Concept2 Forum

Hello! I am a 53-yr-old female (5'6", 140lbs) who would very much like to improve my 2k and 5k erg times. Right now, I am lifting 3x/week (Tue/Thurs/Sat) and am rowing on the water 2x/week (Wed/Fri). Besides lifting on Saturdays, I also do a cardio session either on the erg or Peloton.
Sundays are rest days. That therefore leaves only Mondays to fully devote to the erg. I would very much like to tryout for the Masters Comp Team in June/July and have been in touch with the coach as to how to prepare for this. Given that I can only erg primarily on Mondays, his recommendation is to do a mix of 30-40’ of steady state, 10-15’ of Anaerobic threshold pieces, and 5-10’ of high intensity interval training pieces so that I can hit all three basic training zones during the workout. Can anyone here recommend an erg workout that encompasses this that I can do weekly? Would love to get a few suggestions so that I can mix it up a little. Thank you in advance!

If you need a very short term pop to hit a split to get a seat in a boat than your current plan is not bad. You can work it for 4-6 weeks and see a very nice performance bump. But your current approach may not be sustainable or the best long term approach.

Currently you are "lifting 3x/week (Tue/Thurs/Sat) and am rowing on the water 2x/week (Wed/Fri)" giving you 5 hard workouts a week. You are looking to add a 6th workout that includes " a mix of 30-40’ of steady state, 10-15’ of Anaerobic threshold pieces, and 5-10’ of high intensity interval training pieces." for 6 hard days a week.

If you follow the polarized/pyramid approach you'd make the following changes to your training plan to make it long term sustainable.

1.Combine OTW and Lifting so that you do these hard sessions on the same day. That gives you rowing and lifting on Wed and Friday.

2.Do long workouts at low intensity on 3 other days. Say 45 to 90 minutes of long/slow rowing or cycling or running where you are working out at low enough intensity to carry on a conversation.

3.Add one final hard workout that incorporates whatever mix of Anaerobic threshold pieces and high intensity interval training pieces you enjoy. Since Wed and Fri are hard days, this new workout should be on Sunday or Monday so you have a rest day or a long/slow workout day before and after each hard workout.

4. Keep your weekly rest day.

5. Monitor yourself for overreach/overtraining and if necessary adjust your work level. Especially do this if you keep your current schedule and push through 6 hard days/week. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/7-si ... our-health https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/ ... ertraining

Here's the theory behind polarized/threshold training. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MALsI0mJ09I

Here's the reason why some people think 5 to 6 hard sessions a week gets counterproductive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0n-nnRbFBs

If you have one of the sport watches that builds training guidance (e.g. Garmin 265) then you'd likely see "overreach" warnings or "72 hour recovery time" or "unproductive" if you continue your current plan.

RCgirl wrote: ↑

March 31st, 2025, 1:41 pm

Given that I can only erg primarily on Mondays, his recommendation is to do a mix of 30-40’ of steady state, 10-15’ of Anaerobic threshold pieces, and 5-10’ of high intensity interval training pieces so that I can hit all three basic training zones during the workout.

After a good warmup (30 minutes) I suggest a 5K time trial or a 2K time trial. I would alternate the two from week to week. A 5k time trial is performed at a pace significantly higher than anaerobic threshold pace so you push VO2 max at the same time.
The warmup is a workout in itself, see Eric Murray's channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9ihQLfOKt0&t=2111s.
This concludes with a 2x4min piece at anaerobic threshold pace (or slightly faster), then 10-15 min break.

You get the steady state from on the water rowing. In case you do no know this Eric Murray is a legend of the sport.