Taking the Tour

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Taking the Tour

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Here's a suggested tour of RowPro that will take you through the main points. You might like to print this topic and use it to guide you through your Free Tryout.

Startup

If you haven't already done so, carry out the steps listed in the topic Starting RowPro.

Just Row

Make your first row a Just Row. To do this, follow the steps in the topic Your first row with RowPro.

Demo

Click Session Setup / Demo and click Row.  Once the demo is set up on the In-Row Display, click the Play button at the top left of the black Charts frame to start the playback.

Coaching Clinic

Explore the Coaching Clinic. Click Coaching Clinic on the RowPro main menu, then:

Click the > button on the top left of the Charts frame. The rower will start moving in slow motion. Click the >> button. The rower will row at 24 SPM. Go back to slow motion.
Click in the 3D Display and drag the mouse. The rower will swivel to follow your mouse. Now you can see the display is true 3D. Look at the rower's action from different angles as you read the coaching tips.
Click each of the buttons next to the coaching tips to learn about stroke technique in the different parts of the stroke.
Check The Coaching Clinic Help Topic for more details.

Set Piece 500m

Next, row a short Set Piece, trying out some of the options to get a taste of what RowPro can do:

Click Session Setup on the menu bar above the 3D Display. Session Setup will open with the default Set Piece 500m already highlighted.
In the Warm up/dn panel on the right, set both the Up and Dn settings to 200m.
In The Lanes panel on the right, click 3 - that's the lane next to you. In the Quick Pace Boat box on the pop-up panel, check the checkbox and type in say 2:15 if that's an easy pace for you to row 500m, or 2:30 if you want a slower pace.
When you're done with these settings, click OK to close the panel, then click the big green Row button. Session Setup will disappear and you'll see the Reminders checklist. You can customize this later or make it not show.
Click OK and you'll see the 200m warm-up appear on the PM twin and your Concept2 Performance Monitor.
Row the 200m warm-up. As you row, notice the Progress Bar moving from left to right just under the 3D Display.
When you finish the warm-up, click OK on the pop-up box and you'll see the 500m Set Piece appear on the PM twin and your Concept2 Performance Monitor. In the lane next to you will be a pace boat.
Row the 500m Set Piece. As you row, match the pace and stroke rate of the pace boat. Again, notice the moving Progress Bar.
When you finish the 500m, click OK on the pop-up box and you'll see the 200m warm-down appear on the PM twin and your Concept2 Performance Monitor. The pace boat will be gone.
Row the 200m warm-down. When you finish, check the Save Strokes checkbox in the pop-up box, then click Session Report to see your results in table and chart form. Have a good look around the Session Report.
Close the Session Report. RowPro will end your session and set up a new Just Row.

Race your past self

Next, try racing the 500m row you just did:

Click Session Setup. Session Setup will open with the default Set Piece 500m already highlighted.
In the Start Type panel on the right, click Race.
In the Warm up/dn panel on the right, set both the Up and Dn settings to 0.
In The Lanes panel on the right, click 3. Click the Past Rows button on the pop-up panel. You should see the 500m Set Piece listed. Select it and click OK to close the panel.
Click the big green Row button. Session Setup will disappear and you'll see the Reminders checklist.
Click OK and you'll see the warm-up skipped box appear on the PM twin and your PM.
Click OK and you'll see the 500m Set Piece appear on the PM twin and your Concept2 Performance Monitor. In the lane next to you will be a second boat - that's the 500m row you just completed. Both boats will be mostly hidden by a Start box. Get ready to row, and when you're ready, click Start to start the countdown. Watch your PM screen go through the Sit Ready - Attention - Row start sequence and start rowing when it says Row! If you start too soon, you'll see a false start message and the countdown will start again automatically.
Row the 500m Set Piece. As you row, notice the other boat rows stroke by stroke the 500m Set Piece you rowed earlier.
When you finish the 500m, click OK on the pop-up box and you'll see the warm-down skipped box appear on the PM twin and your Concept2 Performance Monitor.
Check the Save Strokes checkbox in the pop-up box, then click OK to end your session and set up a new Just Row.

Your rowing log

Next, have a look at your RowPro rowing log:

Click Control Center on the menu bar above the 3D Display. The Control Center will open on the default User Profile page.
Click the Rowing Log button at the top of the Control Center. This will show your rowing log. You should see the Just Row and the two 500m Set Piece rows listed, plus any other rows you've already done.
Try the various functions you see there. Make sure you right-mouse on one of the entries and look at the additional functions available there.
If you have a Concept2 Online Logbook, you can export results to it direct from your RowPro rowing log. To do this, right-mouse the result you want to upload, click Export to C2, and follow the instructions there.
Select one of the 500m Set Piece rows you just rowed, hold down the Ctrl button on our PC keyboard, and then select the other 500m Set Piece you just rowed. Now right-mouse and click Analyze. A report will appear comparing your performance in the two 500m Set Piece rows.

Training plan

Next, create a RowPro Training Plan for yourself:

In the Control Center, click Training Plans.
Click the big pink button Use Wizard to Create Training Plan. The Training Plan Wizard will open.
Follow the steps in the Training Plan Wizard.
On the last page of the Wizard, make the start date two weeks ago, so 'today' is a little way into the plan.
When you're done, you'll see the training plan listed in the Control Center with a triangle pointer on the left to show it's the Active plan. This means the sessions from this plan will be listed in Session Setup.
Right-mouse on the new plan and click Print to print the plan. Choose a color printer if you have one. When the plan prints, study it to get the idea. See the Understanding your training plans Help Topic for details.
Close the Control Center and open Session Setup. Click Training. You should see listed there the training session scheduled for today, plus the training sessions scheduled for 3 days before and after today. You can confirm this by checking your printout.
All you need to do now is select one of the training plan sessions and click Row. Warm up/dn and targets for heartrate and stroke rate are set automatically. Just follow the steps. Note though that even the shortest training sessions are at least 2000m, so you might not want to proceed with rowing the training session right now. To exit without rowing, click the Stop Row button above the 3D display and click OK in the pop-up box. RowPro will reset and set up a new Just Row.

Custom row

Next, create a Custom Row with intervals:

Open Session Setup and click Custom. The list should be empty.
Click the Custom Row Studio button at the bottom of Session Setup.
Click New / Fixed Intervals. Set Reps 2, Active Part 100, Rest Part Easy 150m.
Check the Pace, HR and SPM checkboxes, and set the pace to an easy pace, say 2:15, or 2:30 if you want a slower pace.
In the Save As box at the bottom of the Custom Row Studio, type Intervals Test 500m and click Save and Close. You should now see Intervals Test 500m listed in Session Setup.
Select Intervals Test 500m, set Warm up/dn both to 0, and click Row.
Click OK on the Reminder List and OK again to confirm you skipped the warm-up. Your Custom Row will now be set up. Notice the Progress Bar under the 3D Display has four colored segments. These represent 100m Active, 150m Easy, 100m Active, 150m Easy. The PM twin and your PM show 100m, the first Active part. You'll also notice the Pace chart has a blue target band, the HR chart has a pink band, and the SPM Indicator has blue-green-orange zones to show it's active.
Start rowing. See if you can keep the Pace, HR and SPM in the target bands. When you first try this over a short distance like 100m it's tricky, however over time and in longer sessions it's relatively easy to do. Normally you wouldn't row with all the targets set, for example in RowPro training sessions you have targets for HR and SPM, not for Pace.
Notice the Progress Bar slider moves along the intervals and the PM twin counts down. When the first Active part is finished, keep rowing your Easy part. Your targets may have changed to reflect the Easy part, if so adjust your rowing accordingly. Finish the entire Custom Row.
On the pop-up box, click Session Report to see your results. You will see the two Active parts listed, plus a single aggregate entry for the sum total of all your Easy parts.
Close the Session Report and RowPro will reset and set up a new Just Row.

Other functions

There are many more functions you might like to explore. One major thing to look at is Online Rowing - see the topic Trying Online Rowing for a step-by-step tour.