Hey!
I'm a 15 year old Junior rower, and I have a few questions regarding height, weight, and scores. First, I'll list my stats:
Height-5'6
Weight- 136 (fall), 139 (spring)
2k Erg- 7:56.00 (3/5/13)
5k Erg- 21:35
Regarding the erg scores, I was injured at the time of the 5k testing, and that was the end of the season after sitting out for six weeks. I can comfortably pull a 7:58 for my 2k, and I have pulled the exact same erg score for every erg test after my PR. I have quite a few questions in regards to rowing.
1) I have been considering cutting down to lightweight. It doesn't seem to work though, and I tend to gain a lot of muscle mass over winter training. Would it be worth my time to be a lightweight due to my short stature? How would I get down to a comfortable weight (128)?
2) What kind of training would I do to improve my erg scores?
3) I've heard a lot in regards to protein powders and other supplements, and why I should or should not use them. Does anyone have advice regarding my stats and goals as to if any of that would help me improve?
Thanks!
-Sarah
Erg Scores
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gregsmith01748
- 10k Poster
- Posts: 1359
- Joined: January 8th, 2010, 2:17 pm
- Location: Hopkinton, MA
Re: Erg Scores
You might want to post to the rowing illustrated boards. They have a lot of "real" coaches who seem to give very good development advice.
First off, I might be wrong, but pulling sub-8 as a 15 year old woman is pretty awesome. The fact that you can routinely pull 7:58 says to me that you probably have more that you can get just by gritting your teeth harder.
As for going for lighty status. I think that really comes down to whether or not you have finished growing. If you think you end up being 5'6" then you probably need to think that way, but if you will end up growing a couple more inches, then it would only be a temporary thing anyway. Trying to maintain weight way below what you feel comfortable with is going to be a royal pain.
Types of training.. First advice is to ask your coach. He/she will probably have thoughts about what you need or could benefit from. If you don't have a coach, get on a plan.
You could try try:
the concept2 uk interactive plan: http://concept2.co.uk/training/interactive
or the Pete Plan: http://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/the-pete-plan/
or the wolverine plan: http://www.concept2.com/files/pdf/us/tr ... nePlan.pdf
All have yielded good results for different people at different times. I suggest you look through them and pick the one that makes the most sense to you. All of them are basically a mix of longish endurance rows, plus intervals of different lengths.
Unless you have a specific nutritional challenge, I would avoid supplements and focus on eating good food. On any of these plans you will burn 600 to 1000 calories a day, so getting good, high quality nutrition is important. The best supplement would be to replace all junk food with stuff that grows (fruits, plants, animals).
Good luck. I hope some other folks chime in with more informed opinions. I'm just repeating stuff that folks have told me.
First off, I might be wrong, but pulling sub-8 as a 15 year old woman is pretty awesome. The fact that you can routinely pull 7:58 says to me that you probably have more that you can get just by gritting your teeth harder.
As for going for lighty status. I think that really comes down to whether or not you have finished growing. If you think you end up being 5'6" then you probably need to think that way, but if you will end up growing a couple more inches, then it would only be a temporary thing anyway. Trying to maintain weight way below what you feel comfortable with is going to be a royal pain.
Types of training.. First advice is to ask your coach. He/she will probably have thoughts about what you need or could benefit from. If you don't have a coach, get on a plan.
You could try try:
the concept2 uk interactive plan: http://concept2.co.uk/training/interactive
or the Pete Plan: http://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/the-pete-plan/
or the wolverine plan: http://www.concept2.com/files/pdf/us/tr ... nePlan.pdf
All have yielded good results for different people at different times. I suggest you look through them and pick the one that makes the most sense to you. All of them are basically a mix of longish endurance rows, plus intervals of different lengths.
Unless you have a specific nutritional challenge, I would avoid supplements and focus on eating good food. On any of these plans you will burn 600 to 1000 calories a day, so getting good, high quality nutrition is important. The best supplement would be to replace all junk food with stuff that grows (fruits, plants, animals).
Good luck. I hope some other folks chime in with more informed opinions. I'm just repeating stuff that folks have told me.
Greg
Age: 55 H: 182cm W: 90Kg
Age: 55 H: 182cm W: 90Kg