The perfect Concept 2 Damper setting for YOU

[@karlmadsen3179]

Well....I'm still on the waiting list to order my Concept 2 Model D...so I get to practice these tips at my local gym. You do a nice job.

[@andynogueras]

Thank you 4 taking the time to make this video and sharing it.

[@offthefront7537]

Any discussion of damper setting needs to discuss “drag factor”. You can row on two different machines and set the damper at the same number and the drag factor would be different. Most elite rowers use a drag factor of between 110 and 115 and this is around a 4 to 5 damper setting. I had any erg and with a drag factor of 110 the damper was at a 2. The drag factor is displayed on the PM.

[@alhashmi247]

Agree, that damper setting doesn’t mean anything without the drag factor every machine depending on age and usage will be different

[@anishnehete]

I use a drag factor of 85 🥲

[@davidw460]

Yes, discussion of the damper setting is pointless, it’s that machine’s drag factor that counts 😂.

[@rppugliese]

Your videos on the Concept 2 have helped me to understand indoor rowing. Thanks!

[@RVAPerformanceTraining]

The damper settings on the Concept 2 can be mysterious! Hope this video help clears everything up for you. Comment if you have any questions!

[@blurlt99]

Would you ever use the higher settings?

[@multifariousgemini]

Thank you! I needed that. 😊 I got my rower 2 days ago and used it for the first time last night. I had it at 4. I'm gonna see what 3 and 5 feels like.

[@jpcatapano]

Thank you! Very different than weight lifting. Would be lost without these vids.

[@genegroover3721]

Great job!😊

[@A-broken-clay-jar]

Excellent video!

[@tammyburgess2856]

Awesome. I needed to watch this. Prob watch a few times when I do it till I get hang of it. I love my rower.

[@craigrik2699]

as a rower (boat) I use the damper for water resistant, 3 - 5 is generally physical water resistant. I don't go away from this setting as I spend as much time on the water as I do on the rower. Oh, and I found upping the damper above 8 causes me injury because there is no water at that resistant and I don't get any advantage out of it, just a thought

[@wadahabdullaahmad1281]

Value tips , Appreciate it

[@bernadettemontilla9804]

Thank you so much for this!

[@RVAPerformanceTraining]

Glad it helped!

[@nightwing5177]

Thank you. Wonderful clear information. On point.

[@aladinsarsipeus]

ive only been using the concept two at my local ymca for a month or so i have been just jumping on it and rowing i really need to check the damper its been kind of a bear 2K in 10 mins has me kind of beat every time 😁 its probably only on 1 🤣

[@Hendrix4evah]

Does the number of calories on the machine correlate in any way with the damper setting? Does one use the same number of calories on any of the numerical damper settings?

[@elektras6325]

Good grief.... mine was set to 10 🤪 and ive just used it for the first time. I definitely need to lower it.

[@erichintz8357]

Strong man/ power lifting is fast twitch dominated not slow twitch. Just like cross fit. To deadlift a large amount of weight requires explosive energy for one rep.

[@mkfort]

Correct. There's also plenty of cardio in crossfit and bad form going for reps not explosive power. It's also awkward how she frames it in terms of 'types of people' instead of the type of workout you are trying to do. There are genetic differences but everyone has both slow twitch and fast twitch muscles and they adapt based on how you work them.

[@telkwa]

Do you have a source for this? Strong-man movements are rarely fast, and powerlifting movements are never fast.

[@MrToddy31]

Thanks Cassii from Belfast.

[@alanpliska5553]

Davy Todd a%

[@malcolmhaynes2886]

Thank you for your info well explained

[@RVAPerformanceTraining]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stewsaquarium1397]

Thank you

[@nyclear]

If the resistance is determined by how I row, is the damper making it even harder or easier relative to that? Why cant anyone really explain it?

[@planttheseed2129]

Shouldn't we be focusing on the Drag factor rather than the Damper setting? Damper setting is susceptible to not cleaning it/age. A 3-5 DS can feel different on different Concept2s.

[@alhashmi247]

Agree, Damper nothing without the drag factor, every machine will be different depending on usage and age

[@mattiabianuccitrainer]

Thank you 🙏

[@RVAPerformanceTraining]

You’re welcome 😊

[@DaGleese]

Having Numbers really makes it feel like 1 = easy mode and 10 = pro mode, basically using weights logic - bigger number must me harder.

[@DaGleese]

@@TRIBOY16 I know this now of course thanks to the video but yeah that is the broken logic most will use without this knowledge, and that's why the machine is always set to 10 from the previous user. I also heard about the "display drag factor" in settings. With this screen you can row in a normal sustainable comfortable way and change the damper till the drag factor reads 125. This is the optimal setting for the damper accounting for your personal optimum stroke along with machine wear etc.

[@offthefront7537]

DaGleese .

[@probitionate]

A quick question for you. I have been attempting to set a time mark for a particular distance. I normally row at a damper setting of 4. I tried the distance at 2, and hated it. This morning, I did the distance at 6...and knocked almost 25 seconds off my PB. What does this mean? How should I interpret the result? (I know; TWO questions. LOL)

[@probitionate]

@Nooneinparticular987 Thank you. For such a considered response. That was a generous thing to do, and I appreciate it. In the four months since posting my comment, I've knocked another twenty seconds off my PB, discovering along the way that 5.5 is my sweet-spot. Tomorrow is a landmark birthday for me, and I'll be trying to set a PB that I know that time is running on my ability to accomplish. Twenty-five seconds stand between me and that mark. Wish me luck. .

[@markreilly4577]

What should I put the damper setting on for it to be similar to a water rower machine?

[@missnight73]

Between 5 and 6

[@markreilly4577]

@@missnight73 thank you!

[@georgekeep4512]

I’m just an idiot… I’ve been doing it at 10 this whole time…. I’ve made it to 1200m and now that I switch the damper to level 5 I competed the 2000m effortlessly. Wowwww I can’t believe these past months it was always a 10…

[@fiskebc]

Same here ! Lol!

[@Tsnor1]

Google drag factor vs. the numeric damper setting.

[@lonzo9569]

I don’t get it. I’ve watched 20 videos trying to explain how the damper works vis a vis my pulling action. In every one we are told “don’t think of the number setting as resistance.” But then, we are told, the higher one sets the side numbers, it’s harder to row. Isn’t that “resistance?” We need to see just ONE video with the Concept 2 taken apart so we can see the chain working the flywheel, rather than someone pointing at the wheel casing and describing what goes on inside. That said, it’s clearly understood how the damper affects the air, which affects the flywheel. But this “resistance“ thing. I’m still at a loss.

[@jopsball-turret6969]

It would be nice to see someone demonstrate rowing techniques instead of describe all the step by step. Nobody does this and it would help to see what the rhythm looks like

[@krish1281]

Thanks! The damper setting will never make sense to me no matter how many times its explained... i don't understand how at a 10 you are applying more force, yet it's not a "how hard is it thing." My brain must not be wired correctly.

[@ktatum351435]

Kris H think of the rower actually in the water. If the setting is at 10, you’re dropping the paddle further down into the water, and moving more water. Your “boat” will travel more meters per stroke because you’re doing a long, heavy pull. If the setting is at 1, you’re not dipping the paddle far into the water. It’s a lighter stroke, and easier to do, but you’re traveling less meters in the water on a per stroke basis.

[@krish1281]

@@ktatum351435 I get that, i just keep being told "It's not a difficulty/hard thing..." So it's not as far in the water, it's easier, therefore going a short distance on a per stroke basis. The opposite of that, would be...harder.

[@andypeters2367]

Hi Kris, the way I think of it is like two different boats. On a low damper setting the boat feels like a sharp pointy boat that easily cuts through the water, on a high damper setting it makes the rower feel like your trying to row a square heavy barge through the water. A setting somewhere in between around 4-5 as she says on the video is likely to make the rower feel like rowing a real boat... The reason the damper setting doesn't impact your rowing "score" or distance on the PM meter is because it calculates your distance and /500m time based on the resistance it measures as you row, so the damper setting just affects how the rowing feels for you, not the /500m rates or distances the PM calculates. That`s why rowing competitions don`t care about the damper settings to keep things even, the rower computer calibrates for this.

[@johnmcteague3925]

Power output is Force x Speed of movement. 10 will require a high force to be generated to get decent pace but will be done at lowish rating, ie.strokes per minute. Otherwise you'll blow out. Low drag of 1 or 2 will require a high rating to maintain pace ad the potential for generating force is low.

[@jrolando234]

1 easy 10 hard. If I train for a month to do 5000m in 18mins and I feel great about my time and then someone else who never rowed before comes and does it in 18mins with ease. Then I think that my time was not actually very good. But the other person had the damper setting on 6 and I had it on 10

[@tubesomething]

If they had it on 6 and got an equivalent time to you on 10 over the same distance, they would've done more strokes and at a faster rate, and ended up doing exactly the same amount of work. It's like using a different gear on a bike. If you choose to go in top gear you'll have to push harder, with slower pedaling, whereas in bottom gear each revolution will be easier and quicker but you'll have to do a lot more of them to keep the same pace.

[@therowingwarrior4882]

Bad advice from a novice. The average indoor rower is not an elite rower at all. Damper settings are meaningless. The drag factor is the important setting. An elite male rower may use a drag factor anywhere from 110 to 135. We are not elite rowers and our drag factor will be less. An easy row with a low heart rate could have a drag factor as low as 80 to 90 where as a more intense row could raise the drag factor to 110 or higher. Travis Gardner has an excellent video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d33IZKV-d66jbck

[@paulkeaton2149]

Thanks