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Top Tip

Posted by Concept2 News on the 4th of June 2001

After last week's plea for Top Tips, one came winging its way all across the Pacific. David C. Ireland from the USA came to our rescue this week with a Tip entitled Heart-Pace Match Point.There's a little game you can play on the rower if you have a heart rate monitor that's easy to read while rowing (like the one that connects to the monitor). It will also give you a measure of fitness that you can then work to improve.Not really a game, it's more like an observation. It seems there are certain conditions where your pace (seconds/500m) and heart rate (beats/minute) readings look a lot alike. For me, at various stroke rates, my pace looks the same as my heart rate. 1:58 pace at 158 beats/minute.A little reflection shows that the lower this match up occurs, the better shape you're probably in and/or the more efficiently you're rowing.This only makes sense under steady state conditions where you can see the same numbers for 5 minutes or more. If they don't match, lower your pace (go faster), and your heart rate is bound to rise. Ease off a little and down comes your heart rate. When they match that's your 'Heart-Pace Match Point'. Over the long term, this number should come down as your conditioning improves.Not everyone can do an under 2:00/500m pace at a heart rate of under 160. I can't always, either. So, you play around with the numbers a little, subtract or add 10 or 20 and just get the last digit to match. Most people can find a combination within their aerobic range that works.And then work it down. If you've got a Top Tip, don't hide it under a bushel, send it to webmaster@therowingcompany.com and let it roam free for the world to see.


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