Does anyone know of where I could find this type of programming for at home?

Today during the AO rows I flew off the seat... again. Whenever I break 300 watts it seems that a body in motion wants to stay in motion and I end up with my tush on the rails. I wear leggings to class. Are there leggings with better grip? I have thick thighs so I need a barrier to keep them from rubbing on the tread. This has happened to me two other times, once on my first 200m row benchmark and then again on another power day. I'm just tired of looking like a tank drove over my butt. I can't be the only one with this problem, right?

Any advice here? I’m around a 6.5/8.5 base/push on the treads and my all out rows tend to be at or under 300 watts but I really have a hard time deciding my base and push on the rower … any guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I am 33 year old male.

Bought a water rower about six months ago and am absolutely loving the activity and the results (never looked better and the wife loves it!). Have struggled my entire life finding and sticking with a fitness regime. I have tried many different fitness activities in my life: weight-lifting, running, cardio sports, fitness gaming (ring fit, ddr, etc) but rowing has yielded the best results, enjoyment and excitement to perform.

I try to row a 5k in under 20 minutes every other day and if I miss I make up for it with a 7k in under 30. I also try to work in around 33 pushups every 10 minutes of rowing to balance out the pulling with some pushing. The routine works great for me outside of one issue: I am constantly winded.

After about 5 minutes of any kind of rowing I'm fighting to catch my breath and keep fighting the entire length of the activity. When I stop to do pushups I usually take a minute breather just to try and calm myself a little. This is not the first time I have experienced this.

Previously in my twenties I really made a go at running, for about a 3/4s of a year every other day I'd wake up and run a mile, then after a month, two miles, but the results ended up much the same as my rowing. After about 5-10 minutes I'd be winded and fighting exhaustion for the rest of the activity. Naturally I assumed I wasn't pushing myself enough and upped either the speed or distance only to develop terrible shin splints about 8 months into the activity and had to stop altogether, per doctors request, to heal. I never ran again.

I should also mention I do suffer from year round allergies and celiacs disease (recently diagnosed) which I assume can hamper progress.

Despite my running experience I am committed to rowing and barring injury or ailment have no intent to stop.

And here is my actual ask: do you think this constant winded exaustion is something that will resolve itself with more time and dedication, something I should look into treatment for, or something I need to build some mental fortitude around to resolve and overcome. I often joke at work that I am powered by spite and if you put a label on my inability it will only make me try harder to power through so I'm curious what y'all think.

Macie jakieś doświadczenia z rowerami stacjonarnymi? Nowy rok i te sprawy, chcielibyśmy z lubą sprawić sobie taki sprzęt. Z tego co się orientowaliśmy nie ma co oszczędzać, bo modele poniżej 1500 zł są głośne albo padają dość szybko.

Ktoś ma/poleca jakiś model do 3k? Jakieś ważne parametry na które trzeba zwracać uwagę, poza tym że powinien być magnetyczny?

What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you? I vlog, row, and can donate lots of money to pay for your 110m contract with your football coach.

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. As another great USC student and vlogger once said "I do want the experience of game days, partying — I don't really care about school, as you guys all know." (getting ripped tonight rip that.....)

What is your favorite snack?: Pure protein powder I AM ABOUT THE GRIND!!

Best movie of all time: Varsity Blues

Dream job: Olympic rower

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?: Row row row your boat.

Dream trip: Rowing across the Nile.

What TV show will you binge-watch next? Full House

Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate? Captain Jack Sparrow

Favorite book: The Wonder Crew: The Untold Story of a Coach, Navy Rowing, and Olympic Immortality

If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be? Applied Sports Photography and Photoshop