Concept 2 Sports Bag £25 Add To Basket

Concept 2 Sports Bag £35 Add To Basket

In order to help you celebrate Easter, we've knocked a load off Concept 2 bags for Newsletter subscribers (to help you carry all your chocolate eggs or something). Anyway, the Concept 2 Sports Bag has gone from £39.70 to just £25, while the Concept 2 Holdall is down to £35 from £45.

The Holdall measures 80cm long by 30cm wide by 40cm high. As well as the central main compartment it has two end pockets and two at either side. There is a shoulder strap as well as the two handles on either side. The Sports Bag, meanwhile, measures 60cm long by 20cm wide by 30cm high. As well as the central main compartment it has two end pockets as well as one at the front.

For more gubbins, visit the Concept 2 Shop at http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/

We've recently converted the whole of the Indoor Rowing Training Guide to web format so that individual pages are immediately available to anyone who wants them. The Training Guide, a 250 page opus that covers everything from technique to diet to weight training to psychology, is pretty much an essential resource for anyone wanting to take indoor rowing seriously.

As well as the on-line version, the Guide is available to download, both in whole and in part, in PDF format. You can also purchase the printed edition at the bargain price of £25 from the Concept 2 Shop.

http://www.concept2.co.uk/guide/

One British and two World 2,000m records have been set recently. Firstly, the last British trials before the Olympics (and possibly the last he'll do) saw Matthew Pinsent set his fastest ever time on the Indoor Rower. His time of 5:42.3 was four and a half seconds quicker than Sir Steve Redgrave's old British 30-39 Hwt record of 5:46.8. Just like this year's British IRC, second place in the trial was taken by James Cracknell in 5:46.5.

Perhaps even more impressively, in the Women's trials, Sarah Winkless and Cath Bishop became only the second and third women to ever go under 6:30. Former British and World indoor rowing champion Bishop did 6:29.1, but she was pipped by just three-tenths of a second by Winkless, whose 6:28.8 is a new women's 30-39 Hwt world record.

Eskild Ebbesen

Also getting in on the world record act was Eskild Ebbesen, who broke his own 30-39 Lwt world record with a new time of 6:06.4. Despite having broken the record, Eskild was slightly disappointed as he'd done 6:03.7 in training a couple of weeks beforehand and had his eyes set on Elia Luini's open time of 6:02.6. You can read Ebbesen's account of his attempt, along with video footage, at http://look-at-it.com/ee-worldrecord-uk.asp.

Incidentally, all this record-breaking's inspired us to set up a Hall of Fame featuring the fastest ever Men and Women. With any luck (trans: we get our finger's out) we'll be adding more sections to this over the coming months: http://www.concept2.co.uk/racing/fastest.php

Nils Torolv Simonsen and Olaf Tufte, the world single sculls champion, set a new fastest time for the two-man 100,000m recently, crushing the previous best by almost 14 minutes and setting a new time of 5 hours, 39 minutes and 24.5 seconds.

The record was set in a shopping centre in Tufte's hometown of Horten, Norway. The display was transferred with Digital Rowing's RowPro software onto a big screen behind the rowers. They rowed 10 x 5,000m each, and kept themselves going in the breaks, which Tufte said was the worst part of the row. They began with what they described as a "calm start", rowing at an average pace of 1:43/4 per 500 metres, before finishing at an almighty wallop, with average splits of less than 1:40.

Nils Torolv Simonsen (first 5,000m) 17:17.7 (1:43.8 seconds/500m)
Olaf Tufte (first 5,000m): 17:15.7 (1:43.6 seconds/500m)
--
Nils Torolv Simonsen (last 5,000m): 16:36.1 (1:39.6 seconds/500m)
Olaf Tufte (last 5,000m): 16:29.0 (1:38.9 seconds/500m)

The event was a fundraiser for Norwegian charity "Mot", and the goal was to collect one Norwegian Kroner for every metre rowed. That goal is still to be met but, by the time they had finished, they had raised 40,000 Kroner.

Tel's Tales is the question and answer column written by three-times Olympic rowing coach Terry O'Neill. If you've got a question you'd like him to answer, send it to tels-tales@concept2.co.uk.

Tony Watts: "1) With four weeks to go to my intended marathon, today's weekly, long marathon pace row, was the longest listed in my training program, being 30km. At 30km I was feeling ok and continued for a bit further, then a bit further and ended up completing the full marathon distance.

Whilst I'm pleased with the time I'm unsure as to what to do now. Is four weeks enough to recover and have another go? If so what's the best way to train during this period. (I will probably be unable to sit down for a few days let alone do any decent rowing). Alternatively I could just call it a day and wait until next year. "2) I'm trying to persuade some running friends of the benefits of indoor rowing. The shortest distance they ever run is 10k. Any ideas on a good once or twice weekly cross training routine." Terry O'Neill: You can recover in four weeks, especially as I suspect you did not go flat out. The fact that you cannot row for a few days is no problem either but, if you still intend to have another go at a marathon in a month, then the most important thing is not to build up any fatigue. Keep pieces relatively short and finish feeling you could do more, rather than falling off the machine.

With regards to your running friends, convert the running distance to time and then work on time on the rowing machine. Most training theory came originally from running training so there should not be a problem in converting sessions from the road to the machine; the principles are the same, just remember to think of exercise time rather than distance.

When Sheffield's Monica Sutton injured her foot last May, she abandoned the treadmill in favour of the rowing machine and discovered a hidden talent - as well as shedding four stone in the process.

"I suddenly realised I quite liked it and, at the same time, I could be quite good at it. Then my coach gave me the times of last year's British ranking and I thought maybe I could achieve something here."

With the help of coach Vicky McDougal she adopted a rigorous training programme, spending an hour at Greens gym each evening on her way home from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital where she works as a diabetes nurse specialist.

"I have had diabetes myself for 30 years (on insulin) so my achievements have not been easy as I have had to make loads of adjustments to insulin and diet according to training. I hate to think how much business I have put your way as my patients, green with envy at my shrinkage, are all taking up rowing!"

Monica started with a 2,000m time of 9:47 and a weight of 118 kg; she now weighs 82 kg and won bronze at last November's AXA PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship in a time of 8:35.5.

"When I saw my score I was absolutely delirious! I was thrilled to bits and I texted all my friends and supporters to tell them the news.

"Then I realised I'd come third - and that Sir Steve Redgrave was handing out the bronze medals! I was just grinning from ear to ear."

Monica is delighted at her achievement, not just because she has risen to the challenge but also because of what it means to so many others.

"There are messages here for people who are overweight, for other people with diabetes and for other middle-aged women. It's needed an awful lot of very focused work from me, but it's made such a difference. In May 2003 I was four stone heavier and feeling down because of my foot injury, but now I feel like I've met a challenge head-on and I feel like a new woman."

Here are some more workouts we've nicked from the last edition of US Magazine "Rowing News". These workouts are the favourites of some of the world's top athletes and coaches.

The Athlete:
Olaf Tufte, 2003 World Champion in single sculls. Best 2,000m time: 5:46.8. "We only do this test once a year. If I trained for it, I would go a few seconds faster".

The Workout:
Six times 10 minutes at 170-180 heart rate, with three minutes rest between the pieces.

The Commentary:
"This is one of my favourite workouts on the water or on the erg. I always know what score I had the last time, and I [judge intensity] by heart rate and feeling - I was like a kid - I always had to beat everybody, every time. I'm still like that, but I've learned that the easy has to be easy so the tough can be even tougher." This is a tough one.

The Coach:
Dan Lyons, Penn A.C. elite coach; world champion, Olympian and seven-time member of the U.S. national team as an athlete.

The Workout:
Hold a world-record split as long as you can, rest 15 minutes and repeat. A.K.A. "Till The Cows Come Home".

The Commentary:
"This is strictly a psychological workout. You put people in a position to break through their mental barriers." Lyons chooses the target split based on his crew's championship ambitions. "A freshman crew that wins the IRA [national championships] probably averages about 6:10 for a 2,000m erg, and the best freshmen in the country are pulling around six minutes. So I had my freshmen pull 1:30 splits [6:00 2,000m pace]. The elite guys go 1:25."

The Coach:
Volker Nolte, former Canadian men's lightweight coach, men's head coach at the University of Western Ontario.

The Workout:
Eighty minutes steady state, in which three or four athletes take turns choosing stroke rate, drag factor and intensity.

The Commentary:
"Eighty minutes on your own is very difficult. With these variations your mind is always working. The major demand in rowing is aerobic-based, so you need to do long distance training. This takes a long time to develop, so you need to spend a long time on it."

Every week, the On-Line World Ranking and Logbook has a prize draw for those people who have rowed 50,000m in that week. One of the recent winners was Essex's Lee Saunders, and he's sent in the following letter and picture.

Lee Saunders

Lee Saunders: "I have been a keen fitness trainer and 'gym rat' for most of my life, but had steered clear of the Rower for some time as I found them intimidating - they are a hard piece of kit when you are vertically challenged! The gym that I had been using locally closed down and, while there was another one opening locally in approximately six months time, I needed something to maintain my fitness in the interim. I ordered the Indoor Rower Model D and followed a heart rate based regime that I am finding helpful to maintain and improve a good fitness base. Now that I have invested time, effort and money into the ergo I find that I don't want to lose the "rowing fitness" that I've acquired! The website and message board is an excellent motivational tool to share training tips and enthusiasm. I'm even thinking of attending competitions in the summer to put names to faces from the message board.

"Winning things has never been a strong point for me so it's actually a nice thrill to receive this acknowledgement of the effort made to achieve it."

For more information on the On-Line World Ranking and Logbook, visit http://www.concept2.com/sranking03/log.asp

National Indoor Rowing Marathon Day takes place this year on April 18th. If you take part in the day, make sure you send your stories and pictures to editor@concept2.co.uk so we can feature you in the next edition of the Indoor Rowing News.

For more information on National Indoor Rowing Marathon Day, visit http://www.concept2.co.uk/marathon/

This week's Top Tip comes courtesy of Sandy Sproule. If you've got anything you'd like to share with the world, then make sure you stick it in an envelope and send it to editor@concept2.com.

Sandy: My top tips are to do with the distractions I have in the exercise room I keep my Indoor Rower in.

1. I have a small TV on in front of the rower 2. I have a combined CD/Radio/Tape player next to me 3. I have a large map of the UK pinned up on the wall in front of me 4. I have the remote controls for 1and 2 on a chair next to me so I can alternate between them on the fly.

My workouts are typically 30 minutes duration so I chop and change my entertainment source at will. If all else fails I study the map on the wall to figure out where to walk my dog at the weekend!

RowPro is next-generation software for indoor rowing at home by Boston software company Digital Rowing Inc.

Using next-generation technologies, RowPro provides a highly realistic on-water rowing simulation in true 3D, tracking each stroke you take on the Indoor Rower in real-time while you row.

RowPro also provides a large selection of high-quality competition, fitness and weight control programs by training guru Jon Ackland of Performance Lab International.

Improve your rowing technique - match your stroke technique to the on-screen Oarsman who paces you stroke for stroke and coaches you in excellent stroke technique while you row.

Improve your performance - whether you're a beginner or an elite rower, use the built-in training plan wizard to create a professional training plan for peak rowing performance.

Let your PC do the thinking while you row - with just a few clicks, your PC can set up simple and complex rows directly onto your PM3 or PM2+ and record results as you row.

Track your target zones - set up target zones for Heart rate, Pace and Stroke Rate, and use the on-screen charts to stay within the marked target zones as you row.

Track your progress - with each row automatically saved in your personal digital rowing log, you can track and chart your progress with just a click of your mouse.

Spice up your rowing - with just a few clicks, you can set up an exciting virtual race using advanced pace boats, your own past rows, and rows saved by other people on the Concept 2 Online Ranking.

Join the worldwide sport - enter your results into the Concept 2 Online Ranking, and compete with other people in your class around the world.

For more information, visit http://www.concept2.co.uk/rower/rowpro.php