Newbie - 2K Benchmark

[rmacleod]

I am new to the forum and sort of new to C2. 60 year old male with sedentary job. 5' 8" at 220 lbs working at getting back into shape. Did some long distance running in my 40s including a marathon and a few halfs. Have run off and on, mostly off the past few years. Was into Crossfit for a few years and was in the best shape of my life. Got introduced to the C2 there.

Last years NY resolution was to get in better shape, and I did follow through. Three days week Echelon bike for three months then jumped up to five days most weeks of either Echelon bike or treadmill. Bought a used C2 Rower in June and added it to the mix. Been rowing 1 -2 days week since.

Before Christmas I made a decision to step up my game for 2024. My goal is to be simply fitter so I can do other stuff. Figured my best path forward for success is to spend more time with my C2. Do something you enjoy. Started that 3 weeks ago with a commitment to do 5 or 6 days most weeks. I have been doing the C2 WOD for most days and tossing in some 45 minute steady state stuff on the weekends. That is a big increase in rowing from my departure point so I have intentionally been keeping my pace down at UT2 (below 70% max HR). My tentative plan is to keep this pace for approx 3 months to build a better aerobic base. I have a PM5 and a garmin chest strap, which helps keep me on track.

Going slower has also assisted in working on my form. Will post a video when I get brave enough for a critique. Watching the power curve on my PM5 suggests I am doing something correct as it conforms to what C2 says is ideal.

In order to better track my improvement, I thought it appropriate to do a 2K benchmark row to measure improvement against. Managed a 8:45 2K this morning, which I was happy with. Comfortable my pacing was appropriate to squeeze out my best time. My running background helps with understanding pacing. Bumped up against my HR Max in the last 500 M.

My plan is 5-6 days rowing mostly C2 daily WOD (lower intensity for first 3 months) and a longer steady state row on weekends. I am also hitting the bike or treadmill (similar intensity) for 30 minutes every other day. I plan to throw in 2 days of weights in a couple of months, but I will drop a row, bike or treadmill the days I hit weights.


Is a sub 8 minute 2K a realistic goal in six (6) months?

What is a realistic 2K goal by year end?

Thoughts on my training plan?

I am pretty good and locking in and following through once I commit to plan. Realized last year that I am turning 60 and I had best get my shit together and start taking better care of myself. Exercise being most important. Need to lose some weight as well, but that's mostly a knife and fork thing. I don't eat much carp, but I do eat too much. Been enjoying lurking around the forum the last month or so. Figured I should introduce myself.

[MPx]

Welcome to the forum. Since you've been on the erg for a while the very easy early wins will have already been won (assuming your form is good enough)...but there's nothing quite like seat time and varied training to keep the improvements coming. Swapping up to 5 or 6 days is good. Sticking to UT2 only is less so if you want to improve your 2k. You need to mix in some fast sprint intervals once a week and maybe a hard longer interval session (disregard HR other than to note what it is on those two sessions.) The UT2 stuff will build a base over the long term, but you need to challenge yourself with some hard stuff to stimulate further adaptations. Take a look at the beginner or 2k Pete Plan to get some ideas for the two hard sessions.
I think you could target an 8min 2k with some dedication over a few months.... Best of luck.

[Rowan McSheen]

You have your baseline 2k pace (2:11), which is good to know because workout pacing is often based on that along with strokes per minute (spm). It's also likely to be soft and to improve rapidly with training.

If you want to work on your 2k time there are progressive plans for this such as the Beginners Pete Plan, or indeed the full-fat Pete Plan and some others, which you can find here: https://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/the-pete-plan/. The pacing advice with these is a little light, although you'll be able to get guidance on this 'ere forum.

At the risk of being accused of heresy, I'd say there is no particular reason to be fixated on your 2k time. Serious competitive ergers live and die by it but if your goal is fitness and wellbeing you might prefer something with more variety and interest than the focus on one distance. I like the sessions by https://rowalong.com/ but there are other providers.

I also find eyeballs-out 2k efforts horrendous, and I don't do them because I like to enjoy my rowing and do it to keep fit without caring how I compare to others. But other opinions and approaches are available, and on this forum are guys with red-hot 2k times who are happy to advise rank newbies and paddlers. It's all good!

Good luck!

[Dangerscouse]

Welcome to the forum. Imo, you're capable of incorporating at least one grey zone session (mid intensity, circa 80-85%) or a harder pace (circa 90%) interval session.

Maybe starting doing one 80% effort a week, and reassess in a couple of weeks. If you're recovering properly, then you know it's sustainable, so you can ramp it up to 85% and then 90%. Make sure you choose a suitable distance split up however you want to do it e.g 6 x 500m or 4 x 750m with at least 3:30 rest.

Just doing lots and lots of UT2 will fairly quickly become counter productive, as you'll become too accustomed to the easier side of erging, so a tougher session will be sabotaged by negative thoughts.

A sub 8k seems possible, but you'll need to do the suggested slightly harder/ harder sessions to get there. There's no avoiding that. Good luck with it all.

[KeithT]

It's pretty much said that you need to add some interval sessions with some intensity and eventually get used to the 2:00 pace if you want to get under 8:00. If you did CF and pushed hard there then you should understand the kind of effort required in the interval sessions. I started into ERGing thru CF too and can tell you that the hardest CF workouts I ever did were still probably less painful than a proper rowing test. Not to scare you but it's very mental and requires serious effort. If you arent worried about that just use the rower as a great all around fitness tool.

[hikeplusrow]

I'm the last person to be proffering advice on training for the 2k, but would suggest that the pace of your interval efforts bears at least a passing relationship to your proposed 2k pace (ie not way, way faster). You may find it demotivating in the long term if you feel obligated to push to the point of vomiting every time you do an interval session - the 'I must do each effort as fast as possible' approach. Of course, some people love that kind of stuff....

[rmacleod]

Really appreciate the advice. I will throw in some intervals starting in February. This should the old body get used to the increased volume of rowing I bumped up to just before Christmas.

My overall goal is better all round fitness. I picked the 2K as a reasonable benchmark of aerobic endurance. My natural inclination is to go at it somewhat harder in any event. I find the holding back my pace challenging as it goes against my instinct, but I will say it has assisted my form.

On the technique side I have been throwing in some drills during the rest phase of my interval work.

[rmacleod]

Just read through the link to the Pete Plan. Seems like reasonable approach: not too hard core, but still requires stepping it up. It also seems quite close in training philosophy to the approach I used for running full and half marathons when I was in to long distance running, except that the long runs get progressively longer each week (only one long run per week).

The piece I am enjoying about the erg vs running is the recovery. To date I am not feeling super beat up the next day after a longer session. With my running I could not run more than 4 days week without risking injury.

[Rowan McSheen]

The piece I am enjoying about the erg vs running is the recovery. To date I am not feeling super beat up the next day after a longer session ...

Precisely this. I took up the erg <mumble mumble> years ago after sensing that recovery from runs wasn't as quick as it used to be, when training for half and full marathons. Alternating running and rowing days works well for me, and I still run the occasional half mara. The erg is great for shaking out tired legs the day after a race or for priming them the day before.

[Aquaman]

At the risk of being accused of heresy, I'd say there is no particular reason to be fixated on your 2k time. Serious competitive ergers live and die by it but if your goal is fitness and wellbeing you might prefer something with more variety and interest than the focus on one distance.

I would agree with this and have the same goal in mind - long term fitness and longevity. Focusing on the 2k and doing the programs recommended prior will certainly help your fitness and provide a plan to follow. And if you get into the regular racing (indoor on ergs in the winter, outdoor in the boats in spring-fall) you will likely develop a year-long training schedule of ramping up and down.

A focus on fitness with the C2 should mix low and high intensity workouts with on & off erg strength sessions. I'd suggest using your 2k pace as one of a collective of metrics to monitor your fitness progression/maintenance along with FTP, VO2 max, HRV and of course weight. Also a 'ramp test' is popular with cyclists as a way to regularly test their power production and VO2 max, with variations adapted to indoor erging.

I'm >50 and my life goals are different than when I trained hard & competitively in my youth. I also worry about the long term impact of over-training for fear of the potential cumulative cardiac damage it can do to your heart.

So....Rather than following a specific plan, my approach is to vary the mix every few weeks so that my body doesn't condition to a regular routine. For example, my HIIT workouts might take the form of EMOMs, ladder drills, 30sec sprints or tabata (20sec on 10sec off). These are mainly adaptions from indoor cycling and I monitor my HR closely. My low intensity endurance efforts mimic my outdoor running, whereby I do longer distances at a steady state within an aerobic zone. Strength exercises mix body weight, dumbbells and machines in combinations of high weight, low rep or high rep, low weight. On average, I do 2 high intensity, 2 low intensity, 2 strength, and 1 rest/stretch or light intesity each week. Within that, 2-3 of them are erg sessions as I still love to get outdoors. Hope this is helpful!