Training too much?

bscastro · Post by **bscastro** » April 3rd, 2007, 7:34 am

Greetings,

I have been rowing 3 days a week on the erg and I'm having the desire to increase my days (I just can't get enough). Is there a point where I should slow down to prevent injury or burnout, or should I just follow my gut and go for it. I'm not feeling like I'm overtraining.

I'm in okay shape, and I've been doing a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule.

For example, I'm scheduled to erg tomorrow, but I feel like doing it today as well. Should I just do it?

Thanks,
Bryan

corpsrower · Post by **corpsrower** » April 3rd, 2007, 7:38 am

I don't think you can row too much, but I don't have any proof to back up that statement. I know that I'm currently following the Pete Plan which has me rowing 6 times a week and I've heard of people rowing twice a day 5 or 6 times a week. All up to you I think.

bscastro · Post by **bscastro** » April 3rd, 2007, 8:01 am

Thanks!

I think I just needed some confirmation. I think I have to listen to my body and make sure I'm not over doing it. I'll go for a nice easy row today!

Bryan

Ray79 · Post by **Ray79** » April 3rd, 2007, 8:13 am

Bryan,

You can probably row every day i you want - even for several hours a a day if that takes your fancy (and you can put up with the sore rear end). But always be aware of the balance between distance and intensity.

Doing all out rowing every day will lead to injury, burnout, and lessen the enjoyment.

Corpsrower stated that many people train twice a day 5-6 days a week. This is of course true, but the intensity and duration of the work is tailored so as to allow adequate recovery between sessions.

What sessions are you currently doing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday?

You could easily bring in another 2 days by including a different type of session. If all you do are long steady rows, then a couple of interval sessions would not hurt - although again allow adequate time between these session for recovery. Dont do them on consecutive days. The same is true in reverse. If most of your training at the minute is high intensity, short work, then build up the distance on the additional days. Look for consistency in long sessions. There is more to be gained from a steady hour session than going out for 5 minutes at an unrealistic pace and then realising you went too fast and having to haul yourself on for another 55mins.

Nosmo · Post by **Nosmo** » April 3rd, 2007, 3:32 pm

I'll second Ray79's comments, but also add that you can go too hard during even if you never do intervals. Long rows can be too hard even if they are steady.

bscastro · Post by **bscastro** » April 4th, 2007, 8:56 am

Thanks for the input from everyone!

Here's what I'm doing/deciding to do:
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are my "main" erg days. Monday I do intervals, and Wednesdays and Friday I train longer at a decent pace. Every 2-3 weeks I do a 5000k test on Friday and I do 30 min. test every 2-3 weeks as well.

I figure the other days I will try to do some type of exercise, be it running, weight-lifting, or sports such as basketball. However, lately, as I mentioned in the original post, I have just chosen to erg. So on those days, I just go fairly easy (where I can chat with someone next to me fairly comfortably) and throw in some power strokes (10-20) every few minutes for fun. Also, because of work and family, I naturally take 1-2 days off from any exercise a week (other than chasing my 2-year-old around).

As I get in better shape and later this year, I want to increase my "training" days to 4-5/week and maybe look into one of the programs I've seen posted to train for a specific race in which case I will be looking forward to a higher volume of training. A goal would be to race in a 2k in early 2008.

Does this sound like a decent plan?

Bryan

Nosmo · Post by **Nosmo** » April 4th, 2007, 12:18 pm

bscastro wrote:Thanks for the input from everyone!

Does this sound like a decent plan?

Bryan

Sounds fine. Perhaps 2 tests every 2-3 weeks is a bit much (if I understand you correctly). Consider one test every other week: your 5K once a month and your 30 min once a month also. If it was me I would do something besides a 30 minute test because it is too close to a 5K. I would do 10K or 60min instead for a while and then after 4 months change it to a 2K. Or perhaps change both tests every 4 months or so.

Also I constantly modify my plans based. Feel free to tweak things as you go, but you have a reasonable start.

RogerR · Post by **RogerR** » April 6th, 2007, 12:14 am

There is no problem with rowing that much. I do 6-8 sessions a week (60-90k) depending on business commitments, etc. Since indoor rowing is my main sport I crosstrain with Pilates/Yoga to maintain/improve core strength and flexibility. i find this very effective for fitness and injury prevention.