Will gaining weight help me improve my splits?
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maxmaxmax3
- Paddler
- Posts: 1
- Joined: December 8th, 2015, 8:33 pm
Will gaining weight help me improve my splits?
Hi! I am a high school senior, and I have recently lost weight (mostly unintentionally). I used to weigh 140 pounds and my 2k was a 2:02, then I weighed 135 and my 2k was a 2:05 (but that was after not training for two months). While I have not done a 2k recently, I have not been pulling the splits I would like to be pulling at practice. I weigh 125 pounds and am 5'9", my coach told me I should gain 10 pounds in order to hit my splits. Will this really help? I think I have good cardio, i'm really good at short sprint pieces, however when we do long steady states at low rates my splits just are not low enough, no matter how hard I push. Will gaining weight help me get back in the game? Thanks!!
Re: Will gaining weight help me improve my splits?
You're seriously under weight, BMI less than 19. OK for cox or a jockey maybe, not for those who are supposed to pull handles.
could suggest you see a Doc soonest.unintentionally
08-1940, 179cm, 75kg post-op (3 bp).
Re: Will gaining weight help me improve my splits?
maxmaxmax3 wrote:Hi! I am a high school senior, and I have recently lost weight (mostly unintentionally). I used to weigh 140 pounds and my 2k was a 2:02, then I weighed 135 and my 2k was a 2:05 (but that was after not training for two months). While I have not done a 2k recently, I have not been pulling the splits I would like to be pulling at practice. I weigh 125 pounds and am 5'9", my coach told me I should gain 10 pounds in order to hit my splits. Will this really help? I think I have good cardio, i'm really good at short sprint pieces, however when we do long steady states at low rates my splits just are not low enough, no matter how hard I push. Will gaining weight help me get back in the game? Thanks!!
he might not have meant that literally. I'm guessing he meant gain more mucle mass as opposed to just mass/fat.
change your diat ? add more protein, train more.
your body data suggests you may look cute on the ramp (america's next top model?), but that you might be lacking the muscle mass required for stronger/ quicker pulls.
My coments are not meant negatively - god knows - i have 2 teens in the house who think they have to look like twigs. I understand the pressure of looking thin.
Think about what you want to do and steer yourself in that direction.
Dean
2020 Season: 196cm / 96kg : M51
Training Log - ʕʘ̅͜ʘ̅ʔ -Blog
~seven days without rowing makes one weak~
2020 Season: 196cm / 96kg : M51
Training Log - ʕʘ̅͜ʘ̅ʔ -Blog
~seven days without rowing makes one weak~
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PolkadotNat
- Paddler
- Posts: 3
- Joined: February 3rd, 2016, 5:54 am
Re: Will gaining weight help me improve my splits?
Heya,
Gaining weight will improve your erg scores significantly, but it might not positively affect your water performance if you gain purely fat over muscle.
In my off season I went from 75KG to 82KG and took just over a minute off my 5k time. I'm now working towards getting back towards 75KG which is my summer race weight, but training hard. If I notice my splits flat line or increase I'll just stop trying to lose weight until I regain momentum.
More weight on the erg translates to a lower split as it's easier to put down more force/power (that good old Force = mass x velocity) but won't mean a thing if you let your fitness suffer because you've spent a few weeks eating cake and not training. For yourself, it could be as easy as adding protein shakes into your diet - if you make sure they're the type that are high calorie than you should see yourself bulk up. US race season might be different but during winter/head season it's ok to be slightly heavier, as long as you get back to your race weight by March/April. But judging by the fact your 125lb I guess you'll be aiming for lightweight, which means you have 10lb to play with still.
I would really work on gaining maybe 5/6lb before regatta and trial season truly kicks in. Not only will you see your splits drop, but you'll probably find you have more fitness/strength due to the muscle you'll gain!
Gaining weight will improve your erg scores significantly, but it might not positively affect your water performance if you gain purely fat over muscle.
In my off season I went from 75KG to 82KG and took just over a minute off my 5k time. I'm now working towards getting back towards 75KG which is my summer race weight, but training hard. If I notice my splits flat line or increase I'll just stop trying to lose weight until I regain momentum.
More weight on the erg translates to a lower split as it's easier to put down more force/power (that good old Force = mass x velocity) but won't mean a thing if you let your fitness suffer because you've spent a few weeks eating cake and not training. For yourself, it could be as easy as adding protein shakes into your diet - if you make sure they're the type that are high calorie than you should see yourself bulk up. US race season might be different but during winter/head season it's ok to be slightly heavier, as long as you get back to your race weight by March/April. But judging by the fact your 125lb I guess you'll be aiming for lightweight, which means you have 10lb to play with still.
I would really work on gaining maybe 5/6lb before regatta and trial season truly kicks in. Not only will you see your splits drop, but you'll probably find you have more fitness/strength due to the muscle you'll gain!