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What damper setting should I row at?
Steve Lever: I am 46 years old and 16 stone. I always have the vane setting on 10. At this setting I have achieved some reasonable (by my standards) times. My best being 19 minutes 18 seconds for 5,000 metres and sub 9 minutes for 2,000 metres.
Reading your newsletter, am I to assume that if I reduce the resistance I can increase my stroke rate? Will this aid in getting better times? Will this work over 2,000m? I ask the last question because I would like to better the younger element at the local gym!
Terry O�Neill: First of all, you�ll have to bear with me while I explain the way the damper works. When you have the damper set on 10, it�s wide open and thus allows the maximum air flow through the flywheel. With the damper set on 1 then you have the minimum air flow through the flywheel; as the flywheel spins, it spins the air that is trapped inside the cage. Once you have the air spinning then the resistance or drag is low. With the damper wide open the air inside the cage is forced out and fresh air is drawn in and so the drag is higher.
Oarsmen want to replicate the feeling of a moving boat and train at the stroke rate that is required in a rowing race. They will tend to set the damper on 3 or 4 and rate around 35 strokes a minute. A lot of world best times are held by people using this technique but they will have been training in this way for years; to a certain extent the question is whether it�s the years of training or the damper setting that gives them their results.
You are a big man at 16 stone and may find it more suitable to use a lower stroke rate on the higher damper setting than a higher stroke rate on a lower setting. The reason for this is that just moving your body up and down the slide will account for 30% of your energy - energy that therefore is not available to improve your score. With training your endurance should improve and, as it does, gradually reduce the damper setting and increase the stroke rate. By monitoring your progress you will find what damper setting and stroke rate is best for you.
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