Sharp back pain...already :-(

[Gammmmo]

Have done about 5-6 rowing sessions so far ranging from 5K-10K. Last Saturday I did 10K where the first half was restricted to ~20 strokes/min so putting more stress on my back. When I got off the C2 I could sense something wasn't quite right but I was fine to do my usual 30mins or so of upper body weights too. Afterwards, and ever since I have had a sharp pain in lumbar area on the right hand side. There is a tender spot and it feels less dull than normal muscle fatigue/DOMS, so I have been worried it could be a muscle tear or worse a herniated disc. I know I have low bone density in my lower spine (osteopenia) and hurt my back pushing big gears on a bike in 2014. Occasionally ever since I've got some mild pain with cycling (time trialler background last 5-6 years) but core work seemed to help. FWIW I've done alot less exercise since the start of the year (core will be alot weaker) and was quite excited about getting into erging again and seeing if I could break some PBs on the C2 with training, so feeling quite put out! Suggestions? Anyone hazzard a guess as to the issue? Right now I feel very reluctant to go back on the C2. I was fine ironically with much faster 5K and 30min test (not all out but I was rating more highly in the high 20s).

[hjs]

Watch out, take a few days rest and try the rower again, but short, slower and with more rate, from there slowly build it up. Rowing works the lower back hard, certainly at low rate. It takes time to build the needed strenght.
Do not completely rest, keep moving, but lidten to your body.

[TomR]

http://www.backfitpro.com/pdf/selecting ... rcises.pdf

I'm not a doctor. This is not medical advice. This protocol, along with a few other bits, has worked for me.

[Gammmmo]

Cheers. Well the pain has got markedly less sharp so is healing on it's own to some degree. The weakness will have to be addressed though - maybe I can do lots of core, not do low rated C2 work, warmup up, and build things up gradually. The problem is I have good aerobic fitness from the bike so the engine is there but the chassis isn't.

[Gammmmo]

A bit of background - about 10 years ago I did quite a bit of erging and got down to ~6:45 for 2K but never broke into the 17s for 5K. This would've been at about 77kg I guess but wasn't THAT aerobically fit. Fast forward to me at age 44 having spent 6 years doing bicycle time trials, I'd decided to see if I could beat my times as a lightweight (was 65Kg but and am steadily gaining weight having reduced the biking and running markedly - will be careful not to go above 75kg).

Ok well the sorry saga continues....so I left it 10 days before I erged again. Tentatively did 7500m in 30mins - fine. Then clocked 19:05 for 5K - fine. Then gave it a bit more 2 days ago and broke 7800m for 30mins (not max but hard-ish for my current erg form) being careful to rate higher - result: lower back in bits again especially right hand side

I really want to get into erging again because I need to train, see the numbers get better and ultimately compete, but I am wondering whether it's always going to expose my old injury. My plan is to give it 3 months (was going to buy a C2 but no point yet given the above so joined a gym for 3 months), do core work, do some weights, build the erging volume but maybe stay at a pace slower than say 2:00min/500m, and see how things go. For me, unless I can get to a stage where I can really push myself I'm not interested long term....all very frustrating.

[markinnb]

hjs said to get the rating up.
rowing at r20 requires a lot of force each stroke.
depending on your stroke technique, this force could be carried more by your lower back than from your legs.
so maybe your technique needs improving in terms of legs, back, arms... etc.
maybe you are letting your gut fall out.. relaxing the abs creates a problem.

You did say that you upped the rating but what rating did you actually do?

time for injuries to heal: more than most people think.

so look at :

1 . rating
2. stroke technique
3. form during the stroke ( tight abs etc )
4. you jumped into the relatively high volume stuff right away.

do you have a video of your form/technique? if so, post it up. if not, get one made then post it up

[Gammmmo]

ok will try to get a video done. rating tends to be 25-27 (that's what I naturally fall into - still a bit slow I'm guessing?). Yes, straight into 30mins and 10K sessions (hard-ish but not that hard) - TBH doesn't feel like much having ridden bikes competitively for years - like I say the engine is there but the chassis is still that of a weedy cyclist, and an aging one at that

[markinnb]

I don't know if it's a bit low . depends on the specifics. I
it's clear that you over did it and/or came back too soon, and/or too hard for single sessions of too long of time.
like the lower rating stuff that Edward ( he didn't comment here ) and the guys suggested. it is something that needs to be worked into slowly though.
As it is difficult to keep up the wattage at the lower ratings for the same period of time that you did at the higher rating. It all depends on what shape you are/were in when you are doing this stuff though. fitness levels, areas of strength / weakness etc.
all injuries are potentially serious if not ruinous and a back injury is kind of seriously serious. lots of rehab and/or time and what not.

what drag factor were you using on each of those training sessions?
44 yo.. 75 kg
How tall are you?

[Gammmmo]

what drag factor were you using on each of those training sessions?

128 on the last 30mins session (which was not restricted to 20 spm).

[Oarsome Fitness]

Biggest issue here for me is doing cardio before weight training. You are going into a weight training session already fatigued - very bad idea. You should either do weights before cardio or split the sessions into different days.

[Gammmmo]

Thanks all for the replies. Quick update - back has not been an issue since because I've been REALLY careful with good form and not really pushing overly hard. I did 10K in ~40:45 yesterday and then did a weights session ( I think there is some validity to the comment about keeping erging and weights days separate as I think the erging is starting to compromise the weights now). Lately I've been keeping all the strokes >2:00/500m and erging strapless and my natural spm has been coming out fairly low around 23-24 typically and have just upped the drag factor from ~112 to ~124. Have another 2 months to go on my gym membership so if I can continue to make gains and not injure myself, I'm hoping doing some good things on the erg will be a go-er and I can buy my own erg. TBH I'm itching to get one. FWIW old targets from 10 years ago to beat are 6:44 2K, ~18:03 5K, ~8130m 30mins, ~37:20 10K, ~15700 1hr (without looking things up). I'm nowhere near any of that yet.