another new guy who loves the Erg!

General discussion on Training. How to get better on your erg, how to use your erg to get better at another sport, or anything else about improving your abilities.
edinborogh
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another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by edinborogh » March 3rd, 2017, 9:10 am

hello all.
i have been rowing for the past 4 months, 4 times a week.
i am 40 years old, 172cm tall, 72Kg weight, lazy by nature, hate the gym... but fell in love with rowing. its such a difficult thing for me that i find great pleasure every time i accomplish a session.
i lost 11 Kg without any significant changes to my diet over the past 4 months!
i am a heavy smoker and i cannot row for more then 2k straight with a split time of 2:30...
i row at around 18spm, with heart rate of around 155-160 out of 180 max.

i want to start the pete plan but right at day one there is a 5k row... wow....
i am trying to do 5K daily for the Mud March challenge and i hope it will help me to do 5k without stopping...

are there any smokers out there? will i ever be able to row 30 minutes straight? 5K non stop? 10K? i dont mind my pace so much, but i want to keep 120 Watt minimum during my long('ish) sessions... i feel so "done" after a 2k row ( normally at around 9 - 10 minutes ) and it makes me fear the next 2k, or even the next 1.5k... so i normally do 2k, 1.5k,1k and from then as many 1k's that i can.
is there a difference between rowing 5K without stopping and 8K in smaller intervals with short ( relative that is.. ) pause in between sessions?

Chris_Pook_49
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by Chris_Pook_49 » March 3rd, 2017, 11:30 am

It will come. Just keep getting on it. I'm also fundamentally idle. I have found that the key for me is to not flog my self so hard that I dread going back. Just take it easy. If you take it easy you will be amazed at what you will be able to achieve over time. You will be able to row 30 minutes straight. I'm an occasional smoker. Like occasionally I will smoke 20 a day for a few months, then stop. Right now I'm stopped. The rowing is soooo much easier when I stop. You know that if you stop this is going to be so much easier right? You don't need me to tell you that. But even with smoking, you will get there. Just take it easy. 40. Smoker. Cardio... don't over do it... Good luck!!
M50 102kg, lard arse. Targets: Sub 18min 5k, sub 1:30 22k, sub 90kg
http://www.chrispookphotography.co.uk/

edinborogh
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by edinborogh » March 3rd, 2017, 12:29 pm

thank you for the support.
40, lazy, heavy smoker and erging hard - yeah.. maybe not an optimal combination.
i guess that my 2017 goal should be quit smoking ( blasphemy!! ), and make it slowly to 10k non stop.

thanks again!

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Anth_F
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by Anth_F » March 3rd, 2017, 1:09 pm

Welcome!! i would highly suggest you try your best to quit smoking if possible. It's really always going to hinder any attempt of decent performance on the erg.

You love rowing which is a great start, and may that long continue. The BPP could definitely be something for you in the future so always consider the options. Aint no bad thing if you don't however, and just do your own thing like i do.

Best of luck with everything.
46 yo male 5'10 88kg (Rowing since june 9th 2016) PB's 5k 19:22 30min 7518m

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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by G-dub » March 3rd, 2017, 1:11 pm

edinborogh wrote:thank you for the support.
i guess that my 2017 goal should be quit smoking ( blasphemy!! ), and make it slowly to 10k non stop
This seems like an awesome and worthy goal for 2017!
Glenn Walters: 5'-8" X 192 lbs. Bday 01/09/1962
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Rowan McSheen
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by Rowan McSheen » March 3rd, 2017, 1:21 pm

Another on-off smoker here ...

I too started out thinking that anything beyond 2000m was superhuman. But it isn't, you just need to keep plugging away gradually. And slowly, to build a decent cardio base. The Beginners Pete Plan is a good place to start but if you're not ready, you could keep going as you are but make one of your four workouts a week a little longer. Maybe make another one a bit shorter but quicker. Splitting the longer rows with 2-minute breathers is fine. Then aim to shorten them. You'll get there. But the key is the longer, slower row.

Incidentally, if you kicked the smoking you'd probably save, ooh I dunno, £200 a month? Under half a year and you'll have saved enough to buy your own shiny new erg instead of using the beaten-up old wrecks in the gym :)
Stu 5' 9" 165 lb/75 kg (give or take a couple) born 1960

edinborogh
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by edinborogh » March 4th, 2017, 2:26 am

thank you all for the awesome encouragement!

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hjs
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by hjs » March 4th, 2017, 5:53 am

Nobrainer...

Do it for yourself, make the decision, you can!

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maestroak
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by maestroak » March 4th, 2017, 1:49 pm

Keep at the erg and see what happens with the smoking. One thing to think about on the smoking front is that you really don't like smoking, nobody does, your brain just tells itself you like smoking because it wants nicotine. Nicotine gum might help in conjunction with the erg because the incentive to smoke less or not at all while erging is very high. You will see a tremendous difference if you can stop and it won't take that much time to clear your lungs out considerably. The erg changed my entire existence from a health standpoint and if you stick with it, it will change yours too.

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44yo, 5'10", 180 lb.

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jackarabit
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by jackarabit » March 4th, 2017, 2:11 pm

46 yrs. a smoker. Quit 25 Aug. 12. Arterial stent 10 March 14. I was 66 yrs. old. Where are you on the spectrum of never too late, nearly too late, too late? Get your head out of your a$$ and quit, please!
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Rowan McSheen
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by Rowan McSheen » March 4th, 2017, 4:43 pm

Chris_Pook_49 wrote:It will come. Just keep getting on it. I'm also fundamentally idle. I have found that the key for me is to not flog my self so hard that I dread going back. Just take it easy. If you take it easy you will be amazed at what you will be able to achieve over time. You will be able to row 30 minutes straight. I'm an occasional smoker. Like occasionally I will smoke 20 a day for a few months, then stop. Right now I'm stopped. The rowing is soooo much easier when I stop. You know that if you stop this is going to be so much easier right? You don't need me to tell you that. But even with smoking, you will get there. Just take it easy. 40. Smoker. Cardio... don't over do it... Good luck!!
If you're in Baghdad, surely smoking is the least of the dangers you face? :D
Stu 5' 9" 165 lb/75 kg (give or take a couple) born 1960

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jackarabit
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by jackarabit » March 4th, 2017, 5:06 pm

Edinborogh writes:
. . . will i ever be able to row 30 minutes straight? 5K non stop? 10K? i dont mind my pace so much, but i want to keep 120 Watt minimum during my long('ish) sessions...
Watt average is a proxy for average pace and versavice. At 120W average, your pace will be 2:23/500m. You can think in power units or time per distance but the relationship, altho not a linear progression, is inherent. Water colors or oils--either will paint a picture.

2:30 pace is roughly 105W average. If that's currently achievable for 2k, aim to maintain that power/pace over longer times (20-30-40') or greater distance (4k-6k-8k). Aim to improve power/pace in shorter sessions (2-5k). Don't burn youself up trying to hammer on a fixed wattage. Power and pace will improve with increased respiratory efficiency and cardio-pulmonary adaptation.
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jackarabit
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by jackarabit » March 4th, 2017, 6:29 pm

The March Mudness would force feed you some meters. Race ya! Just kidding. Remember you have six rest days built in to the month by the 25 day completion requirement. Be sure you take them. I believe the optimum spacing is every sixth day and one left over so 5 days on, one off. Work, family, illness, and the unforeseen may make this impossible but do what you can when you can.

I'll be going for 10k per day for 31 days. Did 10k+ per day for 31 last yr. and 10k+ for 27 days in 2015. But I quit smoking before you will. :idea: So Mud Season and then Pete Beginner Plan as mentioned. No worries, you'll blow right past me by any measure in a few months.
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Chris_Pook_49
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by Chris_Pook_49 » March 5th, 2017, 4:14 am

Rowan McSheen wrote:If you're in Baghdad, surely smoking is the least of the dangers you face? :D
I did rather ask myself that on the 3rd of July last year, a bad day in Baghdad, but then smoking does not just shorten your life, it can make what life you have crappy.

I know you were only joking, but for the OP, I've taken about 15 minutes off my 22k erg timings... I started doing 22k's a day (bit of a challenge) last September. My first day it was 1hr 50+. Got it down to sub 1hr 34 after about 4 weeks of rowing every day. I was smoking 20 a day at the time. End of October I broke my collar bone, and did no exercise November, December or January. So a full re-set really on CV. Started exercising lightly beginning of Feb. Couple of 2ks. Couple of 5ks. Couple of 10ks. HM. 22k. My first 22k was 1hr 38. I put the reason for this much faster initial effort down to having stopped smoking at the beginning of January. Champix. In 30 years of hard core smoking, the only think that has got me stopped and staying stopped is Champix. It does make you feel crappy for a bit. But so does chemo.

Anyway, this is absolutely not an anti-smoking post. I love smoking. But I also love being able to run, and not waking up in the morning wanting a cigarette. And not having chest pain during exercise. lol. (Chest pain and exercise is Gods way of telling you that you are being an idiot).
M50 102kg, lard arse. Targets: Sub 18min 5k, sub 1:30 22k, sub 90kg
http://www.chrispookphotography.co.uk/

edinborogh
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Re: another new guy who loves the Erg!

Post by edinborogh » March 5th, 2017, 9:28 am

jackarabit wrote:The March Mudness would force feed you some meters. Race ya! Just kidding. Remember you have six rest days built in to the month by the 25 day completion requirement. Be sure you take them. I believe the optimum spacing is every sixth day and one left over so 5 days on, one off. Work, family, illness, and the unforeseen may make this impossible but do what you can when you can.

I'll be going for 10k per day for 31 days. Did 10k+ per day for 31 last yr. and 10k+ for 27 days in 2015. But I quit smoking before you will. :idea: So Mud Season and then Pete Beginner Plan as mentioned. No worries, you'll blow right past me by any measure in a few months.


i am now at the 4th out of 5 days ( meaning i had one day off ), but i compensated today with a 10K row. i lost 2Kg just over the last week.

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