What Training Have You Done Today?

[MPx]

... as a taster for a soon to come ... British Record attempt.

[or two, or...]

Looking very good for that Nick....excited to see the outcome.

[PleaseLockIn]

Since I didn't have a lot of time to walk to the gym and do the long row (also with warmups and other things) I decided to stay, study, do some light cardio as an active recovery day. I also decided to perform some dips to train my upper body, callisthenics style for volume. I don't want to have muscular legs, a decent back but a lagging chest and triceps.

A day or 2 later I will finish day 3 of week 2, hopefully with decent progress! For someone who had never rowed 5k before without a break (I managed a 2k at 8:39.x r29-30 with some gas left in the tank, 1 day before BPP) even at steady state, and for someone who is neither fit nor strong, the BPP seems to be surprisingly doable for me!

Perhaps I will post a review of the BPP later!

[alex9026]

Never used Ergzone, I never have a problem with Ergdata. Do you leave Bluetooth turned on all the time on your phone or are you switching on and off?

I'll give Ergdata a try. I switch on and off accordingly, I only connect to my Erg and occasionally head phones.

Did a 60 r25 this evening as a toe in the water for a future HM trial. Also as a taster for a soon to come 60 min British Record attempt.

The BR is 15346 so shouldn't be a problem. This session was very comfortable, will be looking for a similar pace for the HM.

I look forward to seeing attempt and break this.

[alex9026]

I also decided to perform some dips to train my upper body, callisthenics style for volume. I don't want to have muscular legs, a decent back but a lagging chest and triceps.

Do you have access to a chin up bar? Coupled with press ups or dips and a leg variant, you could make a good all body circuit out of it.

[PleaseLockIn]

I also decided to perform some dips to train my upper body, callisthenics style for volume. I don't want to have muscular legs, a decent back but a lagging chest and triceps.

Do you have access to a chin up bar? Coupled with press ups or dips and a leg variant, you could make a good all body circuit out of it.

Yes, in the gym with the rowing machine I have access to a chinup bar, some barbell weights (but not much - only up to ~60kg for some reason), some dumbbells and kettlebells (but again pretty light). For other forms of aerobic training there is the treadmill and Skierg.

I also am a little bit interested in arm-wrestling so wish to include some arm-wrestling exercises if I have time.

Any recommendations for supplemental weight training so I could further improve my rowing? I feel like my rowing is quite slow, frankly, even compared to beginner rowers here who are often better than me (many of them start out with sub 8 2k or even sub 7 2k)

I feel I could train 4 days a week, maybe five while still having enough recovery and some social life.

[alex9026]

Yes, in the gym with the rowing machine I have access to a chinup bar, some barbell weights (but not much - only up to ~60kg for some reason), some dumbbells and kettlebells (but again pretty light). For other forms of aerobic training there is the treadmill and Skierg.

I also am a little bit interested in arm-wrestling so wish to include some arm-wrestling exercises if I have time.

Any recommendations for supplemental weight training so I could further improve my rowing? I feel like my rowing is quite slow, frankly, even compared to beginner rowers here who are often better than me (many of them start out with sub 8 2k or even sub 7 2k)

I feel I could train 4 days a week, maybe five while still having enough recovery and some social life.

Well short of more rowing, there isn't much I can suggest to get you rowing quicker! How is your technique on the Erg? You're firmly in the lightweight category and at 18 years old, I wouldn't stress over what other beginners are doing. Those other beginners might be coming from athletic backgrounds, so will naturally start off a little quicker, I know nothing of your sporting history.

There is tons of literature out there regarding strength training, a lot of which will be dependent on how proficient you are at the barbell lifts. If there is only up to 60kg worth of weights, it doesn't strike me as the sort of environment to learn them.

A form of pulling movement ie chin ups, dumbbell rows, a push movement ie dips, shoulder press, a squat movement, a hinge (could take some practice) and a little core work can lay a good foundation. Progressive overload (search engine it) on each. How tall are you? Be sure to eat enough (whole) foods.

Nothing stopping you rowing four days a week and picking a strength exercise or two after. No hard and fast rule for you to keep the strength work separate from the Erg.

[PleaseLockIn]

Yes, in the gym with the rowing machine I have access to a chinup bar, some barbell weights (but not much - only up to ~60kg for some reason), some dumbbells and kettlebells (but again pretty light). For other forms of aerobic training there is the treadmill and Skierg.

I also am a little bit interested in arm-wrestling so wish to include some arm-wrestling exercises if I have time.

Any recommendations for supplemental weight training so I could further improve my rowing? I feel like my rowing is quite slow, frankly, even compared to beginner rowers here who are often better than me (many of them start out with sub 8 2k or even sub 7 2k)

I feel I could train 4 days a week, maybe five while still having enough recovery and some social life.

Well short of more rowing, there isn't much I can suggest to get you rowing quicker! How is your technique on the Erg? You're firmly in the lightweight category and at 18 years old, I wouldn't stress over what other beginners are doing. Those other beginners might be coming from athletic backgrounds, so will naturally start off a little quicker, I know nothing of your sporting history.

There is tons of literature out there regarding strength training, a lot of which will be dependent on how proficient you are at the barbell lifts. If there is only up to 60kg worth of weights, it doesn't strike me as the sort of environment to learn them.

A form of pulling movement ie chin ups, dumbbell rows, a push movement ie dips, shoulder press, a squat movement, a hinge (could take some practice) and a little core work can lay a good foundation. Progressive overload (search engine it) on each. How tall are you? Be sure to eat enough (whole) foods.

Nothing stopping you rowing four days a week and picking a strength exercise or two after. No hard and fast rule for you to keep the strength work separate from the Erg.

Erg technique - legs hips arms, the effort is mostly on my legs especially the glutes for the hip hinge to transfer energy from the legs to the body and the arms. The basic is OK but it needs to be more efficient. No shooting the slide.

However my pace for each stroke is NOT consistent at all - in the long row day 1 some were as low as 2:40 (zones out) and when going for a finish some were 2:09 (sprint but had stuff left in the tank). The interval each stroke went as high as 2:04 (sprint) as low as 2:18 (slacked off the stroke)

My sporting history is not great - was a mediocre club level runner with a 14:50 3k, mediocre badminton player, and mediocre lifts. My 1RM deadlift was ~100kg, back squat ~90kg, bench ~50kg and OHP a bit over 40kg. So pretty weak. I neglected lifting a little bit. I could bicep curl 10kg easily with more than 10 reps but not much more

I could do 13 dips before I slacked off a little. I am 175cm

I hope one day I could join my university team or at least a college within the university. Knowing that beginners start sub 8 2k (which could take me 20+ weeks) or sub 7 2k (a years long journey) seems demoralising but at least I know I did it lightweight and short.

[nick rockliff]

Just a 40r20 this evening

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
40:00.0 9,757m 2:02.9 188 947 20 128
5:00.0 1,219m 2:03.0 188 946 20 118
10:00.0 1,220m 2:02.9 188 948 20 124
15:00.0 1,219m 2:03.0 188 946 20 126
20:00.0 1,220m 2:02.9 188 948 20 128
25:00.0 1,220m 2:02.9 188 948 20 130
30:00.0 1,220m 2:02.9 188 948 20 134
35:00.0 1,220m 2:02.9 188 948 20 135
40:00.0 1,220m 2:02.9 188 948 20 136

[jcross485]

A long few days.


11/10: No training. Quite a bit of travel to get home and quality time with my boys.


11/11: Erg and strength work.

2500m warm up, 10 x 100m (2:00 rest), 2500m cool down. Decided on a whim to see where overall power and technique was after 5-6 weeks off the erg with a sprint session as I figured inefficiencies would show up at those higher outputs. Was pleasantly surprised as my first 9 were capped at 10 strokes with the 10th an all out effort that matched my prior PR. I could tell during warm up and cool down though that while max output seemed to be relatively unchanged, erg specific capacity and endurance was impacted by not being on the erg. I figure it would come back quick though as I am still fit.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
23:35.5 6,000m 1:57.9 213 1033 20 148

5:15.2 1,250m 2:06.0 175 901 18 140
5:15.0 1,250m 2:06.0 175 902 18 145
r: 1:00 34m
0:16.5 100m 1:22.5 623 2445 36 150
r: 2:00 37m
0:16.2 100m 1:21.0 659 2566 37 145
r: 2:00 40m
0:16.3 100m 1:21.5 647 2525 37 145
r: 2:00 36m
0:16.1 100m 1:20.5 671 2609 37 138
r: 2:00 41m
0:16.3 100m 1:21.5 647 2525 37 145
r: 2:00 43m
0:16.0 100m 1:20.0 684 2652 38 148
r: 2:00 42m
0:16.1 100m 1:20.5 671 2609 37 145
r: 2:00 59m
0:16.1 100m 1:20.5 671 2609 37 150
r: 2:00 56m
0:16.1 100m 1:20.5 671 2609 37 151
r: 2:00 41m
0:15.5 100m 1:17.5 752 2887 46 151
r: 2:00 38m
5:12.2 1,250m 2:04.8 180 918 18 154
5:11.8 1,250m 2:04.7 180 920 18 156
r467m

For strength work, kept it very basic. Sets of 5 pull-ups with increasing weight. Done in about 12 mins total.

BW x 5, +10lbs x 5, +20lbs x 5, +30lbs x 5, +40lbs x 5, +50lbs x 5, +60lbs x 5


11/12: Ruck.

Weather was nice and wanted to go walk in the fresh air because I got some unfortunate news late in the day Monday that I need to leave again for another extended work trip with no estimated return date other than no later than 12/22 (about 5-6 more weeks), depending on the need. I try to stay very much even keel and stoic, especially around my boys, but this news had a negative impact on me. Not much can be done to change it other than to control what I can control each day.

Time: 1:02:20
Distance: 7.05km
Pace: 8:51/km
Elevation: +/- 48m (net 0m; loop from home)
Load: 20kg
Avg HR: 123bpm


11/13: Erg and strength work.

2500m warm up, 5 x 100m (2:00 rest), 100m time trial, 500m time trial, 2500m cool down.

The plan was to do the warm up, a few quick sprints with a 10-11 stroke rate cap, one all out effort, and a cool down. The all out effort went better than anticipated so I foolishly tried a 500m all out effort which I HD'd right around 400m as I was blowing up bad. Quick cool down and some deadlifts working up to a relatively heavy (RPE 8ish) single before packing to leave. Deadlifts went pretty well but I noticed that it seemed like my core was just a bit weaker than I would like so I'll be doing more core work while away (weighted ab wheel, hanging leg raises, etc.). Lesson learned - max output is there, strength is there, aerobic base for non-erg type stuff is there, but overall erg capacity needs to be trained. I do think though that staying relatively fit and strong while away through other means will help shorten the time to get the erging back.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
11:50.9 3,000m 1:58.4 210 1024 21 140

5:14.9 1,250m 2:05.9 175 902 19 135
5:14.7 1,250m 2:05.8 175 903 19 143
r: 1:00 40m
0:16.5 100m 1:22.5 623 2445 40 154
r: 2:00 47m
0:16.4 100m 1:22.0 635 2484 40 150
r: 2:00 46m
0:16.2 100m 1:21.0 659 2566 41 148
r: 2:00 42m
0:16.1 100m 1:20.5 671 2609 41 149
r: 2:00 43m
0:16.1 100m 1:20.5 671 2609 41 149
r218m

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
0:15.3 100m 1:16.5 782 2990 47 150

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
2:37.0 410m 3:11.4 50 471 36 172

0:21.6 125m 1:26.4 543 2167 39 161
0:21.4 250m 1:25.6 558 2220 39 174
0:21.6 375m 1:26.4 543 2167 39 180
0:08.2 410m 1:57.1 218 1049 15 178

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
10:25.8 2,500m 2:05.1 179 914 19 144

2:05.5 500m 2:05.5 177 909 19 140
2:05.2 1,000m 2:05.2 178 913 19 144
2:05.1 1,500m 2:05.1 179 915 19 145
2:05.0 2,000m 2:05.0 179 916 19 146
2:04.9 2,500m 2:04.9 180 918 19 147

Deadlift (lbs): 135 x 3, 225 x 2, 295 x 1, 345 x 1, 375 x 1, 405 x 1, 435 x 1

[Sakly]

100m time trial, 500m time trial

Very interesting, but right about what I expected.
Your 100m is way faster than mine, as you are much stronger, but your 500 attempt was at my 500m PB pace (inoficially, as I got this from a 624m looking into it's stroke data giving a 1:26.4 for 500m). I assume I could go a bit faster now on a 500. I have the idea to go for a 500 next week before strength session. But I also need to have another crack at the 1k this month....

[Dangerscouse]

What problems are you having?

Since replacing my phone, which coincided with my PM5 needing a software update in the summer, the PM5 will often struggle to connect to my phone via Bluetooth. Sometimes, Ergzone will find my phone, connect, but then struggle to send the workout. My previous two workouts connected and sent straight away, no issues. No other apps requiring Bluetooth are connected.

I've followed Ergzone's troubleshooting suggestions.

I find I have to occasionally quickly take out a battery from the PM5 to get a connection, which isn't on the troubleshooting. That might be worth a try?

[Dangerscouse]

I hope one day I could join my university team or at least a college within the university. Knowing that beginners start sub 8 2k (which could take me 20+ weeks) or sub 7 2k (a years long journey) seems demoralising but at least I know I did it lightweight and short.

Your perspective is wrong, so don't feel demoralised at the early stages, feel energised that you can improve and have something to aim for. It's only your ego that is talking to you when you demoralised as you're comparing yourself to others.

I've seen people start from a relatively low base and make significantly fast improvements, so just keep your focus, stay patient and get comfortable with being uncomfortable and before you know it you'll be going a lot faster than you expected.

It's often said, as it's true, that with enough effort your current PBs will eventually become your training pace.

[Dangerscouse]

The BR is 15346 so shouldn't be a problem. This session was very comfortable, will be looking for a similar pace for the HM.

You're going to obliterate the BR, and I'm guessing that the HM will also be easily in your sights if this is the 60 mins BR.

[Dangerscouse]

25:00.0 5,762m 2:10.1 159 846 17 120
5:00.0 1,168m 2:08.4 165 868 18 119
10:00.0 1,162m 2:09.0 163 859 17 123
15:00.0 1,147m 2:10.7 156 838 17 121
20:00.0 1,144m 2:11.1 155 834 17 119
25:00.0 1,141m 2:11.4 154 830 17 119

The first row in six days after a short break in Spain. We went to Mijas, and the closest airport is Malaga, so we possibly got one of the last flights out before they were grounded due to the extreme rain.

After a notably tough pilates class, I was definitely pre-exhausted so this was treated as a cool down.

[alex9026]

9:39.7 3,000m 1:36.6 388 1635 30
1:58.7 600m 1:38.9 362 1544 28
1:57.8 600m 1:38.1 370 1573 29
1:57.5 600m 1:37.9 373 1583 29
1:56.2 600m 1:36.8 385 1626 30
1:49.5 600m 1:31.2 461 1885 35

In to

20:02.0 5,068m 1:58.5 210 1022 20
7:59.4 2,000m 1:59.8 203 999 21
7:51.8 4,000m 1:57.9 213 1034 20
4:10.8 5,068m 1:57.4 216 1044 20

5x600/3:30 with no idea what to pace it at. Comfortable enough, the rest period is generous enough to go 1:35's next time out. 5k to wrap up 10k for the day inc the warm up. Programmed 8k, but lower back feeling a little fatigued.

Ergzone loaded up straight away for the intervals, didn't play ball for the 5k, took PM5 batteries out and reset but no luck. Downloaded Ergdata, linked no issues.