Concept2 Forum

As of right now i am 15, 133 pounds, 5 11', and my 2k is 7:44. i am trying to lower my time because i believe it isn't good enough and i'd like to know how. I am also questioning myself about how much weight i should gain like what range. do you think weight lifting will help bring my time down and how long does it take an average 15 year old to get to around the 155 weight range. Thank you in advance for your advice

Hi Juniorrows,

before doing weights you should really figure out whether you are still growing a lot. I know that many do weights anyway, but they aren't doing their joints a favor. This is at least what my coaches told me in my active days. I started doing weights with 17 and was progressing very fast. Having a good coach is very important when doing weights. Just like rowing it looks simple but it isn't. Unlike rowing you can really damage your body.

I wouldn't worry about gaining weight anyway. With a proper diet and lot of rowing that will happen by itself. Just be patient!

Cheers,
SB

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/body-building/hardgainer-faq/

But note:

5.3.1 Especially for Young Lifters
----------------------------------
The key question here is when should teenagers begin to lift?

The authors have no medical qualifications, but from reading
we have uncovered the following general advice:

Before 12 years of age, general cardiovascular work is the
most kids should be asked to do e.g. running, playing, jumping etc.
Lifting weights should be avoided, but use of bodyweight resistance
in pushups (with feet/knees on ground), assisted chin-ups, and
no-weight squats can be useful in building some strength.

For 12-16 year olds, some weightlifting with dumbbells and light
barbells can increase strength and muscle mass. Emphasis should NOT
be on the weight being lifted, but on form, with high reps.
Working out to failure may NOT be a good idea. A 30:70 ratio
of weights and cardio work is advisable.

For 16-18 year olds, more weight can be added and built upon.
A 50-50 mix of weights and cardio is about right.

There is a book titled "Mass Made Simple" by Dan John. It should solve all your problems.

You are 15 and still growing. You will put on weight in the coming years. IF you add 20 lbs of muscle in the next year, you may not be able to make lightweight in your senior year or in college. I would not worry about what you weigh and certainly would not intentionally put on mass. Weight training is good and getting strong is good but don't follow a body builders program. Muscle mass for muscle mass sake is not going to do you any good.

Also realize a 7:44 for a 133 lb person is like a 7:28 for a 155 lbs person--your coach should know that. You have plenty of time to get fast. BTW, I started rowing in college at 133 and in senior year was 139. Never lost a seat race and always made the lwt boat (didn't have C2 ergs back then so I don't know what my score would have been, but on the big contraptions we had I was above average--weighted score I was the best).

As stated, you are still developing and will put on more muscle mass as you approach your 20s. But that does not mean that you can't get stronger. Most of the development you'll see from lifting is neural - meaning the nerves that activate your muscles will work faster or activate more muscle fibers at one time. One sad misconception with younger lifters is that they will see gains in size - that takes a lot of time and hormones at levels that most youth cannot produce.

The idea of lifting light does very little for your strength development. Find a coach that knows lifting form and get a good idea of the maximum weight you can do for three repetitions. The spotting and technical help he/she can provide is critical. Once you get that 3RM (three repetition max), you can start doing lifts at weights slightly below that, to the point that you always feel like you have one more repetition in the tank.

Beyond that, work on lifts that use multiple joint. Doing bicep curls will do nothing to help your rowing or your overall musculature. Learn to enjoy back squats, front squats, bench press, deadlifts, bent over rows, high pulls and maybe even hang cleans or power cleans if you have enough time to learn a lot about lifting. If you can commit 2-3 days/week to doing 4-6 lifts, 3-5 sets/lift, you will see significant gains in strength. Not necessarily size, but definitely strength.

TL,DR: Get someone knowledgeable to help you out, it's worth paying for a certified strength coach to teach you lifts; don't be afraid to lift heavy and take pride in the coordination/strength benefits, don't worry about getting big.

Another good book is, "Super Squats" by Dr. Randy Strossen.

Google Chris Hoy to see excellent form in the back squat. The best I've ever seen from someone
that was not an olympic lifter.

I believe that most people's 2K time would decrease if they could increase their squat with form
similar to Chris Hoys.

Forget Weightlifting, Rowing is not a strength sport, it is an endurance sport.

I was a weightlifter most of my life, I am now 56. In my Prime, I could Full Squat 450, Half Squat 700, Leg Press 1200, Deadlift 500 at a bodyweight of 175. All of that is garbage if the goal is to pull 210 strokes at 30SPM for 7 minutes in a 2000 meter race. A couple of years ago I got a copy of ErgMonitor and found that when pulling at a 1:45 pace the force applied to the handle was a little over 100 pounds this is hardly what I would call weight training.

Even if you are doing a 500 meter test, it is not strength that you need, but more endurance, at 40SPM you still need 50 plus strokes to finish. No weightlifting coach I ever heard of is going to recommend sets of 50 plus reps per set in training.

In the single year i rowed in college we never weight trained and while i was much stronger than my teammates, I could not keep up with them on an Erg and I was the first to be wasted in a race. (I only rowed one year because I transferred to a school that did not have a crew)

If you want to be a faster rower, then Row, Row, ROW and ROW some more.

Fred Dickie
500 - 1:29.8 1000 - 3:16.9 6000 - 23:17.1 All since Jan 1, 2012 My last real 2K was 2 years ago at 6:59.3

Weather one agrees or not Mike Caviston of the Wolverine Plan always has very intelligent things to say about training. For weights he says a little here: http://www.rowingillustrated.com/boards ... &sk=t&sd=a
Then go to SEALSWCC.com and see his writings there. I think you have to register but that is no big deal.
It takes a lot of wading but well worth it.

Less relavent for most of us but none the less very interesting is this lecture on strength training in tol level endurance athletes from the University of Coppenhagan:
http://www.ifi.ku.dk/english/communicat ... r_aagaard/

Completely disagree with what Dickie said.

Have you ever looked at a national team training plan? I have yet to come across a team that does not incorporate lifting into their training.

Gaining muscle is actually a lot simpler than it seems, just use a weight that you can lift for 8-12 reps that will make you exhausted at the end while maintaining good form. Next time you workout increase the weight, if you can't, keep doing 12 rep sets with that weight until you can lift a heavier weight with only 8 reps. The more you increase weight, the bigger you'll get. There are other techniques that'll you'll learn along the way to change it up like pre-exhaustion or drop sets, and exercise choice is really up to you.

Completely disagree with that too.

It is pretty well established that low rep ranges (1-4) are best for strength gains, mid rep ranges (4-8) are best for hypertrophy, and high rep ranges (8+) are best for endurance.

So if you want hypertrophy stick to 5-8 reps.

Also, building muscle isn't easy for everyone. Genetics is definitely heavily involved.

Nosmo wrote:
...
Also realize a 7:44 for a 133 lb person is like a 7:28 for a 155 lbs person--your coach should know that.
...

Out of topic question: Is there a conversion table for times vs. weight?