When to have a break in training ?

[gilles13006]

Hi,

Since i got my rowerg (5 may 21) i am at 23,996m average per week. I never stoped rowing since i got it, i mean, maximum 1 or 2 days off per week. Some weeks are 100% days training.

I began very low, like 7-10km/W, now i am at 40km approximately.

https://log.concept2.com/profile/1470436

This week i am beginning to feel a little low in my perf, instead of last 2 months when i felt very high growing performances.

Maybe it’s the time for a little rest? Maybe a scheme like 4w hard / 1w rest per month is better? How much my muscles fibers have to rest to improve my perf at best?

Ty for your consideration

[Carl Watts]

Going by your LogBook your all over the place with up to 4 rows a day.

Try something more structured with 1 to 2 trainings rows per day.

I try to train 5 days straight max and then take the whole weekend off to recover. Total weekly distance of late is 50Km which is more than usual, just trying to get my daily average back tp 5000m a day.

Listen to your body, if your tired or going backwards, you need a break. Sleep quality has a massive impact for me so one week is never really the same as the next.

[Joebasscat]

I got my rower in Jan 2020. Shortly thereafter I started a 26 week plan to improve my 2k result. After satisfying myself that I had hit a reasonable time for this 62 yr old lightweight, the obvious question was, What now? I couldn’t just keep thrashing myself 6 days a week. So after some research I settled in on 4 days of long slow steady at roughly 70% max HR and 2 days of intervals. Seems to be working and something I can maintain. My LSS work has evolved into 75 minute sessions with one 90 minute session on the weekend. That’s 100k roughly per week for me and likely not everyone’s cup of tea. At some point I may need to scale that back, but for now it’s ok.

Point being you will likely have to settle into something manageable to row for the long haul. The LSS work is highly recommended to be in the mix.

[wpuk]

Maybe it’s the time for a little rest? Maybe a scheme like 4w hard / 1w rest per month is better? How much my muscles fibers have to rest to improve my perf at best?

In the long term that's the opposite to what you should be aiming for.

https://www.howardluksmd.com/sports-med ... ss-injury/

[max_ratcliffe]

Maybe it’s the time for a little rest? Maybe a scheme like 4w hard / 1w rest per month is better? How much my muscles fibers have to rest to improve my perf at best?

In the long term that's the opposite to what you should be aiming for.

https://www.howardluksmd.com/sports-med ... ss-injury/

Good article about the type of training and gives a good indication of how it should be structured in any given week. But I think the op is asking more about a deload week every month.

A plan of largely ut2 (60-70k per week, say) for four weeks and then a week of say 20-30k could be quite sustainable. Of course if the steady state work is done at the right intensity then it could be done every week without the need for a deload but that can be taxing mentally as it gets a bit relentless.

[wpuk]

His logs that have HR with them infer that he's doing all his training in zone 4? Admittedly it only shows the training he doing on the rowerg

I'd be concerned he runs the risk of plateauing (almost constantly?) and slowing down long term gains. As well as being prone to injury.

[gilles13006]

Thank’s a lot for your feedback.

I have quite a good physic condition (in the world of « average » people) and always practiced « ludique » sports like MTB, handball, etc, but this is the first time i am getting seriously into a sport, i.e. thinking about performance, health effect, etc.

So i don’t have any knowledges on how to take care of my body while doing sport. And because rowing brings me to limits (which i want to expand) i know this is important to be careful with the injuries aspects. So thank you for all these precious informations.

My HRM is 190 i think.
Is something like training plan like that would work for me?

WEEK 1 TO 4
3 days on 10km or 30min with 150 bpm
2 days on 500m/1min rest or 2k with 175 bpm

WEEK 5 (deload week)
3 days on 5 km with 135 bpm and that’s it

I understand i am working at too high HR, so maybe i have to limit myself to 175bpm for intense trainings.

Have a nice day

[max_ratcliffe]

<>

My HRM is 190 i think.
Is something like training plan like that would work for me?

WEEK 1 TO 4
3 days on 10km or 30min with 150 bpm
2 days on 500m/1min rest or 2k with 175 bpm

WEEK 5 (deload week)
3 days on 5 km with 135 bpm and that’s it

I understand i am working at too high HR, so maybe i have to limit myself to 175bpm for intense trainings.

Have a nice day

This is starting to look more sustainable in my opinion. As your fitness improves, you may want to go longer with your steady pieces, but 10k probably is far enough for now.

I suggest you set your HR caps based on Heart Rate Reserve rather than max HR. For example, if your resting HR is 60, then your HRR is 190-60=130. Then a 60% cap would be 60+0.6*(130)=138bpm, a 70% cap would be 151bpm and so on (this is very close to your estimate of 150, so perhaps that is a good cap to use).

For intervals, I suggest you look at the Pete Plan (https://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/the-pete-plan/) or his beginner plan. Generally I wouldn't worry too much about your HR for the fast pieces unless you have a medical condition that means you need to monitor it. Provided you are getting enough slow work and recovery in, then you can really push it on the faster pieces. But that said, don't go at 100% to start with - you probably won't hurt yourself, but it'll be difficult to make progress.