2k excellence?

[Elamonta]

Many collegiate LTWT guys make a goal of breaking 7:00 on their 2k tests. Many competitive LTWTs however are sub 6:40 even 6:30 avg on some teams. I was wondering if any lightweights out there have any strategies or "recollections" of how they managed to get their times down. Obviously one response would be to follow a plan like the Wolverine Plan etc, but I know there are athletes out there who are sub 6:40 LTWT and never followed an erg plan, and I was wondering what training you suggest.

On a side note, I have always felt that my erg times should be faster but it seems I have a mental block when it comes to erging faster. So in a sense I am interested because I want to be one of the top Florida lightweights come my senior year in college, and I could also help out the other lightweights at my school so that as a whole we get stronger...

Any tips/help would be greatly appreciated.

[becz]

I think one of the best things you can do is to workout with others who have similar goals. You can hammer away on your own as much as you want, but you'll improve much more quickly and consistently when you know someone will be looking at your times at the end of every piece.

[LateinEarlyOut]

1. Record all your workouts in a journal.

2. Work to improve your splits on every single workout...you will not always get faster but let bad days plan themselves, your goal is to get faster. Have 10-15 workouts that you repeat on a two to four week cycle to ensure you are improving.

3. Practice the speeds you want to go for your 2k...i.e. if you want to get to 6:42 this season than do lots of intervals around 1:40-1:41. Ex. 6x500m with 1min rest at 2k pace.

4. Train all year. Many people are willing to workout hard at practice but they don't workout in the off season...there is no off season. Only people who are getting faster and people who are getting slower.

5. To get better on the erg you need to workout on the erg. If you are not on the machine 4-6 times per week you are not making much of an effort to improve.

6. Set realistic goals and then achieve them. Before every workout you should have your goal splits written down in your journal, then compare at the end of the workout to see if you reached them. You should be achieving your goal splits 90% of the time. If you are failing to achieve your splits than maybe you are being to aggressive with your goals in the short run.

I rowed at a school like yours and although I was close to being a lwt I raced as a hwt. The key for people at Dad Vail schools is to workout in the off season...I dare say most kids on the DV level do not stay fit in the off season. My team beat quite a few crews who seemed as or more physically talented than us but it was clear they were just not in shape.

good luck

[Elamonta]

Thanks for the replies...LateInEarlyOut when/what college did you attend?

[kirbyt]

Try to indentify your weakness and then work on it. If you have lots of speed in the sprints and short intervals but your 10k time is relatively weak, then you should be doing long intervals like 4x2k 5min. rest @ 2kPB+5-7sec. The 2k is a kind of sprint/endurance hybrid so you need a balance of both of these in your training. And throw in a long row once a week: 10k up to 60 min. at a pace that is difficult to maintain, this will build stamina and toughness. Good Luck.

Kirby

[Elamonta]

Would it be fair/accurate to state that my weakness would be longer "endurance" rows...considering I can do a 500m sprint between 1:29 and 1:30 yet my 6k best is a tad under 1:55 avg? 2k best being a 1:43ish avg.

To me this would seem to be a weakness, or my strength is just short pieces lol.

[George Dunning]

Would it be fair/accurate to state that my weakness would be longer "endurance" rows...considering I can do a 500m sprint between 1:29 and 1:30 yet my 6k best is a tad under 1:55 avg? 2k best being a 1:43ish avg.

To me this would seem to be a weakness, or my strength is just short pieces lol.

You will gain more engaging in a training regime that focuses on your endurance than you will one that emphasizes your sprinting based on your comments above .... having said that a balance needs to be maintained and neglecting any aspect of your 'mix' will have a negative impact.

LateinEarlyOut - that is a very good post

george

[Jamie Pfeffer]

Would it be fair/accurate to state that my weakness would be longer "endurance" rows...considering I can do a 500m sprint between 1:29 and 1:30 yet my 6k best is a tad under 1:55 avg? 2k best being a 1:43ish avg.

To me this would seem to be a weakness, or my strength is just short pieces lol.

You've raised a bunch of issues with your post. And I've been thinking for several hours about how to respond. First, let's discuss your goal. Then let's examine how to reach it.

Your Goal: Let's try to sharpen your goal. You said that you want to be the top lightweight in Florida. You also said that you think a college lightweight crew would average 6:30 for a 2K. Except -- maybe -- Harvard, Yale or Princeton in an amazingly good year, I'd be shocked if a college lightweight had eight guys sub 6:30. My alma mater -- Georgetown lightweights -- won the bronze last year at Lightweight Nationals. And they didn't average sub 6:30. No way. Granted I graduated over 12 years ago. But we didn't have more than five guys pulling under 6:34.

And Florida doesn't have an Eastern Sprints school. So, I would assume that if you can go sub 6:40, you would be in Florida's lightweight top tier. Traditionally, because they can row on the water all year long, Florida's crews' strengths lies in their technique. Because their oarsmen don't face five months of erg-based winter training, Florida's college rowers haven't had the erg scores that Harvard, Yale, Princeton lites et al have pulled.

Having said all that, though, to be tops in your state, you will need to row well under 7:00.

This brings us to the best means for reaching your goal. Here, I think your quote (printed above) shows that you know the area where you must improve. Because the drop from a 1:30 500-meter piece to a 1:55 6K split is large, that's where you can improve quickly. I haven't rowed a 6K test for a while. But this morning I rowed a 2K test with a 1:38.6 average. Last week, I rowed a 60-minute test with a 1:48.3 split. So my 16.6K average was almost exactly 10 seconds higher than my 2K pace. That's a smaller gap than your 12-second margin between your 2K split (1:43) and your 6K split.

So what to do? Given that you're a student, you may have the time available to increase your training volume. If so, I would aim for at least eight weekly rowing workouts that will increase your fitness. That's my minimum (and I'm a corporate lawyer so I don't have as much time to train as I did in college). I say "rowing workouts that will increase your fitness" because I'm excluding the inevitable technique-based sessions that colleges use during their on-the-water training.

I believe that you will beneift from 60-80 minute steady-state rows on the erg. But it's absolutely critical that you pick a pace that will imrpove your fitness. Aim for a pace that is 60% of your 2K intensity. Finding that pace is simpler than it sounds. Find the average watts for your 2K (I believe that your 2K is 6:52, correct?); multiply that by .6. The resulting product is your steady-state pace. If you go longer than 60 minutes, you might want to decrease the pace; though you don't want to dip much below 55% of 2K pace. For example, my second workout today was a 70-minute steady state. I went slightly below goal pace because I rowed strapless (don't ask; it had to do with something a guy posted on the UK site). But I still kept it at a 1:51.9 average. I recommend that you focus on your splits, rather than worrying about your strokes per minute rating, your heart rate, your lactate, etc.

If you do a few of these firm pressure 60-80 minute erg pieces each week, your endurance will improve quickly. And I believe that's the best way for your to reach your 2K goal.

You may also want to write to a friend of mine on this forum named Phil. He is also a college lightweight looking to improve his erg score. He's a freshman and is pulling around a 6:45. You two could push each other.

Please keep us posted. I look forward to reading about your progress.

All the best,
Jamie

[adambalogh]

jamie
good stuff you write.
what is the reason behind 60% for steady state pace? Seems like it's a tad under anaerobicthreshold, but above aerobic threshold. How frequently per week do you train at 60% and not concern about over training?

[ranger]

Do 60min rows, twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.

Start easy but then slowly build the pace until you are going about as hard as you can for the last 2K.

Work your average pace for these 60min rows down to 1:50/16.3K for 60min.

ranger

[adambalogh]

at what pace do you suggest conducting these hourlong rows? Are they at UT2, UT1, AT, or somewhere between? Do you suggest HR monitoring? Do you suggest regulating the workout in someway to avoid having each workout becoming a timetrial and risk overtraining?

[almostflipped]

Jamie and LateIn: Seriously solid posts.

1. Record all your workouts in a journal. .......4. Train all year. Many people are willing to workout hard at practice but they don't workout in the off season...there is no off season.

These two points are the most vital. It is stunning how many athletes think they are training a lot until they look at their logs and realize how much time was missed. Consistency is far more important than perfect workout programs.

Are they at UT2, UT1,

Either or. Depending on who you speak with, some coaches favor one of those over the other; but as long as you are consistently in some form of steady state your body will adapt. As for controlling pace, the easiest ways are as a % of your 2k watts or relative to your 6k split. I tend towards the 6k method but have seen both used successfully (as Jamie's progress displays).

2k watts are 50-70%.
6k method is 6k split plus 8-12 for UT1 and 12-18 for UT2 (your level of fitness defines where in the ranges you fall).

[ranger]

at what pace do you suggest conducting these hourlong rows? Are they at UT2, UT1, AT, or somewhere between? Do you suggest HR monitoring? Do you suggest regulating the workout in someway to avoid having each workout becoming a timetrial and risk overtraining?

Just stay comfortable, in both pace and rate, especially for the first 40min.

Just go with the flow.

No need to even use the monitor, really.

_I_ didn't.

I used the calorie counter!

The length of the row itself will elevate your heart rate.

The negative splitting, especially the harder work at the end, will get you used to riding along at your anaerobic threshold for longer and longer periods.

When I started rowing, I did these rows at about 2:05 pace.

After a year or so, I had them down to 1:50 pace.

Then, on an all out trial, I did 1:48 for 60min.

After a little sharpening, I rowed 6:27.5 for 2K in my first race.

I was 51 years old and a (fat) lightweight.

The next year, I lost the weight and did three consecutive WR 50s lwt rows:

6:30, 6:29, 6:28.

I was 52 years old.

Eskild E. likes 60min rows.

They are his favorite workouts.

ranger

P.S. Given the negative splitting, initially at least, these rows are first UT2, then UT1, then AT. As you get better at them, they are probably no longer UT2, but just UT1, finishing at AT.

[George Dunning]

snip ...

Eskild E. likes 60min rows.

They are his favorite workouts.

ranger

Care to quote your source for this comment

[ranger]

snip ...

Eskild E. likes 60min rows.

They are his favorite workouts.

ranger

Care to quote your source for this comment

George--

_Rowing News_, a couple of years ago, in a survey of favorite erg workouts by notable oarsmen.

Sorry, I forgot the exact issue.

Perhaps someone else knows.

ranger