Please Help me get back to rowing!

[SuperCool468]

I'm posting here because I feel that as rowers we tend to know alot about several types of training. I rowed for several years, however for the past few years I have gotten into bodybuilding. Unfortunately Bodybuilding is kind of useless for the military and for cardio past a certain point. I have come very far with bodybuilding and I would say I am blessed with the genes for it. Unfortunately, I find competitive bodybuilding to be boring and unfulfilling. Now I am looking to once again focus on my performance as opposed to aesthetics. However, I do not know what type of routine to use anymore! it has been years. I've always incorporated alot of weights into my training for rowing because I am 5'2" and unless my quads are super human my times suck.

My current routine:
Chest/Quads
Hamstrings/back
Shoulders/Arms
off

All of the weight sessions are very intense (heartrate 135-160 for most of it). I throw cardio in where I can, but coupled with the intense weights, I overtrain.
If you are interested the exact routine is here http://boldanddetermined.com/2011/02/02 ... t-routine/

When I rowed my training was more like this

Lower body/cardio
cardio
upper body/cardio
cardio
lowerbody/cardio
Circuit and/or steady state cardio
off

Granted that was my coaches program for us.

QUESTIONS:

1) What weight training program should I do that will work well with cardio? What days/splits?
2) Should I focus on strength training with lower rep ranges for power?
3) Would crossfit mesh well? I'm worried that the high intensity workouts would leave me with the same problem i have now.

[Cyclingman1]

It sure seems to me that you are pretty committed to body building - not rowing.

Doing "cardio" is a body builders' way of looking at rowing. In other words, it is just a way gettng the heart rate up and burning fats. Rowers don't think that way; in fact, no sport specific athletes think that way. I say I'm going for a run, a ride, or rowing session, not I'm going to do some "cardio." Most body builders when doing "cardio" are merely going through the motions - no real effort is made to improve in what they are doing.

When rowing becomes your dominant exercise, I will agree that you want to be a rower. I do know that all of the myriad of lifts that body builers do would be mostly irrelevant to rowing. I would think that leg presses, squats, seated rows, lat pulldowns, and curls would just about do it as far as supplementing rowing. Crossfit, if done completely, is a intense workout. It may be hard to do rowing and crossfit in the same day.

[SuperCool468]

I only refer to it as cardio because I also have to run and ruck march, so collectively cardio makes sense. I'm referring to it in a general sense, because I generally have no cardiovascular fitness as of right now. Yes I enjoy rowing more than anything in the entire world. Unfortunately rowing itself does not translate 100% toward military fitness either. However it is much closer than bodybuilding. Aside from that, I would have never stopped rowing if had not moved from land locked area to land locked area for the past 6 years. The point of my post is that yes, as of right now I am committed to bodybuilding -- and I hate it. I would like to commit myself to endurance training however I am unsure how to re-approach it. I can tell you have a distaste for bodybuilding, however it is likely that your reasons for hating bodybuilding are the same reasons why I am threw with it. If I have to hear the words mirin', sick gains, or beast mode ever again I am going to be sick to my stomach.

[SuperCool468]

Okay well, how about this. This is essentially what I'm considering reducing my weightlifting program to, that way I might have more energy and focus for cardiovascular fitness:

Weights A
Bench press
Incline DB Press
overhead press
squats
leg press
tricep extensions

Weights B
Bent row
deadlift
pullups
romanian
leg curls
shrugs
curls
lateral/rear delts


Example:
Monday A/run
Tuesday Row
Wednesday B/Ruckmarch (hiking with weighted pack)
Thursday Run
Friday A/Row
Saturday Ruckmarch
Sunday Off
Monday B/run

How would this program compare? I would most likely start out at a reduced volume for the runs/rucks/rows in order to avoid overtraining. I currently run/ruck/row maybe 2-3 times a week.

[Bob S.]

You say nothing about the length of time for your runs, backpacking, and rowing. Thirty minutes a day of continuous, moderately strenuous effort is a minimum for building up your cardiovascular system. The form of effort used is not important. It can be done by weightlifting if you do thousands of reps with no break, using light enough resistance to be able to go for that long. Exercises that use a lot of different muscles are better of course because they spread the load around instead of wearing out just one set. Running, rowing, walking with a pack, stair stepping, swimming - all of these are will do the job well, if the exercise periods are reasonably long and the intensity is maintained.

By the way, the upper body presses and tricep extensions do very little for rowing. That is not to say that those exercises should not be done, just that the muscles invilved are not used much in the rowing stroke.

Bob S.

[Cyclingman1]

I can tell you have a distaste for bodybuilding, however it is likely that your reasons for hating bodybuilding are the same reasons why I am threw with it.

Don't think you can read that into my post. However, as far as body building goes, let me know when a body builder makes it in big time sports. Strength training I can see; pumping up for posing I have no use for. Body builders don't get the bang for the buck that someone who knows how to strength train gets.

I have an idea: why not stop all body building for a month or two and row every day - pretty much long and slow (30 mins on up). Then incorporate some faster, shorter efforts. Get a feel for rowing and then make a rational choice about which weightlifting exercises would help. From what I can see, you have way too much unnecessary stuff. Inclined presses, standing presses, bench presses, tricep extensions -way too much. Perhaps you could rotate among them.

[SuperCool468]

Okay I think I'll try that. I need to shed some excess muscle mass anyways. As for the shoulder press and some of those exercises they are necessary evils for the military. It is not uncommon to perform a 100's of reps of various overhead presses (though not with iron weights) and or pushups type exercises.

[Bob S.]

Okay I think I'll try that. I need to shed some excess muscle mass anyways.

Don't be in any big hurry on that. Unlike fats and carbohydrates, proteins are not all that great as a fuel and should be used up only very slowly. You don't want to build up too much nitrogenous waste products at any one time. Just ease off on the muscle building exercises and give your body plenty of time. It is probably not a good idea to make drastic changes in your routine all at once. Gradually taper off on the resistance work and add in the endurance exercises.

Bob S.