Weight / Strength Training

[old] mpukita · Post by **[old] mpukita** » October 8th, 2005, 10:20 am

Friends: Help! I have just this week achieved my goal of getting to lightweight. My plan was to lose the weight slowly and with proper nutrition, and I feel I've done a good job of this. I've continued to be able to improve my erg PBs while doing this, so I feel the pace of the weight loss was good -- I was not "wasted" at any time. Now comes the hard part ... Now that I'm under 165 lbs (163 today), I would like to try to transform what excess body fat I do have into lean body mass (muscle) to help my strength for rowing. As a short (5' 7") lightweight, I can see and feel the disadvantage I have against taller and stronger rowers, and would like to close this gap as much as possible by developing a more powerful stroke through technique improvement and strength improvement. For my height (5' 7") the tables I've seen for a "medium frame" person (which I appear to be from all the literature and things like elbow bone span measurements) say my weight should be between 142 and 154. I assume this would be for an average person with an average level of body fat (or average BMI). Thus, I figure I'm still carrying about 10 to 13 pounds of excess body fat -- maybe a bit less because I have been doing weight training, to some degree, for many years -- just to remain strong enough and flexible enough to not get silly injuries. My question is, what would be a good weight training (or strength training) program to follow to work on "converting" the fat to muscle? I've read that adding muscle will only happen at a maximum rate of a pound or so each month, assuming proper intake of protein to support this, as well as managing aerobic excercise levels to not defeat the effort of adding muscle. So, I'm in no hurry, I'd just like to make slow, steady progress over time. I want to work on a program that will help build the proper strength to avoid injuries of all types, but also work specifically on strength training and strength improvement as it relates to rowing (more specifically the erg, as I've never been on the water *yet*). Your ideas, or directions to references, would be great. I'm not hung up on weights vs. body weight exercises, plyometrics vs. free weights, etc. I'm just looking for a program (or programs for variety) to accomplish my next goal. Thanks! Regards -- Mark

[old] Yoda1 · Post by **[old] Yoda1** » October 8th, 2005, 6:12 pm

Mark, You've hit on a topic that has been discussed many times over and over in the forum. And you will get a large assortment of suggestions regarding resistance training. Most of the advice will be fairly good as there are a number of knowledgeable people that use this forum. As a suggestion to you, use common sense when deciding which program you use. Personnally, I like Super Slow, but most people have a difficult time with it as it requires tremendous focus, an ability to withstand some pain, and control of your breathing. It is the safest of all of the exercise protocols. Others will suggest using traditional training such as 3 and 4 sets of 8-10 reps. for anywhere from 7-8 exercises to as many as 15 or more exercises. Some will suggest spliting upper body from lower body and doing them on different days of the week. The list is endless. You might check out Crossfit.com as they have an assortment of protocols changing from day to day. You might also check out cbass.com for good information regarding an assortment of exercises and protocols. No matter what protocol you finally decide on, I would recommend highly that you incorporate leg press, preferably a horizontal leg press and some type of rowing, bent over, seated, but a movement that closely duplicates the movement on the ERG. I would also suggest that you try to stick with compound movements. Concentration Curls ain't gonna help you. Good luck, Yoda

[old] JimR · Post by **[old] JimR** » October 8th, 2005, 9:58 pm

Mark - I'm not a fan of lifting but if you want to pursue this then the British C2 site has a training guide (a big download and lots to print) that has a couple sections on weightlifting specifically to improve rowing. The information makes the point that weightlifting, if not done correctly, may (at best) be a waste of time or (at worst) decrease performance on an erg. Anyway, lots of info and good explaination on why to follow the specific lifts. JimR

[old] remador · Post by **[old] remador** » October 11th, 2005, 6:05 am

Mark, have a look at the FISA training guide, in the FISA website: they have a specific routine for lwts. AM

[old] PaulH · Post by **[old] PaulH** » October 11th, 2005, 10:09 am

One option is to concentrate on your rowing, the idea being that it is the best way to target the muscles used in rowing. Ultimately there are few if any exercises you can do that will improve your rowing times as much as rowing!

[old] akit110 · Post by **[old] akit110** » October 11th, 2005, 10:17 am

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'>QUOTE(PaulH @ Oct 11 2005, 10:09 AM)</div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>One option is to concentrate on your rowing, the idea being that it is the best way to target the muscles used in rowing. Ultimately there are few if any exercises you can do that will improve your rowing times as much as rowing! </td></tr></table> True. On the other hand, one could lift weights to strengthen those muscles that are underutilized in rowing like the hamstrings, triceps, pectorals, anterior and medial deltoids etc to prevent injuries as a result of unbalanced muscular development.

[old] bmoore · Post by **[old] bmoore** » October 11th, 2005, 10:37 am

Mark, First, I'd get a body fat scale to be able to measure your progress. BMI doesn't work for athletes. (If you maintain the same weight your BMI doesn't change, but you can be significantly lean or fat and it won't give you a different reading). Adding strength training will help your overall fitness, increase your muscle mass, and will help your rowing up to a point. You'll also feel better, look better, and be able to prevent injury from whatever you put your aging body through. I recommend lifting 3-4 times per week. I'm currently lifting 4 times per week. I have a home gym (Bowflex) and each workout takes about 45 minutes. Tuesday & Saturday is Legs, Back & Biceps. Thursday & Sunday is Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. (8 total exercises, 3 sets, plus ab work at the end). I've added 6 pounds of lean and lost 3 pounds of fat in the last six weeks. I'm not too strict on my diet right now, but I make sure I'm getting enough protein to not lose lean mass. In addition to three regular meals, I have a protein shake for a morning and an afternoon snack, and another one if I workout at night. I think I recall a formula of 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass as being the requirement to feed your body for growth. Conduct your own experiment to see how this works for you for at least 8 weeks. Your body will start to adapt and you'll have the evidence you need to evaluate resistance training.