Pete Plan Thread

[SowfLondonRower]

Welcome Cujo and Leomarweb! I don't have much to add as everyone else has answered your questions, but I can add my voice to the opinion that this is a very friendly thread, with helpful advice for rowers of all abilities.

Getting to my news... I just completed the 24th and final week of the BPP! (Only 3 sessions this week so it feels like a slight cheat but I'm gonna take it)

BPP 24.1: 12,000m


BPP 24.2: 5x1500m, 3min rest


BPP 24.3: 30mins - I switched this to a 10k, since I'm heading to Prague for a long weekend and will be doing more drinking than rowing...


Thanks everyone again for helpful comments throughout. I think I'm just about starting to get the hang of erging now. I'll probably try at least a couple of rotations of the full PP and see how it goes.

[RayOfSunshine]

@leomarwab Great enthusiasm!

Just remember that the BPP is a 24 week slog meant for beginners. Don't get burnt out early by trying to crush every workout those first few weeks. The interval training is where you put in that crushing effort to see what you can do. The longer pieces are meant to gradually build your steady state base at a reasonable pace.

Agree with Mitchell. Do NOT try to get a PB (personal best) every time you do a 5k or 10k. Sometimes less is more. Now, I did make slight adjustments through the first 5-10 weeks of the program. If my target was 2:03 on intervals and I knew that was light... I'd start by targeting 2:02 then absolutely crush the last interval. I injured myself on a SS piece at least one time going for a PB the day after hard intervals. That cost me about 7-10 days off.

On a somewhat related note: one of my favorite workouts now is a 30r20 without a rate cap. It forces me to concentrate on form and strong strokes! I haven't done one for a PB, so that's going on the agenda soon.

[hobbit]

C2W1D3 5 x 1500m R5' @2:06.0 max heart rate 151bpm.

Oops. Last time was 0.5s faster, but with more drama. In fact, I forgot my precise goal, so I aimed a bit slow. No harm done.

[shadowpup]

An unexpected treat- I was going for steady state for 6000 at 2:22, and nearly made it ... and then noticed my actual time is a personal best! Just by a few seconds, but I'll take it, especially since it wasn't the goal for today. Of course it is much easier to show improvement when you are a beginner

BPP 3.1 28:35.9 6000 2:22.9 26s/m


Splits are still pretty ragged. s/m ranging from 25 to 27, and /500m from 2:20.4 up to 2:25.5 . I started slow, sped up too much, recovered in the middle, then pushed too hard again, and ended up with my slowest tie at the end this time.

[shadowpup]

Getting to my news... I just completed the 24th and final week of the BPP! (Only 3 sessions this week so it feels like a slight cheat but I'm gonna take it)

Congratulations on finishing! You give me hope, here at the BPP 3 end of the spectrum.

[MartinSH4321]

Getting to my news... I just completed the 24th and final week of the BPP! (Only 3 sessions this week so it feels like a slight cheat but I'm gonna take it)

Very good Rob, congrats!!
And good luck for your PP start

[Rowlers]

Finished week 21 of the BPP last week and starting week 22 tonight with a 12000m piece. I find it hard to motivate myself for the 12000m pieces as it seems never ending Anyways, good luck to all the newcomers! Nice to read your stories.

BPP 21.1 - 10000m



BPP 21.2 - 4x1000m / 3 min rest



BPP 21.3 - 4x8min / 2 min rest

[shadowpup]

Quick accountability post before work. Set a target of 2:20 for intervals with rest. Achieved, but not with even effort on the intervals! Still went out too fast, though I slowed down enough to keep the first one from blowing up entirely. Second interval, a more moderate pace, closer to target. The major difference was focusing on the push from legs and the return, and the pace. If my /500m pace went slower than 2:20, I pushed harder. If my /500m pace went was faster than 2:18, I returned more slowly. That didn't get me to evenness but it did help me get a better sense of how the various components contribute to pace. Life is good as a beginning BPP, plenty to learn

BPP 3.2 2x2000m/4:00r
18:25.1 4000 2:18.1 27s/m
9:08.4 2000 2:17.1 29
9:16.7 2000 2:19.1 26

[RayOfSunshine]

@Mitchell, where in Florida are you?

Great work everyone... I was focusing on a 10k TT on the rower the last couple of weeks. While the rower will continue to be my primary machine, it's nice to have the SkiErg along with the BPP! Like Pup, I have a lot to learn.

[hobbit]

Wheels are slightly falling off my PP. One day's extra rest due to due to a niggling shoulder injury and my "hard tempo" day was horrible. 2k warmup, 1.3k @2:06 28spm, 0.7k to round up up to 4k. Yuk! At least today was OK:

C2W1D6 SS 10min elliptics, 20min treadmill, 8k @2:17 20spm. Nice session! My first 20min running since I tore my knee meniscus in September.

As the running ramps up, my capacity to keep the PP on the road goes down. And I've got my next 10k mid-April.

[RayOfSunshine]

[mitchel674]

@Mitchell, where in Florida are you?

Ray, I'm in Clearwater.

[RayOfSunshine]

I decided to enter my 1st race. It's 13 days away and I haven't done any speed work since a 2k TT about 6 weeks ago. So, I decided to do PP w1.d1 to see how I'm doing. Happy about it. Now, I need to work on getting my sr up. When I did it last, I was at 33spm.

[Dangerscouse]

I decided to enter my 1st race. It's 13 days away and I haven't done any speed work since a 2k TT about 6 weeks ago. So, I decided to do PP w1.d1 to see how I'm doing. Happy about it. Now, I need to work on getting my sr up. When I did it last, I was at 33spm.

Best of luck to you Ray. It's six days until mine and I'm only just about getting used to the pain and mindset required.

[CaptSteve]

Hi All,

I am new to the Forum so thought I would introduce myself. I am Steve & have been indoor rowing on and off for a couple of seasons now and have finally decided to start upon a training plan to get me on my way to improving my times, I have been stuck at a pace of around 2:10 or above for a fair while. At the moment I have 3 goals, beyond the fitness incentives.
1. Row more than 14k in a 60 minute piece. (Inspired by the upcoming Valentines Challenge - I thought I would attempt to do it in one piece)
2. Get a 20 minute 5k
3. Get a 40 minute 10k

I have been doing the January 'Haul' Challenge (15 hours rowing in January), having only started on the 9th has meant an average of 42 minutes every day, I have certainly seen my fitness improve over the past three weeks and my times come down, I have been vaguely following the C2WoD. This has inspired me to start the BPP and I have just completed week 1, my sessions are below.

BPP 1.1 - 25/1/2019

BPP 1.2 - 27/1/2019

BPP 1.3 - 28/1/2019


How do most of you structure your rowing on the BPP? With the 3 days (+2 Options) do you do one every other day, or just when it can fit in? As I said I am also doing 'The Haul' at the moment so have been doing extra before or after to add to my times to make sure I am getting enough in to complete the challenge. I have 80 minutes to do in the next 3 days, shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Thanks for all the inspiring messages, it has been great to read about all of your progress, I just hope I can stick to it.

Steve