Concept2 Forum

More rowing, less weightlifting !!!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/well ... ealth.html

Stamina may trump strength for improving metabolic health, according to an interesting and provocative new study of the molecular effects of different aspects of fitness. The study, which was published in August in JAMA Network Open, finds that people’s aerobic endurance — or lack of it — can influence their metabolisms more potently than their muscular weakness or might, a result with implications for anyone wondering which types of exercise could be most beneficial for health.

Operative word being "may". Why not do both? No reason you can't train both.

Gabe_G wrote: ↑

March 28th, 2020, 7:36 am

Operative word being "may". Why not do both? No reason you can't train both.

True, but you have to choose somewhat....

Can you balance it somehow? Like doing 60:40 one way or the other?

Boggen wrote: ↑

March 31st, 2020, 9:56 am

Can you balance it somehow? Like doing 60:40 one way or the other?

I have seen strength gains happen as well as aerobic fitness improving

Obviously it is slower than it could be but I'm sure it must be possible as otherwise how do people like LeBron James do it? Supreme fitness and built like a tank. Admittedly he is an outlier and has exceptional genetics but he is not that uncommon in professional sportsmen

Gabe_G wrote: ↑

March 28th, 2020, 7:36 am

Operative word being "may". Why not do both? No reason you can't train both.

Serious rowers know that rowing is mostly endurance, but strength is also important. From years reading all these posts, everyone in training does lots of rowing and weight training, too. When I was seriously training, I rowed almost every day and did a weight routine about three times a week to target my weaker muscles (arms and core mostly). Seemed to work for me.

However, the article was focusing not on rower specific training, but on overall health. I would agree that in that sense, endurance is much better. Now that I'm not training, just maintaining, it's all rowing, just because I like it better and am not as concerned about muscle strength.

Cyclist2 wrote: ↑

March 31st, 2020, 1:29 pm

Now that I'm not training, just maintaining, it's all rowing, just because I like it better and am not as concerned about muscle strength.

To each their own. However, the article is far from definitive and there are many other factors that come into play. Personally, I'd never stop squatting or dead-lifting, as they play a huge role in keeping bone density up. Health is more than the heart. The heart is important, but so are bones and muscle strength. I mean, losing your balance and falling down can result in a broken hip that may not have broken, had someone been lifting, which resulted in stronger bones.

I am firmly in the camp that you train both. Certainly one can take priority over the other, but training both is important. A rower can probably get away with less (minimal, or possibly even none) strength training than other forms of cardio, depending on how they approach their programming. But lifting is still beneficial to a rower as different angles and movement patterns from the different lifting exercises will place different stresses on the same bones, as well as include additional bones to stress.

That said, I myself am a lifter first, and a rower second. I use the weights for muscle strength and bone density, and rowing, running and biking for cardio AND to get my endorphin fix.

Boggen wrote: ↑

March 31st, 2020, 9:56 am

Can you balance it somehow? Like doing 60:40 one way or the other?

Ofcourse you can, but it depends on what you want to achieve. Very roughly speaking we are or in the lifting camp or the cardio camp. Lifters are unfit, cardio people are weak, certainly upperbody wise.

If you purely looking at health, you should try to look objectively at yourself, and look at your strenghts and weaknesses. And based on those think up a plan.

hjs wrote: ↑

April 3rd, 2020, 3:39 am

Lifters are unfit, cardio people are weak, certainly upperbody wise.

Here a good 100% cardio, 0% strength example.

As much as I would love to be even half as fast as Michael Rasmussen is on a bicycle, there's no way I'd be willing to pay the price he has to get there:

Ombrax wrote: ↑

April 3rd, 2020, 5:43 pm

hjs wrote: ↑

April 3rd, 2020, 3:39 am

Lifters are unfit, cardio people are weak, certainly upperbody wise.

Here a good 100% cardio, 0% strength example.

As much as I would love to be even half as fast as Michael Rasmussen is on a bicycle, there's no way I'd be willing to pay the price he has to get there:

Yes, extreme example, they didn't call him "The Chicken" for nothing lol...58kg IIRC from training/dieting + CERA etc. There will always be extreme people willing to do extreme things for money and fame.

Not sure why, but for some reason the picture I posted above of Rasmussen isn't visible (at least on this computer) so for those who haven't heard of him, here's another link to the same image:

Can you balance it somehow? Like doing 60:40 one way or the other?

I'd have thought that rowing needs just that type of balance: can't go fast without strength, can't keep going fast without cardio. Where is that balance, and how do we get there?

Health (to be defined) must be something else; as well as rowing lots of miles very fast, we might need to stay off the booze, avoid too much sugar and the like, not smoke or drug, to begin with. Who knows, we might even reach three figures and still be able to cut our own toenails as well as annoy the wife.