Anecdotally, I had something similar happen to me. Someone was critiquing my rowing form at the gym. I was doing ~28 strokes per minute and my pace was about 2:05m per 500m.
"Explode when you push, but slow your overall pace to 20 strokes per minute. Take time to breathe and rest on the way back in."
After finding the new cadence, my pace was now 1:55m per 500m. A 30% reduction in stroke rate improved my pace by 8%.
"Explode when you push, but slow your overall pace to 20 strokes per minute. Take time to breathe and rest on the way back in."
After finding the new cadence, my pace was now 1:55m per 500m. A 30% reduction in stroke rate improved my pace by 8%.