Rowing and body shape

[FurianXO]

I recently got back into fitness about 10 months ago. I've been primarily focusing on weight training, but bought the concept 2 for my cardio days. I'm slowly realizing that I'm enjoying my rowing workouts more than the weights, but I don't want to give up the physique I have managed to obtain at 48 over the past 10 months. Is it possible to retain muscle muscle mass with only rowing? I'm not a big guy, only 160lbs, so it isn't like i have a lot to lose, but I actually have shape now and would like to keep it.

I've done a bit of searching, and see tons of workout plans for the erg, and i see a bunch of folks talking about exercises that compliment rowing. What I don't see are any plans that incorporate both, with the primary focus on rowing.

I'm a 5 day a week guy. Weekends I take off, other than what Colorado throws at me for fun

[Gammmmo]

Is it possible to retain muscle muscle mass with only rowing? I'm not a big guy, only 160lbs, so it isn't like i have a lot to lose, but I actually have shape now and would like to keep it.

No.

The body changes according to demands placed on it so as to make things easier for it. If you want to retain muscle mass you'd be far better off keeping one or two full body weights sessions a week, and with careful scheduling do erging as well. If your body through erging doesn't need some of the muscle mass you've accrued it will slowly get rid of it....obviously that won't happen so much with primary muscles worked on the ergo.

I'm not a big guy either but I've had to go from 60K/week on the ergo to half that and with 2 full body weights sessions a week in order to get gains beyond the newbie phase with the weights. I had a good aerobic base to start with and have lost about 20s/5K max. You must keep yourself in a slight calorie surplus and eat a higher protein diet to protect the physique too.

Remember also that JUST doing erging may well get a little boring, so mixing things up might be better for you but the SCHEDULING of the weights and erging and your diet plays a big role, to re-iterate.

If you dig into the forum you WILL find threads where people ask about doing both....it's the same question really u r asking. You aren't looking to build more muscle it would seem but retain what you have. The lessons learned in how to do both will provide you with the same answers.

[Tim huges]

It takes hardly anything to maintain muscle, 3 working sets per muscle per week is enough. Not exactly sure how rowing would impact how your body holds onto muscle, even with the 3 sets per muscle per week routine. Its worth a try.

Im the same, loved the erg so much i stopped weights 7/8 months ago altogether...dont regret it one bit! Ive always found i pack on the muscle pretty easily with weight training, even with poor diet....possibly why i havent seen any major changes in my physique. Genetics must play a part. I would say my legs and upper back have improved quite a bit...and i dont do any weight training for those body parts. I only really train chest and triceps as i feel erging trains the rest perfectly.

Probably not a rule of thumb for everybody but give the 3 sets per week idea a try...the science on that is pretty solid. Just not sure how erging alongside would impact it.

[Gammmmo]

It takes hardly anything to maintain muscle, 3 working sets per muscle per week is enough. Not exactly sure how rowing would impact how your body holds onto muscle, even with the 3 sets per muscle per week routine. Its worth a try.

Im the same, loved the erg so much i stopped weights 7/8 months ago altogether...dont regret it one bit! Ive always found i pack on the muscle pretty easily with weight training, even with poor diet....possibly why i havent seen any major changes in my physique. Genetics must play a part. I would say my legs and upper back have improved quite a bit...and i dont do any weight training for those body parts. I only really train chest and triceps as i feel erging trains the rest perfectly.

Probably not a rule of thumb for everybody but give the 3 sets per week idea a try...the science on that is pretty solid. Just not sure how erging alongside would impact it.

I agree one should experiment - I suppose your 3 sets idea depends partly on what he was doing in the 10 months - if he was doing 10 sets a week I'd imagine 3 sets wouldn't maintain esp with an increase in cardio, but you never know, the body is a strange thing. Remember he is 48 and you are 34. He sounds ectomorphic whereas you pack on muscle pretty easily.

[Tim huges]

I agree one should experiment - I suppose your 3 sets idea depends partly on what he was doing in the 10 months - if he was doing 10 sets a week I'd imagine 3 sets wouldn't maintain esp with an increase in cardio, but you never know, the body is a strange thing. Remember he is 48 and you are 34. He sounds ectomorphic whereas you pack on muscle pretty easily.

Very true...its a spectrum rather than a one size fits all. Having said that, most people with any sizeable cardio volume will struggle to keep size without some clever training and ample nutrition. Im by no means a genetic freak but it hasnt been an issue for me in the past...and to be honest id rather be predisposed to have great conditioning. I didnt register the age when i read it but yes i would agree...at 48 and already a slim guy he will probably struggle. Some folk do fall inbetween the endo, ecto and mesomorph so who knows...as i say, especially with an intelligent routine and plenty of food to fuel it all.

[FurianXO]

All very good points... I completely forgot about the calorie surplus when contemplating this. I realize that the more and more I stay on the erg, the more and more calories i burn, making it more difficult to retain muscle mass!

I suppose it wont hurt to try some things, such as one day a week for the weights (my wife would have issue with me giving it up entirely... not for the body thing, but for the fact i built a gym in my basement!) I'm already flipping my rowing/weight days from 3 to 2 days a week, and I'm already doing only 3 sets per body part, which has been working out well. I had posted something similar in the training forum, but that was when I wanted to focus on weight training. I may even try to incorporate some high intensity, shorter rows on the same days i lift.

I'm 5'9 by the way, and weighed 118lbs in high school. Not sure that classifies me as an ectomorph, maybe in between ecto and meso... never really considered myself stringy AND tall... stringy in my early years, yea.

[Gammmmo]

I may even try to incorporate some high intensity, shorter rows on the same days i lift.

This would be the way to go. Doing lots of drawn out erging say 10K and above will be more likely to eat muscle as the body is responding with the signal "why I have I got this extra muscle that isn't helping...it's slowing me down"! I'm not saying only do HIT but make sure what you do gives bang for your buck e.g. I am trying to erg and build muscle, and I'm rarely doing over 30mins at a time and more often 5K hard or much shorter intervals. It's worked well for me like I say BUT I did already have a big aerobic base so maybe some of those adaptions are easier to get back or even permanent.

I'm 5'9 by the way, and weighed 118lbs in high school. Not sure that classifies me as an ectomorph, maybe in between ecto and meso... never really considered myself stringy AND tall... stringy in my early years, yea.

I'd say that was ectomorphic. Sorry.
For reference I was 144lbs at 5'11" when I finished competitive cycling at the age of 43, and looked like I needed a good feed even amongst road cyclists! (Suspect I was not getting enough calories as I was a little skinny fat even at that weight - not much lard round the lower belly but not that much definition). Now I'm around 168llbs at a bodyfat level where 2/4 abs show (probably and v roughly about 15% so there's not THAT much lard) and still consider myself weak and ectomorphic compared with guys in the weight room. It's just how I'm built.

[sarequads]

Is it possible to retain muscle muscle mass with only rowing? I'm not a big guy, only 160lbs, so it isn't like i have a lot to lose, but I actually have shape now and would like to keep it.

I would say definitely yes. I have a bodybuilding background and i cant tell you that with rowing im in the best shape of my life. I used to lift 3-6 hours per week. now its like 1-3 hours if im lucky and the rowing has really helped me hold onto my size. Id say i have a pretty decent full body pump week round from it. Im a pt and have been lifting for 20 years if you have any further questions.

[RowRinseRepeat]

Just posted a similar question, which will hopefully get some responses you'll find useful: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=187494

It's definitely important to maintain a calorie surplus and eat enough protein to build muscle. Too much cardio can eat into muscle gains if you don't eat enough and don't get enough protein.

Sarequads, would appreciate your advice, being a PT and having lifted for 20 years (I've lifted for years, but not recently beyond body weight exercises and strength bands).

[Carl Watts]

Yes.

But it depends on your body type to start with. All I use these days is the rower and it keeps you in great shape. I wouldn't say its great for gaining mass but if you already have essentially the body shape you want it will maintain what you have if you mix up your sessions.

Pretty much have been the same weight for as long as I can remember but for me going through your 40's its about keeping off the fat more than anything else. Now into my 50's and its defiantly helping me retain muscle and still keep away excess weight gain.

[left coaster]

Personally, I bulked up considerably the last round of sprint work I did on the erg, prepping for another couple months intervals and sprints again now and starting to see gains from just the longer endurance work. I've always been that way though, I used to 'work out' quite a bit in the weight gym when I was younger but always did a hard 20-30 minutes of cardio before picking up a weight and then lifted with intention and short breaks to keep my heart rate up for another 40 minutes or so.

When I graduated high school I was 6 foot even (gained an inch after) and about 195#. We did body fat testing at the martial arts club I trained at and I was about 10% then -- fat compared to the strikers I hung with there lol. I think this puts my baseline genetics in the mesomorph camp although as I get older I start to feel and look more and more like an endomorph lol Sturdy, but not the V physique I had when I was younger.