New Personal Best! Brag About That New Pb!

[Galeere]

Welcome adkerg/Mike and congrats to your nice PB on the 2k.
Congrats again Damien to your 1h-piece, very nice pacing indeed.

[left coaster]

It would seem I'm a 'budding' sprinter.

500m 1:32.6 and 100m 16.3 today. I did a few attempts at 100m, and some other mixed sprints, before taking about 20 minutes and trying the 500. methinks it might be possible to beat that time, but not for at least a week or more.

Both times are around the 80th percentile on the word rankings -- I'm happy with that for 2 months of somewhat inconsistent erg training.

[Carl Watts]

It would seem I'm a 'budding' sprinter.

500m 1:32.6 and 100m 16.3 today. I did a few attempts at 100m, and some other mixed sprints, before taking about 20 minutes and trying the 500. methinks it might be possible to beat that time, but not for at least a week or more.

Both times are around the 80th percentile on the word rankings -- I'm happy with that for 2 months of somewhat inconsistent erg training.

Yes but you have exactly the same problem as I did when I started rowing years ago, my distance rows REALLY SUCKED due to poor cardio ability.

The 500m or less is just a raw power row and unfortunately doesn't mean a lot to anyone other than at the Gym.

Improvement is really about trying to maintain that sort of power for longer periods, thats the really hard part.

[left coaster]

It would seem I'm a 'budding' sprinter.

500m 1:32.6 and 100m 16.3 today. I did a few attempts at 100m, and some other mixed sprints, before taking about 20 minutes and trying the 500. methinks it might be possible to beat that time, but not for at least a week or more.

Both times are around the 80th percentile on the word rankings -- I'm happy with that for 2 months of somewhat inconsistent erg training.

Yes but you have exactly the same problem as I did when I started rowing years ago, my distance rows REALLY SUCKED due to poor cardio ability.

The 500m or less is just a raw power row and unfortunately doesn't mean a lot to anyone other than at the Gym.

Improvement is really about trying to maintain that sort of power for longer periods, thats the really hard part.

Chuckle.... thanks for the 'encouragement' Carl 1:32.6 is definitely not a problem, I'm happy with the power for now.

[Carl Watts]

Sorry if I caused any offence, just an observation, we all had to start somewhere.

From memory my first decent 500m was 1:38 pace but only 20 minutes at 1:55 pace 28spm had me falling off the erg at the finish and lying on the floor in the recovery position in a pool of sweat. Things have definitely improved since then and the aim now is simply to keep the fitness up at a high level for as long as possible.

[G-dub]

Nice job Lefty. Posting anything decent is the first step! Keep it going.

[left coaster]

Thanks Fella's,

Carl, from what you wrote, it looks like you've been doing something that entered my mind last night as a good idea. That is, picking a fast pace and holding it. I've been thinking about using this for a type of interval training, but going out much harder than 1:55, more like 1:38, and doing intervals at that pace until I 'just' start to fade, which would be having the pace drop beyond 1:39.5 at which point I would stop.

I realize all the benefits of long endurance work, and I do my share, but I'm not an endurance athlete by nature. I've done genetics testing and I'm a full sprinter, which is also my body type even though I've never trained sprinting. It was always martial arts (kickboxing) and weights when I was younger. I'd run 10k regularly, but only to build endurance for my other goals, not as a goal itself. Fighters train for 2-3 minute rounds, and MMA now trains for 5, my point being that I always trained to go flat out for short periods of time.

Rather than 'working down' from longer distances, it seems I should 'work up' from shorter, power based distances. I should be able to hold 1:38 for 750 meters and then work that distance up towards 2K over time. The key being holding form and pace and shutting it down just as I start to fall apart, waiting for my heart to recover under 100bpm, then going again for multiple 'pace intervals'. Obviously they would get a bit shorter each time. Has anyone done this?

[Galeere]

Congrats left coaster on your short-track PBs. There are people who go @ a certain pace and try to lengthen that when they can (intervals or just go longer). But thats for aerobic distances 5k and above. You can´t get around a solid aerobic base which means plenty meters at slower speeds.

[hjs]

Thanks Fella's,

Carl, from what you wrote, it looks like you've been doing something that entered my mind last night as a good idea. That is, picking a fast pace and holding it. I've been thinking about using this for a type of interval training, but going out much harder than 1:55, more like 1:38, and doing intervals at that pace until I 'just' start to fade, which would be having the pace drop beyond 1:39.5 at which point I would stop.

I realize all the benefits of long endurance work, and I do my share, but I'm not an endurance athlete by nature. I've done genetics testing and I'm a full sprinter, which is also my body type even though I've never trained sprinting. It was always martial arts (kickboxing) and weights when I was younger. I'd run 10k regularly, but only to build endurance for my other goals, not as a goal itself. Fighters train for 2-3 minute rounds, and MMA now trains for 5, my point being that I always trained to go flat out for short periods of time.

Rather than 'working down' from longer distances, it seems I should 'work up' from shorter, power based distances. I should be able to hold 1:38 for 750 meters and then work that distance up towards 2K over time. The key being holding form and pace and shutting it down just as I start to fall apart, waiting for my heart to recover under 100bpm, then going again for multiple 'pace intervals'. Obviously they would get a bit shorter each time. Has anyone done this?

Nothing wrong with that method, but it won,t change the fact you are a sprinter, if you want to improve you aerobic fitness, short fast work won,t help, you mostly train you anaerobic system and this is relatively easy to train, in 6 weeks orso you will reach your max and stop improving. For longer lasting improvement you can,t get around doing longer slower work with a strong stroke.
For sprinting, the other side, short very fast work, heavy weights are needed. The inbetween is a bit nomans land.

Short work is btw a lot more difficult in my eyes. Takes more technique, more risk of injury. Endurance is simply putting in the right meters.

There is nothing wrong with the short dtuff, sub 1.30 and sub 16 look nearby. The 100 being relative much stronger still.

[left coaster]

So a 'pace interval' rate of 1:45 then, pushing more into the intermediate endurance zone -- the place where things really suck Combined with the ongoing distance work of course!

Thanks for the feedback!

[hjs]

So a 'pace interval' rate of 1:45 then, pushing more into the intermediate endurance zone -- the place where things really suck Combined with the ongoing distance work of course!

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes you Can use this approach on speeddays, but its not the right method for endurance work. Its training the anaerobic fitness. Do it for a while untill you start to stall.

[left coaster]

Yup, I'm on board. Today was a steady 10K, recovery with low sr and strong pulls. I'm doing at least 3 stand-alone steady distance sessions each week, have been since I started.

I need to work somewhere that I see gains and the reward and motivation that comes with it. I'm improving on my shorter times but distance is still a chore with very little movement. Like I said, I think it will need to be a 'bottom up' approach for me, I don't think distance will ever be a strength.

[RBFC]

As a martial artist for over 50 years, I'd recommend 1000m interval repeats as a bridge to longer stuff. You'll still see the speed aspect, which we both love, but also touch on the aerobic requirements. Although it's not true distance rowing, it's a way to understand how the steady-state, longer rows at 20spm, etc. can build your engine. Understandably, neither of us wish to sacrifice the all-out power bursts that are necessary for fighting. I don't think you'll see me in the 5K+ rankings anytime soon. You can find me in the 100m and 1 minute rankings though (age 59 HWT men).

In effect, it's unwise to tell Usain Bolt that he has to run more marathons to become a better sprinter. Remember, it's important to train for the event in which you actually intend to participate. You are posting in a rowing forum, and that is the main focus for a great majority of the members, thus their emphasis on routines that improve one's ability to row at the competitive distances. Many of these guys are great athletes, and have placed the same focus on their "event" that you have on yours. Glean the information, believe the majority consensus, and adapt the recommendations to your goals with respect to rowing.

My two cents'

Lee

[hjs]

As a martial artist for over 50 years, I'd recommend 1000m interval repeats as a bridge to longer stuff. You'll still see the speed aspect, which we both love, but also touch on the aerobic requirements. Although it's not true distance rowing, it's a way to understand how the steady-state, longer rows at 20spm, etc. can build your engine. Understandably, neither of us wish to sacrifice the all-out power bursts that are necessary for fighting. I don't think you'll see me in the 5K+ rankings anytime soon. You can find me in the 100m and 1 minute rankings though (age 59 HWT men).

In effect, it's unwise to tell Usain Bolt that he has to run more marathons to become a better sprinter. Remember, it's important to train for the event in which you actually intend to participate. You are posting in a rowing forum, and that is the main focus for a great majority of the members, thus their emphasis on routines that improve one's ability to row at the competitive distances. Many of these guys are great athletes, and have placed the same focus on their "event" that you have on yours. Glean the information, believe the majority consensus, and adapt the recommendations to your goals with respect to rowing.

My two cents'

Lee

Very true, but be clear about your goals. If the short sprints are you main focus, aerobic fitness is less important, for 2k and up is absolutely is.

[left coaster]

Some great feedback!
I want to row 2K in under 7 minutes and to build my V02 max to the highest levels I can while I'm young enough to do it. I like the idea of 'pace intervals', they feel familiar and the erg is really the only place I know of where I can have such tight control over my output. It's like a little numbers game with the monitor, very cool.

As I've mentioned before, I was out of commission for years after a string of injuries, the last one being a partially herniated disc in my neck (not martial arts related, I think I did it off road on a motor bike but it didn't some on suddenly, rather over the course of a couple weeks). That injury temporarily paralyzed a tract of muscles in my left arm, shoulder and upper back, rebuilding power and stability has taken years. I want the power back for many obvious reasons, I'll be back at the gym in the new year! The VO2 goal is because I study cognitive aging/neurosciences and understand that V02 max correlates very strongly with grey and white matter integrity in old age -- the more I build now, the longer I'll live (and still think clearly), plain and simple.

But what I really want is to rip and tear it up again, get back surfing, mountain biking and living!