Concept2 Forum

Hey folks,
Male 22, 142 lb (working on getting bigger), 5'11" tall; me and another buddy have been putting in practices in the evening (2 x 30' SS) in addition to morning team practices which are usually AT workouts. The evening SS sessions have been going on since early September. About a month ago, i scored a 1:56 flat average on a 6k, but today we had a 3x20' workout (each piece was AT); the first one was @26-28 spm all out and i scored lower than my 6k than i did about a month ago (1:56.6 avg split). One thing that was lacking in me in particular was mental endurance; there were more than just a couple of splits where i hit post 2:05 (ie, just gave up). This was a bit crushing given that i had been putting in time in the evenings for SS, and was hoping my splits on the piece to be just a bit better. Perhaps some of you guys have encountered a lack of mental endurance as well and can give me some advice on what to do to figure this out. Any feedback is much appreciated

In the first place, much is missing from this scenario: athletic background, is this a college team or something akin, meters per week, etc.

The most overwhelming impression is this is way too much too quickly. You cannot simply will your way beyond physical capacity. The entire program needs to be rethought. AT rows are not "all out." Sounds like you need to follow a well thought out plan by a recognized rowing authority.

I apologize for lack of context; I'm on a collegiate rowing team, so the morning practices are administered by our head coach (has had prior experience). I began rowing beginning of spring (early January) for the team. I do not have an accurate measure of weekly meters, but i eyeball it to be around 60k a week. I will start documenting more meticulously. Let me know if I've missed anything else!

Is your diet and lifestyle good and you're resting enough? Try backing off a bit from the additional training and really focus on small improvements. Is there a paceboat on your monitor? Use that if there is. Take confidence from small gains and get comfortable with being uncomfortable. There is no alternative if you want to improve.

Would you say that you are naturally a pessimist? Mentally you need to be convincing yourself that you're going to succeed, whilst setting some realistic goals. Don't get downhearted by failures there is always something to learn from them. Everything is hard to start with, and with a little less pressure and stress you might be able to take one step back to take two steps forward.

Is your inner voice telling you to stop when you mentally give up? This is controllable with practice and you need to learn to stop it as soon as it starts as it will overwhelm you eventually . The pain isn't always unbearable and you will only improve by pushing past your comfort zone.

Try looking at sports motivational quotes and listening to speeches on YouTube. It might not be your thing but it can be a massively powerful tool for positive reinforcement. Trust me if the main issue is your thoughts it can be resolved easily enough it takes a bit of time and it helps if you're naturally an optimist. Personally I have got enough optimism for everyone so it comes very easily for me!!

When all you think about is stopping...stop thinking!!!

Does the coach know you're doing an extra 15K or so in the evenings? From afar, it seems your weekly meters are well beyond 60K. I doubt very seriously if you are deficient in mental endurance. How in the world would that even be measured? A dipstick? Because you are inexperienced, you are taking on more than you can do. Don't know whose fault it is. Get real. Make small gains.

You can’t get much better in terms of mental toughness than cyclingman. I’m on a different end of the spectrum! First of all, don’t sweat it - there are good days and bad. And the erg doesn’t let you be any better than you really are. Deal with it. The erg requires realistic expectations and incremental gains as the guys say. It’s a tool to get more fit. 3 x 20’ with the first one “all out” doesn’t sound like a great workout to me. 3 x 20’ UT 1 does though and even that is pretty long for legit UT1. How were you supposed to finish the 2nd and 3rd 20’ rep? And was the AT component HR driven or pace driven?

morning practices are administered by our head coach (has had prior experience)

Lucky you, he'll save you from your worse excesses no doubt and maybe even teach you to row or scull. How much time do you spend afloat and in what boats? What's your regatta schedule?

Mental toughness comes from mental focus. Long pieces will improve that. Like what Jim says, you can't will yourself past your physical abilities. The mental and the physical will improve together.

The only thing I would add is that you can't over-do the amount of training. If you continue to do the exact same 2x30' every night you might eventually begin to burn out mentally. Try changing up the distance/ intervals for you evening SS work. One day do 2x30, the next time try 4x15 or just 60' straight. Shake it up a bit to avoid getting stale.

I'd also add that breaking up the distance in your head might be helpful.

For whatever distance it is figure out 25% 50% 75% etc and mentally give yourself a slap on the back. I always mentally feel like it's a little bit easier when I pass 50% of the distance and this works for me for a 2k or a 75k session.

Knowing that you have got less to do than you have already done is slightly comforting to my mind.