3 ms·
Rowing actually made me worse at running. I rowed in college and during the summers, I'd erg much less and run/lift a lot more. Every fall when I switched back,
by dumbfoundded 5y ago
Rowing actually made me worse at running. I rowed in college and during the summers, I'd erg much less and run/lift a lot more. Every fall when I switched back, my 5k pace fell off a cliff even though overall I was in much better shape.
- Someone 5y agoI think the two main factors contributing to that are movement speed and muscle mass. To run fast, you need to do about 180 steps/minute (each leg moves back and forth 90 times/minute (https://blog.squadeasy.com/en/blog2020/running-pace-why-work-on-it https://blog.squadeasy.com/en/blog2020/running-pace-why-work...). Also, 5k runners tend to be not that muscular. When rowing, you train your leg muscles at, at best (and only in sprint), half that frequency, and you get more muscles than you need for doing 5k well, so when running you have to carry extra weight. You should look at your 5k times on the beach, running up sand dunes, or on a sandy horse trail :-)
- dumbfoundded 5y agoThat's a solid point. For me, it felt more like the balance of muscles. My hams were way to strong compared to my quads and my running felt more like bouncing up than pushing forward. I never tried measuring specific inclines or on sand though.