Motivation on the erg

[ShortAndStout]

25M 190lb 2k: 7:43, HR 45-195

Been in an interesting predicament lately. I started in April of this year and am about 100k away from hitting 1M meters and have been enjoying my time immensely. A vast majority (>99%) of that distance has been UT2 steady state, I usually do around 13.5K for 1hour (so around 2:18).

I haven't improved a whole lot in that time honestly, though I'm told it's because I'm not doing any hard workouts (the 20% of the 80/20 rule) which makes sense. At some point in the last week I seem to have really internalized this and I guess have been thinking, why even wake up to erg if it's not going to be useful at all. I guess I could stop my SS work and focus on AT workouts for a month and see how that goes? Maybe it would improve my motivation because my SS would improve a lot.

The long SS pieces are nice for me because I like to see big number go up on my concept2 log (thats really it lol) and long form cardio has historically been quite hard for me (see: running) so in my mind it was always very useful. If I had been running that same distance, I would be very proud of myself, because running feels 10x harder normally and I probably wouldn't be in this same predicament.

I don't know what advice I'm looking for, just thought I'd put it into words. Hope yall are having a good training sesh.

[jcross485]

First, congrats on hopping on the erg to start with! And second, big congrats for establishing consistency to get close to (and soon surpass) 1 million meters!!

I do think some higher intensity work would benefit steady state and vice versa - they go hand in hand. While I am a bit guilty of not doing as much intensity work as I probably should (one session every week or two), I can 100% attest to the fact that a day or two after a bit more intensity, my steady state metrics are improved (a bit higher power / faster pace, lower HR). Generally speaking, adding in intensity will help me to clean up form, technique, and efficiency of the stroke.

Instead of taking an entire month and doing AT workouts, what about adding in one slightly more intense session per week first to see how that goes? You will be getting your normal steady state sessions to see meters in the logbook increase and, during your intense sessions, you are still able to get in some meters if set up right.

Think of something like this:

3000m warm up
8 x 500m (2:00 rest)
3000m cool down

Based on your paces, you should be able to get something like this done (10k total; 4k of intensity) in an hour, give or take, while still getting a good amount of volume.

[JaapvanE]

I started in April of this year and am about 100k away from hitting 1M meters and have been enjoying my time immensely. A vast majority (>99%) of that distance has been UT2 steady state, I usually do around 13.5K for 1hour (so around 2:18).

So, why change a winning combination? Loving the process is priority no 1.

If you are not the all-out type, why force yourself to do it. Another way to grow is doing more meters per training, or more training sessions per week. Or slowly switch from 2:18 to 2:17.

But when going on the Erg becomes a task, the training isn't yours. It signals a misfit. In high performance training, the feeling you have is a very strong signal that the training regime is wrong for the athlete, and that the trainer has to be more creative.

[Dangerscouse]

Congratulations one million metres is a big milestone and to have done it in five months is a great result.

As an addition to Jcross's advice, maybe you should gradually increase the pace on some sessions? This is generally referred to as 'grey zone' ie not fast enough but also not slow enough, but I find it really useful.

Broadly speaking, I'd recommend something like 30 mins at 2:18 pace, rest two or three minutes then row 15-20 mins at 2:10 pace and a higher stroke rate. This could also be 2 x 20 mins at a bit of faster pace. Please note, there's no scientific basis of 2:10 pace, so it might be more or less than this, but you want something that either is circa 85% of HR max or it just feels like it's circa 85% effort.

This will gently ease you into what to expect rather than diving headfirst into it and feeling notable reluctance to do it again. When you feel like this isn't an issue, or at least a manageable issue, then you can increase the intensity.

Imo, a lot of the problem will be in your mind regarding harder sessions. They seem daunting, and now you've got so much previous experience of long and slow, short and sharp will be something that you'll naturally try to make excuses not to do.

I'm not naturally inclined to do short and sharp sessions, so I'm talking from experience, but when you see the results and get the endorphin rush afterwards, you'll probably see the benefits of regularly adding it in.

[Rowan McSheen]

I'm not naturally inclined to do short and sharp sessions ...

He says with a 2k time of 6:36

I guess how the OP wants to proceed depends on the objective. If to build a good cardiovascular system and burn calories, then lots of UT2 and/or UT1 is the way to go. Looks like he's already built it if he's spending an hour each time.

There's no mention of stroke rate but I assume it's 18-20 spm for UT2.

I'd say look around at the various training plans on offer, all of which with varying degrees of prescriptiveness will consist of plenty of distance work plus a smattering of medium- (1500-2000m) and short-distance (500-1000) workouts at higher stroke rates. Pete Plan, Beginners Pete Plan, Rowalong are all good. These aren't written in stone and can be adapted to suit yourself. They're mostly designed to improve the 2k time, which serious ergers live and die by, but if like me you're not bothered about that you can simply use them for added variety and interest. Or if you want to focus on going longer and further, there's the Fletcher marathon plan. Same goes for running programmes: mostly easy plodding but with some sharper stuff in the mix.

But if you're happy doing what you're doing, carry on ... All metres are good metres in my book. We tend to stick with the schedules that we enjoy. My objective is to top 1m metres each year plus enough to make up some ground to hit 20m by 20 years of erging (2027) after falling short of 15m last year!

[Dangerscouse]

I'm not naturally inclined to do short and sharp sessions ...

He says with a 2k time of 6:36

Hahaha, fair point, but I naturally don't focus on the 2k, and I only ever do anything less when I have to (challenge or competition etc), unless it's an intervals session.

[edward.jamer]

... I don't know what advice I'm looking for, just thought I'd put it into words. Hope yall are having a good training sesh.

Rowing should be fun. It sounds like you are halfway there - enjoying the long stead state sessions - but feel disappointed that you aren't seeing performance gains? Well, without changing your training, you won't really see changes in results.

If improvement is your goal, I'd suggest swapping in a couple of short sessions a week. Instead of big distances each time, try one 2 km row on the weekend, and one interval session mixed in where you do short and sharp distances. In many ways, those shorter sessions may not be as enjoyable for you as the relaxing steady state rows... but try it for a month and see how your times look afterwards. Then decide if you care more about trying to work harder and improve time results, or just enjoy the zen feeling of longer rows and big numbers.



Unrelated to the actual performance, some of this search for motivation is just a mental block. You've done an incredible job putting up so many meters in such a short time - way to go! But without some variance in your goals, it's natural to question: "why bother?" Don't let your mind play tricks on you, though.

When talking to friend once, he felt that the rowing I did was really impressive. I replied that rowing isn't really hard and that anyone could do it, so it's not such a big deal. His response stuck with me though: the reason it's actually impressive is because we actively choose to do it. Anyone can, we do. Even in the times when we don't really feel like it. So I'd suggest sticking with your rowing, even if you feel a bit down in the moment, and set some different goals to help avoid mental fatigue. Keep working, even if it feels pointless in the moment. You're accomplishing something that very few are able to.

And if that fails, remember that you really need to keep going until at least December to get that sweet challenge reward pin from completing at least 200 km in the month...
(Do it for yourself. Or do it for the swag. Just do it.)