Rowing over 300lbs

[Soulsurfer]

JP brought up a crucial point that all of us neglected to mention: caloric restriction. Weight loss is all about what you do in the kitchen, & not the gym.

I probably should have addressed this a bit in the initial post , my apologies.

I am currently doing keto (70/20/5 ) and aggressively using IF to my advantage, I generally am eating in a 6~4 hour window then fasting the rest of the time, I am using ACV in the fasted times and am doing all intended "physical work" with purpose in the fasted state for now.
My health has dictated my life in a very bad way and I am over it , I Went on a very strict elimination diets 7 weeks afgo and although I am free to re introduce certain things I have chosen to only reintro eggs so I can get to my macro I desire just for Breakfast I know this is not flawless but for now it is serving me well in that regard ( weight loss). At my peak ( ~24 mos ago ) i was 385 using Keto I got to 300.1 and then gloriously self destructed. I have spent the last two years in fare worsening health and finally , as noted went on the advice of a new physician to do the elimination diet. It was ALARMING as someone who has a high pain tolerance AND was still in enough pain daily to impact my life I was absolutely stunned at the improvements in pain and vigor. Pain is still a very real part of my day BUT it is so much better now I feel empowered to do the level best I can for myself and My wife and kids . At the risk of being over confident , I do believe this time the adjustments will remain a part of my life going forward.

I also realize that in time a proper and religious effort on caloric intake and meal planning will be very needed I am however changing so many things in such a tight window that I am just riding this early phase out until I feel like I have plateaued weight loss wise and then will adjust again with a Dietitian .

I learned the hard lesson that you cannot out work bad input ( food ) .

I have been watching a lot of Thomas DeLauer and am appreciating the way he explains the reasoning behind the concepts he presents. I also have been watching Training Tall, Darkhorse and I think C2 Australia. I watch youtube more than tv these days............

To all that have taken the time to read this and comment or offer advice THANK YOU, if I could have achieved this alone I would have , but this community may have been a huge missing link for my success the support is amazing .

I tend to write "stream of consciousness" so I hope this all made some sense to you guys. Be well. I think if it is agreeable I will update here a bit for now to keep me excited and in the mode of learning

Having done Keto for almost a year, I must caution you that it really is non-sustainable. it eventually does raise creatinine levels as your kidneys and liver take the beating. Yup it's creat to chow down on all that yumminess even it means no French fries or pizza. I agree with the comments from everyone here. It should become a lifestyle change and yes, muscle weighs more than fat.

Bonnie (spousus maxims) and me committed. We took a front and side pic on day 1 pf rowing. We weigh in every Sunday, and we track our intake at a caloric deficiency of -500 cals for our age and weight category. It is starting to pay off after 33 days of rowing, but I am not fooling myself or Bonnie. We might see some more dramatic results after six months when comparing the pictures. Oh yes, almost forgot, every end-of-month is a new pic as well.

[50wyldeman]

Thank you all for taking the time to replay and advise and share experiences. I am very grateful to each of you .
I hit a minor speedbump when I decided to upgrade the firmware on my PM5 sadly It has made it impossible for me to use the BT app that tracks I am hoping that the USB is capturing it. other than that frustration I am still excited and moving forward. My goal next week ( I am rowing daily now ) will be to try and find the right cadence to get me to a sensible stroke rate .

I am reading and in some cases re reading your replies I hope you all are well and remain so.

[Ombrax]

My goal next week ( I am rowing daily now ) will be to try and find the right cadence to get me to a sensible stroke rate.

For the types of workouts you're doing now 20-24 spm should be most appropriate.

Regarding rowing every day - there's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but if you do choose to do that be absolutely sure that a few of the workouts are particularly easy. You don't want to over-do things, and you do want to give your body time to recover. Doing too much too fast is a sure way to injure yourself.

Take care.

[iain]

Regarding the most appropriate stroke rate, I would be cautious of adopting what anyone suggests, find out what works for you and whether you can improve your workouts by adjusting your initial conclusions after a few weeks of changing it both up and down until you find a value you are happy with. There are many sources quoting appropriate ratings, but physiological responses are very different between different people. I know far less and am much less experienced than many here, but my HR with a moderate work rate per stroke increases rapidly above 17 SPM, so training at 20 - 24 for me for anything beyond 10 min would not be sessions I could maintain more than 3 times a week or so.

Even amongst elite ergers their is a significant difference of the ratings adopted for races (presumably their optimums) with some exceeding 40SPM for a 2k and others closer to 34. Amongst the less well trained and with a wide variety in body composition and training history I would expect a wider variation. So please try out suggestions made, but I recommend adjusting these if they don't work for you. Otherwise you may find yourself discouraged or pushed into accepting a sub-optimal stroke to continue with your goals.

The effort in just going up and down the slide (ie excluding the "useful" work measured by the C2) increases with the cube of the rating, is proportional to the weight of the erger and is also dependent on the length of the stroke (I would guess also proportionate to the cube of stroke length, but I haven't seen that confirmed by others). This means for heavier athletes I would expect a slower rating to be optimum, although this would be reduced by reduced stroke length from restriction of the catch position. I would also expect that optimum training rating will change as fitness, weight and stroke length changes through time.

I look forward to hearing of your continued successes.

- Iain

[50wyldeman]

Thank you for the continued and very useful input.
I am extremely frustrated by the app but believe I sorted it today , finally, not sure why updating made such a poopfest but it did.....
That said I rowed two sessions today one 500m and one 1k I fear I am just,well,l new enough that I am fighting myself technique wise, even with watching hours of form info it seems. I am not sure but my last three rows are not posting to the Logbook and this is again a big point of frustration but I am certain it is wholly self inflicted. I will call C2 in the am and sort that then I will unlock( ? ) my logbook in the sig so others can see that I am honoring my commitment AND being reasonable as the goal here is much longer term than just cool numeric data . I am also intending to upload a form video so others can make input there, I appolgize for being so darn needy but I want to push in a reasonable fashion and not look for excuses to quit on myself. This board is just absolutely saving me from givin in , which is exactly how I got to my high of 385. I know how to quit on me like a Olympian, but those days are done I look forward to re reading this thread in a year and seeing where I sit then. It takes a village they say and it looks like I found a GREAT one.

[Ombrax]

I would suggest that you not get too worked up about problems with apps or e-logs or stuff like that, especially if they're causing problems and taking your focus away from the single most important thing here, which is putting time on the erg, and you certainly don't need hyper-detailed electronic records to do that.

A pen, a piece of paper or notebook, and the information from the PM will provide you with 100% of the critical information you really need to track your progress, and anything else is a distraction from the hard work to be done.

[mitchel674]

I would suggest that you not get too worked up about problems with apps or e-logs or stuff like that, especially if they're causing problems and taking your focus away from the single most important thing here, which is putting time on the erg, and you certainly don't need hyper-detailed electronic records to do that.

A pen, a piece of paper or notebook, and the information from the PM will provide you with 100% of the critical information you really need to track your progress, and anything else is a distraction from the hard work to be done.

This is the way.

All the apps and e-logs are mere distractions where you are right now. You need to get on the erg and row. Focusing on getting your apps to work is just another method of procrastination. If you can only row 500m today, well that's a start. Try to row 600m tomorrow, etc...

You can work out all the app nonsense later.

[reuben]

I would suggest that you not get too worked up about problems with apps or e-logs or stuff like that, especially if they're causing problems and taking your focus away from the single most important thing here, which is putting time on the erg, and you certainly don't need hyper-detailed electronic records to do that.

This post is a prime candidate for a "like" button.

[50wyldeman]

Thank you for the input , I did sort the issues I was having , and for me numbers motivate. I know we all have different things that drive us, I do make a point to not let numbers stop me . I genuinely appreciate the input regarding distractions from my goal. Just reading them through plants a seed that will only help me move forward.
I think I am getting closer to a decent stroke, I was around 24/sm today on my first two 500m rows I try and row 2k a day now, but am also fasting aggressively today ( 24 hour ) which is my longest to date so if I feel the energy is there I will row the second half soon. I am humbled by everyone's input here I know it takes time from YOUR day to stop read think and offer advice. So again thank you all so much

[Dangerscouse]

Thank you for the input , I did sort the issues I was having , and for me numbers motivate. I know we all have different things that drive us, I do make a point to not let numbers stop me

Rowing and motivation are so such a subjective issue that you've got to find what works for you. Your appetite can easily be someone else's indigestion.

[mict450]

....for me numbers motivate. I know we all have different things that drive us...

After a while, I don't know how long it will take, habits will take over. The reptile part of our brain loves routine & predictability. The downside to this is that when we should take several days off to nurse an injury or fight a cold, it takes a huge amount of forebrain activity to force us NOT to train. Sort of like going through withdrawal.

[50wyldeman]

Quick Check in few things this week, Hit my best feeling row earlier in the week and feel that that may have been the correct pace for me for now, I have lost more weight and had a bit of a shift in my body composition which oddly seems to have gummed me up a bit in that now I have a bit more ROM overall. I am focusing still on form first and am hoping to make my rows a minimum of 4 500m rows the upcoming week.
I am trying to be as absent ego driven BS here as I am capable of and hope that by focusing on the 500 x4 it will hopefully get me to where I need form wise. If this is flawed thinking in your experiences please let me know.
I don't mean to be too repetitive but I am grateful for all of you that are continuing to support and teach me here. Thank you . Even though I had a few setbacks this week I managed to row most days. I love the feeling it gives me to be putting in this effort. Hope you all remain healthy and have a great weekend.

[Dangerscouse]

I am trying to be as absent ego driven BS here as I am capable of and hope that by focusing on the 500 x4 it will hopefully get me to where I need form wise. If this is flawed thinking in your experiences please let me know.

Doing as much rowing as you can, with a conscious effort to analyse your technique, will be ideal to perfect your form.

Definitely leave your ego out of your decisions, and it sounds like now you're making notable weight loss progress you should consider increase the distance, or maybe do 1 x 1k and 2 x 500m / 2 x 1k or a straight 2k distance.

[canglem]

Your story sounds a LOT like mine, if only a few years later along the ride of life.

About 5 years ago I was weighing around 325, then decided to cut out drinking soda, and stick to just water. That change alone helped me drop 15 lbs., but I still wasn't happy. I winded easily, and most disgusting/disturbing to me, when watching videos I'd taken of my son, I could hear myself struggling to breathe. I tried couch to 5k apps, but would inevitably fall off when I started developing shin splints. 2 years ago I started researching best low impact exercises and the Concept2 kept coming up, so I saved up and purchased one in April 2019. I still need to work on the caloric intake for the weight loss, but my quality of life is much better when I'm rowing actively, and sticking to it. My knees feel better, I don't struggle doing flights of stairs anymore, and I feel better about myself.

I did fall out of habit some last October-February for any number of excuses I could come up with, some legit, some not. I knew the Mud Madness Challenge was coming up, though, so I wanted to participate in that and the upcoming World Team Challenge. I won't contribute nearly as many meters as most on the team, but I feel like I am helping some.

This is a long way of saying, you're off to a good start by coming here and finding some like-minded people. I've found that being part of a team or affiliation on here has helped me, too. I'm a member of the LUNA-TICS, and they have a daily thread posted in the Team subforum listing who all rowed the day before, and how far they've rowed, and highlight meter milestones. If an affiliation isn't for you, there's always the "What Training Did You Do Today?" and "Post Your Personal Best" threads in the training forum. Don't be shy to share your victories, no matter how small, in here or any of those threads. I tried to share some of mine in the past with other family members, and don't get much more than a "Nice" because it has no context for them as they've never rowed.

Once you start getting comfortable just putting in some meters, don't let yourself get bored. Find intermediate goals that are a stretch, yet attainable for you. For example, when lockdowns started last year, I used some of the C2 challenges to start trying to get as many ranked times/distances as I could above the 25th percentile for my gender/weight/age. They're not super fast, they won't win any competitions, but it's a way to gauge yourself. For the aforementioned Mud Season Challenge that started March 1, I set a time on March 1 that was not super easy, but I didn't have to push myself too hard or struggle to get through it. Since then, with each subsequent row, I'm trying to bring my average per 500m split down 0.1 seconds for each row. Yesterday was a struggle, but today was a little bit easier.

These are just some suggestions that work for me to keep myself motivated to get on the rower. They may not work for you, and probably won't work for everyone, but sometimes just getting on the rower is the hardest part of the workout.

[MiddleAgeCRISIS]

Quick Check in few things this week, Hit my best feeling row earlier in the week and feel that that may have been the correct pace for me for now, I have lost more weight and had a bit of a shift in my body composition which oddly seems to have gummed me up a bit in that now I have a bit more ROM overall. I am focusing still on form first and am hoping to make my rows a minimum of 4 500m rows the upcoming week.
I am trying to be as absent ego driven BS here as I am capable of and hope that by focusing on the 500 x4 it will hopefully get me to where I need form wise. If this is flawed thinking in your experiences please let me know.
I don't mean to be too repetitive but I am grateful for all of you that are continuing to support and teach me here. Thank you . Even though I had a few setbacks this week I managed to row most days. I love the feeling it gives me to be putting in this effort. Hope you all remain healthy and have a great weekend.

That's superb, you had set backs and you still got stuff done.

Every day exercising at a level you can do every day is going to add up massively.

My best weight loss was rowing fasted in the morning and then eating big weighty low calorific foods like canned ratatouille. Loads of veg / bulky / helped digestion with no cals.

Don't beat yourself up on technique - metres rowed without injury is calories burnt and you live to fight another day.

Make exercise easy - do it at a pace you can manage and not dread.

You have pressed the go button on sorting this so get tomorrow done , get the day after tomorrow done and keep smashing it! In 30 days - you ll be better , in 60 days wow! 100 days smashing it! Imagine a year - you ll be superman!

Small gains add up over time but big meals wipe them out in minutes!

You've motivated me - i've got 30 days for a year and 60 days for a season and im doing it!