Ivy/University rowing?

[Hrath]

@Edward4492
Thanks so much for the help! You clearly spent a while on that, and I will definitely try a program like yours.
Currently am eating 3 eggs for breakfast (occasionally scrambled or with salsa or something), so I think I'll probably keep it like that (not a big fan of meat/cheese in the morning)
Mid-morning: usually would eat a power bar or protein bar (~200-300 cals), going to see if instead I can get fruits (I have a mostly bad relationship with nuts), maybe 4oz?
Lunch: Generally school lunch, although this summer it will most likely be whatever the cafeteria serves. Will look towards eliminated bread, peppers, etc... Going to look at getting less of the 'filler' (ex: mashed potatoes) and more of the meat(s)
Afternoon: Again, generally protein or power bar- will probably see if I can get a bunch of veggies to just munch on whenever I get the urge
Dinner: once again usually cafeteria food or ethnic food when home (ethnic ukrainian food isn't exactly healthy...). Will look towards getting more meat/fish and less of the 'filler', maybe more steamed veggies as well
Coffee: I drink ~6 cups of coffee a day (1-2 with milk, the others with honey or just black) on weekends, 1-2 cups with milk on weekdays
In addition I'll look at All Day Energy Greens, however it's pretty expensive and generally us students are a bit strapped for cash!

As for cheating, that's pretty much what stopped my last diet (that and keeping a super strict food diary). I maintained it from september through to mid january, then just sort of gave up on it after a day of binging out. I will definitely try to heed your advice on cheating, and it will help that I'll be mostly broke over the summer! (dang expensive M-frames!)


I find that I generally have to eat 2500-3000 cals to gain weight- when I was on my own diet I would eat 1000 or less cals (looking back it probably was a bad idea). This time I think I will keep up to 1500 cals, however I will also be taking protein powder for building muscle (because my chances of becoming lightweight are slim at best, so might as well try to be a good heavyweight)

With all of your guys' help I am feeling much more confident! Thank you all!


Also I found a new workout schedule, any thoughts? (listed under "weeks 3,4..."):

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

When you say "this time I will keep up to 1500 cals" what do you mean? I hope you don't mean a 1,500 calorie deficit, or that you'll only be eating 1,500 calories.

As for that sample schedule - not sure where you got it from but that looks to me like something you'd do in the spring season in preparation for 2ks, not in the summer. As I mentioned before, in the summer you just want to work on your aerobic base, no need to be doing race pace work.

[Hrath]

@ArmandoChavezUNC
eating 1500 cals per day; Is that too little? too much?

As for the schedule, I agree with you, however we don't really have a '2k season'. My school only hosts a novice fall season so all the rowers are forced to join cross country, and then we have a bit of november and december, along with a few days of january to erg when we can't be on the water.
I really wanted to try and do this to prep for a 2k because I am unsure of how often I'll be able to get on my erg when I get home from Boston.


As for longer aerobic pieces, any recommendations? most of the schedules I've been looking at are similar to this one

[Edward4492]

I'll be presumptuous here and assume Armando thinks 1500 cals a day is way too little. Refering back to my post, I'm a 57 yr old lightweight who easily stripped weight down to 160 lbs on 2000 cals a day. You're a 190 pound youngster training twice as much as I do, I'm thinking you would lose weight easily on 2500 to 3000 cals a day assuming it's all high quality food. If you're gonna consume high calorie, high sugar energy drinks, protein bars, and protein "shakes" these so-called drinks designed for athletes quite often have a very high sugar content and trigger insulin responses that promote fat gain. Again, my belief is that most people really don't account for how much they are truly eating. It's really amazing just how fast 2000 cals adds up. It's not a lot of food.

Just my thoughts.... eat 2500 to 3000 of quality food. I really think the weight will come off and the body fat will improve.

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

@ArmandoChavezUNC
eating 1500 cals per day; Is that too little? too much?

As Edward4492 said, way too little.

When I rowed in college a bit over 3 years ago, I weighed around 190 lbs and practiced anywhere from 2-5 hours a day. I would eat well in excess of 5,000 calories (thank the all you can eat cafeteria).

If you are trying to exercise at a high level, being on a diet is a terrible idea. Your body is going to need plenty of fuel - if you are at a big caloric deficit you won't be able to perform and your times will not improve. Eating 1,500 calories a day without exercising is a bad idea for a guy your age, then add to that the fact that you want to train and it's a really bad idea.

Don't focus on your calories. Just train and eat as much as you can. As long as you eat healthy, I'm fairly confident you will not gain any weight (unless you do lots of lifting and take supplements). Don't go pig out on burgers and fries or pizza all day, but eat away. I can guarantee you it's a bad idea to be on a diet while trying to train at a high level. Especially since you are 190 lbs.

1,500 calories is how much a 100 lb sedentary person should eat.

Anyway - as far as your training, just do long and steady workouts. Steady-state preferably in the 60-90 minute range with a longer workout once a week (up to 120 minutes). You can throw in there one interval workout and a couple of weight sessions if you want, but the meat/bulk of your training should be aerobic. A 2k race is >75% aerobic -> your training should reflect that. In the summer your training should be about 90% aerobic at the very least.

Just make sure you go into it easy - don't suddenly start working out more than before or you're going to either injure yourself or burn out and overtrain. Add mileage/time weekly slowly/gradually.

[Hrath]

@Edward4492
Okay, will look towards closer to 3000 rather than 1500 cals. I am however skeptical of how much I can eat, since often I find myself full after very little food (I am still confused how all the lightweights on my team can out eat me, I've seen the majority of them eat entire pizzas with no repercussions, while I eat 2-3 slices and feel sick)

@ArmandaChavezUNC
I will try to eat as much 'healthy' food as possible, but I remember from last year that the cafeteria wasn't the best about having those choices (waffle breakfasts and burgers for lunch and dinner). I am going to be training as much as possible every day (in excess of 3 hours at least), with 1-2 hours erging + 1-2 hours rowing + >1 hours running + 0-2 hours lifting.

I have found a Junior National Fall Developmental program going on in my city- however the competition will be steep. There will be at least 15-20 guys competing for the 8-12 spots that are available, and all of these guys will have a 2k in the 6:30-6:40 range. Anybody have advice on what to do in order to prep for it? They also require me to send in my max watts, 1min erg, 500m, 2k, 6k, 10k, and 1 hours tests.


Thanks everyone for continuing to help me! I should be able to really start using all of your help in the next few days as I only have exams tomorrow and the day after left.

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

Just remember to increase your training slowly, otherwise you are going to injure yourself or over-train (or both).

Progress is made by training. The guys in the 6:30-6:40 range have probably been training some time to get to where they are. There are no magical ways to get faster - just put in the work. As has been said already, lots of work on the erg/water.

If I were you I would space out the max watts/1 min/500m/2k/6k/10k/1 hour over a week or two if you can, otherwise it's too much stress on your body.

Do the one hour test and max watts the same day (one in the AM one in the afternoon, preferably max watts first). Also do the 1 minute and 10k on the same day, 1 minute first preferably in the morning. Same goes for the remaining tests.

If you do them all too close together your times will not be as good because you won't have recovered.

Also always remember to warm up properly for tests especially the shorter ones where you are pulling all out. It's easy to injure your back if you don't warm up enough.