UT2 Pace Calculator
By the Watta Team · Updated
UT2 is 55–65% of your 2K power at 18–22 spm, with heart rate at 60–70% of reserve. Off a 7:00 2K that is 2:01.2–2:08.2 /500m; off an 8:00 2K, 2:18.5–2:26.5.
UT2 Pace Calculator
Row your steady state at
2:01.2–2:08.2
/500m · 166–197W · 18–22 spm · 134–148 bpm
The next band up. If your steady state keeps landing here, the session has stopped being UT2 — that is the most common way an aerobic block quietly turns into tempo work.
Your 2K split is 1:45.0 (302W). The UT2 band above is 55–65% of that power. The older coaching rule — 2K split plus 20–25 seconds — gives 2:05.0–2:10.0, so the two methods land within a few seconds of each other.
Zone percentages are a coaching convention, not a measurement. A lactate test or a properly measured max heart rate will place your own thresholds more precisely.
Rowing this later? Watta logs the real piece from a photo of your PM5 — free on iPhone.
UT2 targets for every 2K time
Computed with the same functions as the calculator above, so the two cannot disagree.
| 2K time | UT2 split band | UT2 watts | Stroke rate | 2K split + 20–25s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:15 | 1:48.2–1:54.4 | 234–276W | 18–22 spm | 1:53.8–1:58.8 |
| 6:30 | 1:52.6–1:59.0 | 208–245W | 18–22 spm | 1:57.5–2:02.5 |
| 7:00 | 2:01.2–2:08.2 | 166–197W | 18–22 spm | 2:05.0–2:10.0 |
| 7:30 | 2:09.9–2:17.3 | 135–160W | 18–22 spm | 2:12.5–2:17.5 |
| 8:00 | 2:18.5–2:26.5 | 111–132W | 18–22 spm | 2:20.0–2:25.0 |
| 8:30 | 2:27.2–2:35.6 | 93–110W | 18–22 spm | 2:27.5–2:32.5 |
| 9:00 | 2:35.8–2:44.8 | 78–92W | 18–22 spm | 2:35.0–2:40.0 |
The last column is the older coaching rule of thumb, shown so the two methods can be compared: they agree within a few seconds across the whole range. Heart rate is the tiebreaker on the day — 60–70% of reserve, which is 134–148 bpm for a 190 bpm max and a 50 bpm resting rate.
Choosing an app?
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About This Calculator
UT2 — Utilisation Training 2 — is the low-aerobic band that should carry most of a rower's weekly volume, and the one most people row too hard. This calculator turns a 2K time into the four numbers a UT2 session actually needs: a /500m split band, the watts behind it, a stroke rate, and, if you enter a max and resting heart rate, a target bpm range. The split band is 55–65% of 2K power converted back to pace with the Concept2 formula; the heart-rate band is 60–70% of heart-rate reserve by the Karvonen method, which is Zone 2 on the same five-zone scale the Watta app uses to label a piece. For a 7:00 2K (1:45.0 /500m, 302W) the band is 2:01.2–2:08.2 at 166–197W. The older coaching rule of thumb — 2K split plus 20–25 seconds — gives 2:05.0–2:10.0 for the same rower, so the two methods agree within a few seconds.
How This Works
Enter your most recent 2K time. The calculator converts it to average watts with the Concept2 formula (watts = 2.80 ÷ pace³), takes 55–65% of that power as the UT2 band, and converts each end back to a /500m split. Tick the heart-rate box and it also applies the Karvonen formula to your max and resting heart rate for the 60–70% reserve band. UT1, the next zone up, is shown beneath so you can see the moment a steady-state session stops being steady state.
Formula
Examples
A club rower with a 7:00 2K
UT2 is 2:01.2–2:08.2 per 500m at 166–197W, 18–22 spm. With a 190 bpm max and a 50 bpm resting rate, hold 134–148 bpm.
A masters rower with an 8:00 2K
UT2 is 2:18.5–2:26.5 per 500m at 111–132W. Slower in absolute terms, identical in physiological demand — the band is a share of your own 2K, not a universal pace.
An athlete with a 6:30 2K who keeps rowing steady state at 1:55
Their UT2 band is 1:52.6–1:59.0, so 1:55 sits at the fast end and drifts into UT1 (1:47.3–1:52.6) as soon as they push. The session is no longer building an aerobic base; it is accumulating fatigue that costs the next hard session.
Worked examples are generated from the same formulas as the calculator above.
Benchmarks
| Level | Value |
|---|---|
| 2K of 6:30 | UT2 1:52.6–1:59.0 · 208–245W |
| 2K of 7:00 | UT2 2:01.2–2:08.2 · 166–197W |
| 2K of 7:30 | UT2 2:09.9–2:17.3 · 135–160W |
| 2K of 8:00 | UT2 2:18.5–2:26.5 · 111–132W |
| 2K of 8:30 | UT2 2:27.2–2:35.6 · 93–110W |
More reference tables — 2K, 5K and 500m standards, watts by level, stroke rates and a split-to-watts table — are on the Stats & Benchmarks page.
In the Watta App
Photograph the PM5 after the piece and Watta logs the average split, rate and duration, and the heart rate too when a strap is paired to the monitor. Each session is labelled by the heart-rate zone its average falls in, so a block of UT2 work shows at a glance how many of the sessions actually landed in the zone — the question a target band on its own cannot answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What pace should I row UT2 at?
What heart rate is UT2?
What stroke rate should UT2 be?
Is UT2 the same as Zone 2?
How do I know if I am rowing UT2 too hard?
My UT2 split from heart rate and from my 2K disagree. Which is right?
How long should a UT2 session be, and how many a week?
Does the UT2 band work on the SkiErg and BikeErg?
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