Like Starting All Over Again (How Long ?)

[Ted12]

At long long last my gym is reopening on Monday and I can not wait to get back in it and start training again as have not done anything since Mid March when it closed due to corvid.

Only really discovered the erg 8 months before the shut down and had been enjoying it and the progress I was making (HM completed) going to start with a few steady rows but am wondering how long will it take ( going 3/4 times a week) to get back to the level I was at and the best way to do it.

Any thoughts / tips greatly received

Ted

[Gammmmo]

"They" say for every week you take off with cardio it takes 2-3 weeks to get back to where you were, if you were well-trained. If you're not that well trained it should be more rapid esp if you're not been sedentary during lockdown i.e. being more active than say going for walks.

[Dangerscouse]

As you didn't have much erging experience before lockdown I'd try and forget about where you used to be for the first couple of months. If you progress quickly, then it's a bonus, but it can be soul destroying trying to quickly get back to where you were not least as it's a higher risk of injury.

Start enjoying the process and take it slowly, and remember the old saying 'a watched kettle never boils'. I also use a rough rule of thumb that I need two weeks for every week off

[Ted12]

17 weeks off = 34 weeks to get back, Really will be like starting again. Can not wait

[Dangerscouse]

17 weeks off = 34 weeks to get back, Really will be like starting again. Can not wait

Hahaha, I'm fairly sure that after circa six weeks you will be noticing the difference, and the 'two weeks for one week' rule I expect will be tapering off when you get 8 to 10 weeks in.

It will take a lot of effort, sweat and swearing but it's worth it

[Gammmmo]

17 weeks off = 34 weeks to get back, Really will be like starting again. Can not wait

Won't take that long...read the advice (maybe your comment was tongue in cheek?)...I doubt you're well trained give your height/weight/age and PBs. That's not meant to be a dig btw either. Means you've got plenty of upside on the performance side if you're diligent and that's what you want...

[mitchel674]

Ted, I suspect you will be back to your prior level of fitness within 3 months. You likely haven't forgotten the technical side of rowing which likely hampered your early progress. Start with some steady rows and feel yourself out as you increase your distances.

On a side note, I welcome you back. Our PB times are all eerily similar. Nice for me to see someone else here at our age who is not posting world record times!

[Ombrax]

This is a bit of thread drift from Ted's original question, but still somewhat related:

I have no clue when the gym I use at work will reopen, and given that C-19 things don't seem to be improving around here, I don't think I want to join a local gym. However, when "my" gym finally does reopenI've decided to try something different:

Instead of making the mistake of "racing my training" and going hard (for me) just about every time I rowed, I'm going to make a conscious effort to not go above my UT1 HR range, and go for time and distance on the bulk of my workouts. And maybe once a week I'll do a harder mid-range row. I knew that I wasn't doing the right thing before, but it was more "fun" (i.e. less boring) to do harder stuff every time.

So, when I do start over again, I'm just going to have to get used to seeing slow paces and low HR averages, and tell myself that in the long run it's the smarter thing to do. We'll see how long I can stick to it.

[Steff]

Ted, a great question as there will be lots of us in the same boat.
I was about 7' 2k pace in October last year and comfortably doing 10k SS at 2:00 pace r22. Post Feb 2020 it has just been leisurely beach walks circa 5k and some SS stationary bike.
Last week I started erging again - now done 90ks: I plan to do the first month or two really just focusing on getting the sequence of rowing back, in a sense retraining all those muscles that work and relax on every stroke. I just stop rowing when the stroke gets hard (muscles get tired) and take a brief rest before starting again. The work periods will get longer and I expect that fitness will take care of itself - before getting into interval work some time down the track. I'm keen to hear how you get on. Cheers Stephen

[Ted12]

On a side note, I welcome you back. Our PB times are all eerily similar. Nice for me to see someone else here at our age who is not posting world record times!

I know what you mean

17 weeks off = 34 weeks to get back, Really will be like starting again. Can not wait

I doubt you're well trained give your height/weight/age and PBs.

probably not.....

17 weeks off = 34 weeks to get back, Really will be like starting again. Can not wait

It will take a lot of effort, sweat and swearing but it's worth it

Agreed

[Ted12]

Well I have just got back from my first session for 17 odd weeks. It is definitely going to take a while to get back to where I was. Did 8 x 10000m 2r at a steady rate and was really blowing and sweating buckets.

It’s good to be back roll on Wednesday

[Tony Cook]

Well I have just got back from my first session for 17 odd weeks. It is definitely going to take a while to get back to where I was. Did 8 x 10000m 2r at a steady rate and was really blowing and sweating buckets.

It’s good to be back roll on Wednesday

Did you put an extra ‘0’ in there?
Good that you feel good to be back. As others have said, you have two basic things to consider - technique and fitness. Technique will come back quicker than it took to learn it initially and ‘fitness’ for the average Joe is a combination of what the body can achieve and what the mind thinks the body can achieve. Your previous efforts on the erg have shown you what you can achieve and so you won’t have the same mind blockers as before. It won’t take you very long at all to get back where you were.

[Ted12]

Did you put an extra ‘0’ in there?

yes I did. Good spot. That would have been going some

[davebray]

Ted, like you I have just had my first row for 17 weeks. I decided to start with 2 x 5k steady state & I found
that I was 15% down on power generation (watts). I intend to continue with long steady states rows for the first
4 weeks before trying anything harder. Watts will give a good idea of how I'm doing.