Concept2 Forum

Hi Guys
The School rowing season in australia has just finished. It was my first season of rowing, and i loved it. My goal for next season is come september i want to pull a sub 6:50 2k ergo. 6:50 being a minimum. The school has given my a concept 2, D, for the off season.
I am presently 75.5kg. 177cm tall.
I am working on a day by day training program. But i want to get your thoughts on a few things. I will hopefull be doing 7 ergo sessions a week at a minimum, plus additional weights twice a week, focusing on rowing muscles.
So i wanted to get your imput on my training program:

4 sessions a week of aerobic stuff. (20 minute x2) (6k) (4k x3) - if there are any others please list.

2 sessions of interval workouts. So pryamid rows, and short intense ones.

Then one session a week of skills. So varing intestity and stroke rate over different distances.

Any suggestions hints, anythings help full.
Also if i added extra sessions what should i do in them?

Thanks
6:45 thats the dream

You could give this one a go.

The Pete Plan

But be warned it is tough, but it does get results and since you plan to be training quite a lot anyway it may work for you.

Most people suggest using the plan for 2-3 months before you want to do a fast 2km as it is almost too tough to keep up all year round.

If you do decide to use it, the paces are based on your current 2km so 6:50 - 1:42/500m pace

Hence
2k - 2/3 is 1:39-1:40
2k + 3/1 is 1:45 - 1:43
2k + 5 is 1:47
2k + 10 is 1:52
2k + 12 is 1:54
2k + 15 is 1:57

Best of luck

Your plan seems a little over the top but different things work for different people i guess, although there are a few faults.

Well, for starters there is a good chance that you won't improve at all rowing 7 ergo sessions a week as your body needs more time to rest when erging as apposed ot other sports and workouts. Rest is vital, many people enbark on huge workout plans and get nowhere because they don't rest enough. I suggest between 4 and 6 sessions a wekk should do it.

Cycling is also a very good replacment for an aerobic ergo session as at your proposed 7 sessions a week you will surely not be able to maintain motivation untill September. Also rest is the key. Your muscles will only grow once they have recovered

Weight training is a good idea but only on non ergo days. You should also look into correct lifting form and High resistance low rep lifting would also be the best if you choose to do weights. Heavy weights are good but bodyweight exercises such as squats, pushups, calf jumps, and crunches are good also if you're looking for a cheap alternative. (Personally i choose the boyweight stuff, an ideal bodyweight session would include, squats and the like, as well as sprints and other short fast anaerobic movements.)

Also threshold interval pieces will assist your 2k score far more than long 'flat' pieces, If you're interested i have a bunch of stuff i could email you detailing workouts and the such. Also, what school do you go to in Australia? I go to Scotch College so i spend an equal amount of time doing ergo's as i do rowing on the water.

Well, I better rap this up because this post is getting a little longer than a marathon and most people wouldn't be stuffed reading it, So in conclusion take my advice in mind but also experiment and see what works for you.

Happy Erging.

Presumably you don't want to peak in September since that is just the start of the season... and you are now in the transition phase, so first make sure you take at least 2 weeks to do anything except rowing, get out and swim/cycle/surf etc, take a rest, have some fun and relax...

What is your current 2K PB.

You are now starting 6 months of preparation period... so no point at all in doing the Pate Plan or similar at this point in the year...

For the next 3 months focus on Endurance, Strength, Technique and Flexibility, then the next 3 months continue with the endurance training, but have more emphasis on power rather than strength.

forget the interval training for the next 6 months and do lots of distance, UT2 and UT1 ergs 10k's 2x6k's 3x6k's, heavy weights 80-90% max 5-7 reps for first 3 months, then 70-75% max 10-12 reps for next 3 months in the weight sessions, make sure to work on core stability stuff (get a swiss ball and a book of core training) do it 15-20 mins every day.

If 6:45 is a dream then don't just aim for 6:50 by September, get the foundations right over the next 6 months and 6:45 will not be a dream it will be a breeze... once you put 6-8 weeks of pre comp training on top of the six months preparation you'll be flying... leave the intervals for September (maybe August/October, not sure when you start racing in Oz) and you'll make much better improvements and get better results next year...

You are young and will improve fast. But 6:50 is a very long way from 7:30. I agree with Andy about working on your foundation doing longer rows (with correct technique) 10k to an hour or farther for several months. But PaulS, a coach here I respect greatly, advocates hard middle distance rows like what you are planning (he says to do 8ks, progressively harder each day in a ladder each week), so that can work too if you are pushing yourself. Does your coach have a suggested training plan for you to work on?

To give you some perspective, to come even close to a 6:50 2k I would think you would need to be close to sub18 (1:48 pace) in the 5k, and sub38 (1:54 pace) in the 10k. How fast were you planning on doing your rows for training?

leper wrote:Weight training is a good idea but only on non ergo days.

Leper, why do you say this? I ask, because after several months of erging I've decided to add some weight training to my workout sessions. I usually erg 11k 3x per week. My question until reading your post had been would it be better to weight train before or after the erging.

Thanks So far guys.
I am doing 7 trainings over 6 days. Two on Monday. Rest day on sunday.
I think in the final month and a half before rowing i will use petes plan. Looks bloody tough but.
I will also try to incorporate core strength.
Thanks

Ed Howe wrote:

leper wrote:Weight training is a good idea but only on non ergo days.

Leper, why do you say this? I ask, because after several months of erging I've decided to add some weight training to my workout sessions. I usually erg 11k 3x per week. My question until reading your post had been would it be better to weight train before or after the erging.

Doing an 11000 meter ergo and a heavy weights session on the same day isn't good because it would render the weights session useless, Your body would require around 24 hours rest after an ergo that big to regain muscle glycogen levels which will help the muscles to recover and then to grow. By 'weights session' i mean a serious session as well, not just a 'look at me a can do 50 sets on the bench press and lift a dumbell onece or twice' type of session. Lifting the biggest heaviest weights and doing the longest hardest ergo won't get you anywhere unless you are smart in the way you approach it.