Greetings

[Zebethyal]

Hi All,

Just wanting to say hi, I bought myself a RowErg for my birthday this year as a weight loss/fitness aid, it eventually arrived at the start of August.

I am a 6'4" former school rower who tried to continue at university, but the rest of the 'crew' hardly ever turned up, and then sort of tried again with a friend who belonged to Auriol Kensington Rowing club near Hammersmith, life, family, etc took over and now I am 53, 16.5 stone and wanting to get fit again.

I completed the Dog Days of Summer challenge which was a good way for me to slowly increase distance and stamina. I am already seeing huge improvements in my times for various distances having only been using the Erg for one month, I did not even attempt a 10K until the 15th.

Start of August:
500m - 2:02, 2000m - 9:03, 5000m - 27:0

Now:
500m - 1:50, 1000m - 3:56.5, 2000m - 8:36, 5000m - 22:01, 10000m - 46:54, August 2.5K CTC Pyramid - 9:31.5

Overall I am overjoyed with my purchase and although my weight does not really seem to be going down, my spare tyre is definitely deflating.

[Dangerscouse]

Hi All,

Just wanting to say hi, I bought myself a RowErg for my birthday this year as a weight loss/fitness aid, it eventually arrived at the start of August.

I am a 6'4" former school rower who tried to continue at university, but the rest of the 'crew' hardly ever turned up, and then sort of tried again with a friend who belonged to Auriol Kensington Rowing club near Hammersmith, life, family, etc took over and now I am 53, 16.5 stone and wanting to get fit again.

I completed the Dog Days of Summer challenge which was a good way for me to slowly increase distance and stamina. I am already seeing huge improvements in my times for various distances having only been using the Erg for one month, I did not even attempt a 10K until the 15th.

Start of August:
500m - 2:02, 2000m - 9:03, 5000m - 27:0

Now:
500m - 1:50, 1000m - 3:56.5, 2000m - 8:36, 5000m - 22:01, 10000m - 46:54, August 2.5K CTC Pyramid - 9:31.5

Overall I am overjoyed with my purchase and although my weight does not really seem to be going down, my spare tyre is definitely deflating.

Welcome to the forum, and you're making really good progress.

[Blindside]

Interesting to see your progress. When we get a bit older it makes sense to "rage against the dying of the light", indeed we are capable of turning back the clock (for a while at least)

How do you aim to progress, are you following a set plan? Have you set yourself any goals?

[Zebethyal]

Thanks for the welcome,

I have a number of goals:
Being able to post times similar to Dangerscouse would make me happy, I do not have anywhere near the stamina to even attempt half of those distances/times yet.
Passing my first million meters is another goal, although that will eventually happen so long as I just keep up the rowing (although sooner is preferable to later).
Reaching a point where I am sufficiently comfortable with my body that I am not embarrased to take my shirt off in public - this one will probably require effort outside of rowing as well.

I currently walk about an hour a day with our dog as a 'warm up' before rowing or skipping. I also add in some cycling every now and then as well, although I could probably do with adding some strength training as well.

I am not currently following any plan, although I probably should to avoid potential loss of interest once the honeymoon period of Erg ownership wears off.

[Ombrax]

although my weight does not really seem to be going down, my spare tyre is definitely deflating.

They aren't 100% accurate, but one way to deal with this issue is to get a "body fat" scale (mine happens to be a Tanita) that will help you track your % body fat (and lots of other stuff if you get a fancier model) instead of just weight.

As you exercise you will hopefully gain muscle and lose fat, which may cause a simple body weight measure to not be as encouraging as you would like. But if you track your reduction in body fat you'll see positive results even if your weight isn't dropping like crazy.

[Tsnor]

Passing my first million meters is another goal

Great goal

Long/slow rows are great for you, distance adds up quickly and Concept2 sends you a neat 1M meter t-shirt.

[alien878]

I am not currently following any plan, although I probably should to avoid potential loss of interest once the honeymoon period of Erg ownership wears off.

This exactly. Although it isn’t so much the plan (what you train) as the schedule (when you train) that is important for duration. Pick a workable schedule and stick to it until it becomes a ritual that is ingrained as a part of your day to day activities before the honeymoon is over. What you do each workout can start as easy as necessary to keep the schedule and be increased as you improve.

I think there are a lot of ergs collecting dust out there that wouldn’t be if more people did this.

I was in a very similar situation 2.5 years ago when I started. Decided on a schedule of 6 days a week right before dinner. I’ve pretty much stuck to it since then. It’s ingrained to the point that when I replace a workout with something else aerobic like hiking, I have to fight the urge to hop on the erg before dinner.

I have since lost my spare tire and gained a 5M shirt (thanks concept!).

Allen H m57 183cm 74kg