 Keep a Logbook
There's no better feedback than seeing improvement-your weight coming down, your rowing time improving, your blood pressure dropping. Most importantly, you won't be able to see progress if you are not keeping a training log! We strongly encourage you to keep a log of your workouts. Write down how far you rowed, how fast, how it felt, how many calories you burned, and your weight, heart rate, blood pressure and whatever other variables are important to you. Keep a running tally of your cumulative meters. Set a goal to row from Chicago to California, or to row 1,000,000 meters in a year. The goal itself isn't as important as being able to chart your progress as you go. To request a free Concept2 logbook, email us at rowing@concept2.com.
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Competition is the Spice of Life
It was back in the winter of '82, barely a year after the introduction of the erg, that C.R.A.S.H.-B. instigated the first indoor regatta. C.R.A.S.H.-B. stands for Charles River Association of Sculling Has-Beens. These were on-water rowers, many of whom were former National Team members. For them, competition was the key to making indoor rowing fun. They needed a competitive event to serve as a winter-time goal for their training. So they organized a race, indoors, in February, and it turned out that competition worked for a lot of other people, too-even people who had never raced or even rowed on the water. Now, 20 years later, there's a whole series of indoor regattas, which attract around 25,000 people every year. You'll find that these races aren't just for elite athletes - people of all ages and abilities attend each year. If you would like to get a sense of what an indoor race is like, email us at rowing@concept2.com and ask for a free copy of our popular CRASH-B video.
Even if you never plan on attending a race, try logging on to our online ranking to see where your best 2,000 meter time put you. One of our faithful rowers set as his goal to make it into the 50% percentile in each of the online events - a great way to use the ranking and a bit of competition to help stay motivated.
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Pick a Regular Workout Time
 Having a regular workout time will really help you keep your exercise program on track. For some people, it's first thing in the morning. For others, it's lunch hour, or the end of the day. We even had a customer who found that the best time to row was at 9 p.m. after the kids were all in bed. The important thing is that you set a time that works for you and stick with it. Otherwise, it's just too easy to put it off, or do something else instead. Put it on your calendar. Enter it in your Palm Pilot. Once it becomes part of your routine, you'll find it easier to stick with it.
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Constant Feedback
For anyone who's into numbers, the PM2 provides a wealth of instantaneous and cumulative information-more than enough to keep a curious mind busy during a workout. Add the optional heart rate monitor and it's even better. You can set yourself short or long term numerical goals, to improve your performance, or to keep it as consistent as possible. You can also press "Select Units" while you row so that you can watch different screens and units if you wish. We have numerous customers who find all the entertainment and challenge they need right in the PM2
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Entertainment
Finally, we know that there are customers who find that the best way to get through a workout is to distract themselves with some form of entertainment. Perhaps you watch the news or a video, or listen to music or books on tape. We still encourage you to log your meters at the end, and work toward the million meter clubs. One technique described by a rower in Flagstaff was to watch her favorite TV show each night while rowing (and to ONLY allow herself to watch it if she rowed!).
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A Little Help From Your Friends
 If you ever rowed at a school or university, you've experienced the camaraderie and sense of shared goal that comes with group rowing. Health clubs and corporate fitness programs can also offer great camaraderie and a real sense of team. But we also know of customers who create their own small "club" of rowers, challenging and inspiring each other to keep up with workouts and work toward goals. A long steady row will pass quickly if you're talking with a friend at the same time. And if you know that others are expecting you to row, it will be much harder to skip the workout.
If you don't have easy access to a support group - find one online! From our website www.concept2.com join the online ranking. Not only will you be able to use our online logbook to track meters, but you'll also be able to participate in training discussions through our online forum. Hundreds of rowers from all over the world have taken on topics from stretching to the best sports drink, to staying motivated.
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Incentives
A goal to shoot for, and a reward when you get there. This simple formula seems to work over and over again for the majority of rowers. Whether you are accumulating meters to earn the Million Meter Club T-shirt, are trying to row 200,000 in one month for the Holiday Challenge or are plotting your progress through the Lake Champlain Game, it helps immensely to have a specific goal, and to know that you're earning a prize in the process. If you haven't tried one of these programs, we encourage you to give it a try.
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Just Get Started
But most of all, you will never get started unless you start. Today, not tomorrow. Go to the club or go down to the basement, or wherever else your Indoor Rower is, and start rowing. For the first workout, 5 or 10 minutes will be plenty. When you're done, pull out a piece of paper or a C2 Logbook, or start a spreadsheet, or go to C2 online and record how far you went and how long it took. You're on your way. Before you know it, you'll be calling us for your million meter certificate!
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Over the past 25 years, hundreds (if not thousands) of our customers have sent us their
success stories. Many came to the Indoor Rower to train for competitive rowing-most were simply hoping to improve their general level of fitness. No matter what goals our customers had in mind, the common denominator of success was consistently working out and using the rower. We've tried to summarize the common elements behind each success story into a collection of key factors to help you stick with your own training program.