My ergs are getting harder, HR is going up. Why?

[Ivan Troyano]

Hi guys. Ive been following the Pete Plan for some time now and I have just about completed 3 cycles. My 2nd last and last week didnt go too well however. In the 4 x 2k I couldnt finish the last 2 because I was so physically fatigued. Last time I started out and went off and did 7:35 then 7:38. This time I did 7:35 and 7:30 and I felt like I couldnt go any further, its the first time Ive felt like that midway through an erg (it could be because i started too hard). Also on the next weeks 3k, 2.5k, 2k, I started off well at 1:55 in the first 3k but then I felt awful towards the end of it and in the next to intervals I went 1:57 and 2:05 and I was struggling to pull under 2:00 for the second one and on the last one I went a bit lighter so I didnt cause too much damage. The same happened to my friend and we think its from the previous days 7k run. Although this happened I did PB on the 4 x 1k and got 1:46.8 compared to last time where I got 1:48.2. Also on the 8 x 500m where i got 1:43.9 average from 1:45.4 last time.

However the main concern of this is my steady state. When i started using Heart rate for my steady state I settled in well rowing comfortable 12ks at 2:14 pace (roughly rate 19). I used to row them at 141 - 145bpm average in my UT2 zone. This week I am taking part in a steady state only week which supposedly gives us a break from the intensity of the pete plan, yesterday and today I did some of my usual 12k UT2 and my heart rate has been high on both of them averaging 151bpm and peaking over 160bpm. It also feels harder and is a lot more fatiguing than it used to be, especially around my shoulders area which I always try and keep relaxed. I have kept the conditions the same in my room and it is not hot in there. My steady states used to start off around 120 - 130bpm in the first few minutes, but this week I have seen it over 140s quickly and barely any time in the 130s.

I really dont know why this is happening and I am getting quite frustrated at this point. I am doing 1 more cycle of the Pete Plan after this week and I am planning to go hard and hopefully I dont do badly like I am in my steady states. I am also going to do my UT2 at around 2:16 so my body can settle a bit more because the last 4k ish always feels like a struggle.

Let me know what I can do and what your thoughts are. Do any of you have similar experiences and why do you think it may be happening to me?

Many Thanks

[johnlvs2run]

I think you're trying to control too many things in your steady states, your pace, your rating,
your heart rate, being precise and so on, which keeps you from relaxing - and you need to relax.

Sometimes when doing steady states I cover the monitor completely with only the time left showing, no rating,
no heart rate, no pace, no anything except time - focusing on ease of movement and a moderate perceived exertion.

I've made two cardboard covers that fit over the monitors, with the only cut outs for the time.
After 7 to 10 days of the monitor being covered, I take the median of those for my steady states from then on.

However, even doing this for one session, or periodic sessions, can help quite a bit.

[Ivan Troyano]

I think you're trying to control too many things in your steady states, your pace, your rating,
your heart rate, being precise and so on, which keeps you from relaxing - and you need to relax.

Sometimes when doing steady states I cover the monitor completely with only the time left showing, no rating,
no heart rate, no pace, no anything except time - focusing on ease of movement and a moderate perceived exertion.

I've made two cardboard covers that fit over the monitors, with the only cut outs for the time.
After 7 to 10 days of the monitor being covered, I take the median of those for my steady states from then on.

However, even doing this for one session, or periodic sessions, can help quite a bit.

Ah okay that sounds quite sensible, I'll have a go at that and see how I do.

[Carl Watts]

Maybe if you feel fatigued you are actually fatigued and are over doing it. Your evaluated HR means your not getting the recovery period you need.

Personally I always found that it took about 2 weeks for a set rate of exercise to catch up with me. What initially felt doable on a monthly challange got pretty grueling after 2 weeks even though I was doing the same thing every day. From 2 weeks in to the finish was not pleasant I was tired the body felt fatigued and I was ready to bite someones head off I was that grumpy.

[hjs]

Maybe if you feel fatigued you are actually fatigued and are over doing it. Your evaluated HR means your not getting the recovery period you need.

Personally I always found that it took about 2 weeks for a set rate of exercise to catch up with me. What initially felt doable on a monthly challange got pretty grueling after 2 weeks even though I was doing the same thing every day. From 2 weeks in to the finish was not pleasant I was tired the body felt fatigued and I was ready to bite someones head off I was that grumpy.

Indeed, very simple overtraining. You can’t recover enough, so fatique is building up. Take a very easy week and build it back up from there.

[Nomath]

I am ignorant about Pete's Plan.
However, I take HR very serious, because it is the best monitor of the state of your internal engine, much more relevant than the other data displayed on the erg's monitor (wattage, pace, stroke rate). Note that when your body produces a certain mechanical power (=energy/sec), about 3 times more cooling power is required to prevent overheating of your body. This is because the gross metabolic efficiency of a human body in rowing and most other sport activities is only 25%.

So cooling is an important requirement in order to achieve high performances. This not only depends on ambient temperature, but as much on air flow and humidity. Usually, my best rowing performances are in winter when even indoors the air is cold and dry.

[Ivan Troyano]

Maybe if you feel fatigued you are actually fatigued and are over doing it. Your evaluated HR means your not getting the recovery period you need.

Personally I always found that it took about 2 weeks for a set rate of exercise to catch up with me. What initially felt doable on a monthly challange got pretty grueling after 2 weeks even though I was doing the same thing every day. From 2 weeks in to the finish was not pleasant I was tired the body felt fatigued and I was ready to bite someones head off I was that grumpy.

Indeed, very simple overtraining. You can’t recover enough, so fatique is building up. Take a very easy week and build it back up from there.

So would you suggest I do UT3 or something like that for the rest of the week? I am also going to cover the screen with cardboard as JohnIvs2run suggested so it only shows the distance and im not stressing over it too much.

[nick rockliff]

Maybe if you feel fatigued you are actually fatigued and are over doing it. Your evaluated HR means your not getting the recovery period you need.

Personally I always found that it took about 2 weeks for a set rate of exercise to catch up with me. What initially felt doable on a monthly challange got pretty grueling after 2 weeks even though I was doing the same thing every day. From 2 weeks in to the finish was not pleasant I was tired the body felt fatigued and I was ready to bite someones head off I was that grumpy.

Indeed, very simple overtraining. You can’t recover enough, so fatique is building up. Take a very easy week and build it back up from there.

So would you suggest I do UT3 or something like that for the rest of the week? I am also going to cover the screen with cardboard as JohnIvs2run suggested so it only shows the distance and im not stressing over it too much.

When you're doing UT2 sessions forget about pace and work only to the HR cap you have set yourself. Forget about average HR, this has nothing to do with UT2. Once you reach your HR cap, slow down. You shouldn't feel fatigued doing UT2.

[ampire]

Something similar happened to me, my resting heart rate increased and my heart rate at a given pace increased, I believe because I was under-recovering, probably because I personally am not sleeping adequately and training too frequently for my body to recover from. I would make sure you are eating enough food and getting adequate sleep. You could try deloading and reducing mileage for a week or two.

[hjs]

Maybe if you feel fatigued you are actually fatigued and are over doing it. Your evaluated HR means your not getting the recovery period you need.

Personally I always found that it took about 2 weeks for a set rate of exercise to catch up with me. What initially felt doable on a monthly challange got pretty grueling after 2 weeks even though I was doing the same thing every day. From 2 weeks in to the finish was not pleasant I was tired the body felt fatigued and I was ready to bite someones head off I was that grumpy.

Indeed, very simple overtraining. You can’t recover enough, so fatique is building up. Take a very easy week and build it back up from there.

So would you suggest I do UT3 or something like that for the rest of the week? I am also going to cover the screen with cardboard as JohnIvs2run suggested so it only shows the distance and im not stressing over it too much.

Nomatter how, but do rest up. Sleep well, eat plenty, relax. Really recover.

[Dangerscouse]

When you're doing UT2 sessions forget about pace and work only to the HR cap you have set yourself. Forget about average HR, this has nothing to do with UT2. Once you reach your HR cap, slow down. You shouldn't feel fatigued doing UT2.

Great advice. I never take any notice of average HR

[Gammmmo]

However the main concern of this is my steady state. When i started using Heart rate for my steady state I settled in well rowing comfortable 12ks at 2:14 pace (roughly rate 19). I used to row them at 141 - 145bpm average in my UT2 zone. This week I am taking part in a steady state only week which supposedly gives us a break from the intensity of the pete plan, yesterday and today I did some of my usual 12k UT2 and my heart rate has been high on both of them averaging 151bpm and peaking over 160bpm. It also feels harder and is a lot more fatiguing than it used to be

Generally if you're tired (it is quite hard to overtrain more so that you're ramping up training too quickly and incurring short term fatigue) then RHR will be elevated and HR under exertion will be lower*. However, the bit underlined is key....go on how you feel. If your SS work feels harder (an assuming you are NOT going into such sessions more fatigued) then that's not good so heed the advice above about recovery UNLESS you are cool with completing the session knowing you won't feel as good BUT at a later time when you back off and reap the benefit of the addtional training you'll actually be going better than ever. Sometimes in order to get better you have to over reach but the trick is knowing how to schedule all this, not get too caught up on each and every session and how well it goes, trust the process, back off and then re-test. Make sense?

* HR for a given pace can be higher for a range of factors such as you are v well rested, you are about to get sick, ambient temperature etc

[Ivan Troyano]

Thanks for all this advice guys, I always feel fatigued towards the end of my steady states, maybe 4k to go, so I will go slower and more naturally.

[max_ratcliffe]

Thanks for all this advice guys, I always feel fatigued towards the end of my steady states, maybe 4k to go, so I will go slower and more naturally.

I think it depends on how you define fatigue. If you went for a six hour hike, you'd be tired by the end, so you're allowed to be tired by the end of a long piece. But you shouldn't be panting, sweating heaps, able to hear your heart thumping, etc).

Edit - I mean after you've had a proper rest to recover from whatever's ailing you at the moment.

[Ivan Troyano]

Just a quick update, I just got off my erg from a 10k steady state. I covered the screen apart from the distance and I felt so much more relaxed and less stressed whilst doing it and it felt so much more natural. I rated quite lower than usual at 17spm but it all felt natural so im not being hard on myself. It was probably the 'funnest' steady state I did because I could just think about other things and not stress about my heart rate etc. I didnt feel fatigued at all and my heart rate peaked around 150bpm.
Heres a photo.

https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/Tq ... 9x2048.jpg