Tim K. wrote:Gammmmo wrote:
without wanting to state the obvious motivation stems from making something good fun and/or having goals in mind. with erging the former is a certain kind of "fun" that appeals to us folk and is somewhat masochisic really.
I note your 2k goal but i'd urge you to set other distance goals too. Let's also not forget the health benefits too - body and mind.
I know exactly what you are saying but I havent enjoyed the erg for some time now and have a love/hate with it. The reason I started it was because it benefited me cognitively. I appear to have "hit the wall" in terms of performance due to asthma so Im now just stuck doing the same thing hoping it remains enough to stave off the horrible crap existence I enjoyed prior. Im motivated by the stick rather than the carrot right now.
I know what you mean about the love/hate erg thing if you are performance oriented. Once your PBs/SBs etc get to a certain level there is a huge mental hurdle to overcome if you set out to raise the bar still higher. Historically,
I think it is very easy to train pretty much like you've always done so the only way to go faster is to dig ever deeper. That's the wrong way to go about it IMO. That tends to lead to PB "attempts" and altering of the session mid way through when you bottle it, even sometimes leading to "handle down". IMO confidence is born from stepping up your training (
hardly any of us get near to what we are capable of doing - everybody has a point at which they feel the volume/intensity of training they do means they cannot do any more i.e. it's largely a matter of perspective assuming you're not getting injured) and for me doing lots of sessions approaching your PB has been very useful. If you always keep an eye on progression you'll likely be able to edge the bar a little higher in your weakest PB/SB etc, and that will often give you confidence to address other distances.
There is nothing wrong by being motivated by the stick too. Many of us have been there. Look at those sessions as "meters in the bank" and conditioning for when you decide to be more performance oriented. If it keeps you physically and mentally fit then that alone is a big plus compared to many coping mechanisms.
BTW - I have asthma too, but mine is very well controlled so is absolutely not a factor for me...
Paul, 49M, 5'11" 83kg (sprint PBs HWT), ex biker now lifting
Deadlift=190kg, LP=1:15, 100m=15.7s, 1min=350m
Targets: 14s (100m), 355m+ 1min, 1:27(500m), 3:11(1K)
Erg on!
That can even be as simple as just following C2 workouts of the day programs, plenty of fun mixed workouts from day to day to always keep things appealing, and the interest healthy.
So much for great plans. 
