Making a Run at being a lightweight

[Oldcolonial]

First off, not sure if this is a training or health and fitness question. But.. Here goes.

I am 6'2", 54 and now at 175# or so and am thinking it would be interesting to get down to under 165 and compete as a lightweight master. Before the injury I was at 180-85# and in decent all around shape for a middle aged guy and flirting with a 7 min 2K without any specific training. A shoulder injury put me on the shelf for a few months and I am still working through the PT to regain ROM, strength, flexibility and coordination.

By way of background, I used to be a fairly committed runner. I spend 20+ years running 2,000 + miles per year. During that time I tended to weigh between 150 and 160#. I got to the low end when I was training for marathons at the high end when I was doing middle distance races.

I am now able / allowed to row again and am working the the 24 week Pete Plan (I am only on week 2, 6 weeks into rowing) along with some running (about 8 weeks into it), PT to regain proper shoulder function. Doc and PT say it will be December, surgery plus 9 months, before the shoulder is back to something approaching normal. I did a semi serious time trial and got to a 7:42 2K. It was definitely an effort so I am considerable way from being able to hold a 7:00 / 2 K pace.

I have never focused on weight, nor have I ever competed as a rower but find myself intrigued by the possibility of being competitive in a sport where my light build has generally been a handicap.

I would be curios to hear if others have thought about and or pursued a similar goal. Dropping 10% or so of weight, while developing rowing specific fitness.

Things that seem to make sense to me:
- measure and record my weight daily / near daily.
- Watch what I eat. More protein, moderate fats, lots of leafy greens and vegetables, fewer carbs, no simple sugars lots of water would be good. I try to moderate this stuff anyway but having a focused target will make it easier to say no to that cake, ice cream, etc. that works its way into my life.
- Increase training volume, reduce intensity. Non specific training should be geared toward the aerobic.
- Reduced resistance training. To the extent that I do resistance training I should focus on form, keep the rep count up and the resistance down.

Would love to hear others thoughts and suggestions.

[Gammmmo]

1. as you allude to long/steady distance work will help you get skinnier (as it does for me). you might want to try cross training to boost volume if you can't erg enough.

2. do you have fat to lose? if so, have you thought of going more ketogenic with your diet?

3. get serious about diet and find out if you have any intolerances e.g. sometimes cutting out gluten will help you drop a little weight but beware it is not easy - gluten is in all sorts of foods you wouldnt expect. I know!

4. if you used to be sub 165 then I'd say it's possible as long as in the interim you havent bulked up as ALL muscle is hard to get rid of.

[hjs]

I would first concentrate on the shoulder, for the rest you know proberly best about your own body.
Top lightweights often are your height, for masters its certainly not easier. Nomatter what, you need to be both lean and skinny.
If you start training seriously, you could at the same time reduce your weight and see how those two combine. Around 7.00 would be good but no enough to win big races.

[Oldcolonial]

Thanks for the feedback.

I will take care of the shoulder... The issue is that the PT is outrageously boring and progress seems to be almost imperceptible. Rowing and running are nice diversions in that neither seem to bother the injured shoulder and offer the opportunity to see measurable progress.

In terms of having fat to loose. There is some there for sure. My guess is my body fat percentage is around 15%. When I was a fit distance runner it was quite low, probably in the neighborhood of 6%. This was at least 10 years ago.

As my fitness improves my guess is I will gain muscle and bone mass. Hoping I can offset this by more than equal losses in body fat. Age and an otherwise sedentary life do seem to make this harder. I understand diet will be a key (and new) component of this. Helpfully, my wife is on board with cleaning up our diets.

In terms of competitive goals. I am not expecting to win, just do well. I was a middling distance runner and would expect to land in roughly the same place in the distribution among rowers. The fact that participation rates are lower in rowing and people age out of being interested in being competitive may help move me up in the distribution.