How to not get my ass kicked by a rowing machine?

[paperfist]

So I'm able to lift a lot more weights than when I started like 7-8 months ago and I run on the treadmill regularly for 45 mins on a decent incline.

But my gym has one of those rowing machines and it utterly kicks my ass. 3 minutes in and leaves me gasping for air.

I know if I keep using this machine it'll improve, but are there other ways I can build up my stamina?

 

[highland145]

Nope. Just like if you start biking, your cardio might be good and you can run for a decent time but the bike is a different motion. Way back when, a buddy would ride his road bike to Clemson (100+) miles. He joined the navy and had to run 2 miles (iirc) for PT. Just about killed him.

 

[LurchFrinky]

You are going to have to elaborate how it is kicking your ass. Are you just out of breath, or are your arms, legs, or back tired as well?
My first suggestion is to just slow down. My wife goes too fast all the time and she claims that she can't slow down, but you can.
The performance readouts on the machines are a little misleading, because the whole point of rowing is efficiency. You want to go as fast as possible while expending the least amount of effort.
The proper sequence to rowing is Legs - Back - Arms for the stroke, and then Arms - Back - Legs on the return. If you were competing and you pushed as hard as you could with your legs, there is no way that your arms wouldn't be stretched straight. If you were rotated 90 degrees and lifting a box, this would be the exact wrong way to lift, but it works here.
Try to make your return take twice as long as your stroke. Learn to relax during the return. Your heart muscle spends just over half of its time resting, don't think you can do better than that with your puny arms.
I usually row between 18-20 strokes/min. Of course, I am on the taller side, but you shouldn't be over 25/min unless you are really short. If your stroke rate is really high, you are probably using your arms too much and your legs/back not enough. Learn to stretch forward as much as possible at the catch.
<---- Former rower who still owns/uses a rowing machine

 

[deadlyapp]

As Lurch mentioned, form is extremely important on the rower. You get all your power from your legs and back, so if you're not fully extending your legs, are pulling with your arms, are over-extending your back, and any manner of other things, you'll have crap efficiency. Setting the damper setting appropriately for what you're doing and maintaining a good stroke rate should set your pacing goals.

I can row an hour at 22 stroke/min with around 1100 cal/hr pace and not feel fatigued at all, and this should be a fairly easy objective with a solid foundation and good leg strength.

There are some great rowing drills out there which basically encourage you to drop your stroke rate, pull harder, and maintain pace to train you on the power output.

 

[paperfist]

Nope. Just like if you start biking, your cardio might be good and you can run for a decent time but the bike is a different motion. Way back when, a buddy would ride his road bike to Clemson (100+) miles. He joined the navy and had to run 2 miles (iirc) for PT. Just about killed him.

Ah, I hadn't considered different motions, different muscles.

You are going to have to elaborate how it is kicking your ass. Are you just out of breath, or are your arms, legs, or back tired as well?
My first suggestion is to just slow down. My wife goes too fast all the time and she claims that she can't slow down, but you can.
The performance readouts on the machines are a little misleading, because the whole point of rowing is efficiency. You want to go as fast as possible while expending the least amount of effort.
The proper sequence to rowing is Legs - Back - Arms for the stroke, and then Arms - Back - Legs on the return. If you were competing and you pushed as hard as you could with your legs, there is no way that your arms wouldn't be stretched straight. If you were rotated 90 degrees and lifting a box, this would be the exact wrong way to lift, but it works here.
Try to make your return take twice as long as your stroke. Learn to relax during the return. Your heart muscle spends just over half of its time resting, don't think you can do better than that with your puny arms.
I usually row between 18-20 strokes/min. Of course, I am on the taller side, but you shouldn't be over 25/min unless you are really short. If your stroke rate is really high, you are probably using your arms too much and your legs/back not enough. Learn to stretch forward as much as possible at the catch.
<---- Former rower who still owns/uses a rowing machine

Legs go first which is odd to me because my legs are my most muscular part and never seem to tire. Overall though just plain flat out of breath. No my arms and back are fine.

Well the catch is I use a personal trainer and he's like go balls to the wall. Let's see you light up that wattage meter to 150 and keep it there for 3 mins. LOL ain't happening.

There's definitely a lack of rhythm with my legs and arms so not getting into sync isn't helping.

Wow 18-20 strokes/min?!? I'm probably half that.

Thanks for all the tips, I'll try to implement that into my new row.

 

[highland145]

Like the other guys said, there's definitely proper form/economy of motion. Competition/endurance events require it. And not looking like you're having a seizure, if that's important.

Biking is my pain of choice. Proper motion is pushing down and pulling up. I pedal mashed for years until my knees decided that I'd better try a spin motion. At the end of the day, it's about my cardio. I don't care about bike weight. It's just trying to, at this point (55 y.o.), maintain my average time. I spin bike in the winter. My goal is to maintain 145bpm (140 lately) once my rate is up. I'll drop 40bpm in the 1st minute afterwards if I just stop and rest. My resting rate is ~45bpm. I am only doing 30 min on the spin because it sucks balls, 1hr on my MTB during daylight savings time.

+1 for balls to the wall.

 

[Ackmed]

No matter who you are, rowing can kick your ass. How hard and how fast matters. Like others have mentioned, form is important. I row about twice a week,alternate between stair stepping. I detest running anymore, so look for alternatives.