Rowing for Weight Loss

[Pivotal]

Hello forum!

I'm relatively new to indoor rowing but am enjoying it immensely as my workout staple! I wanted to request some advice from the forum as a sounding board for my workouts if any avid rowers would like to help me hone my rowing workouts to achieve my goals.

I am 37 years old, 5'-7" tall, weight 210 lbs. My goal is to lean down to 170 lbs. I followed recommended starting workouts to get my body used to the motions of indoor rowing but am at a point where I'd like some advice on where to go from here. A little information on my current rowing workouts:

I utilize the ErgData app on my iPhone to link it to the PM3 on the rower at my local gym so all my workouts are posted in my logbook sync'd from my phone. Tonight will the beginning of my 5th week rowing 3 times a week. I start out with 5 mins of light rowing (22 spm @ 115 - 128 watts). Then, do 5-10 mins of stretching (recommended stretches from this website). Then, I do four 5 min rows (24 spm @ 125 watt avg). Finally, I do a 10 min row (24 spm @ 122 watt avg). These workouts are separated by 1-3 min rest. So, I'm doing 35 min rowing on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays. I have been using the watts unit of measure to determine how hard I am rowing. I have been increasing my wattage week to week pushing myself. My ultimate goal is weight loss, but increasing my cardio endurance is important too. I have noticed the 2 parts of my body that are most sore are my abs and my back. After my rowing is completed, I do several ab/back workouts trying to strengthen them (Ab Crunch, Rotary Torso, Leg Lifts, and Back Lifts) and work in a chest press, leg press, or something else varied by day. I've thought about adding 2 days of rowing a week to my schedule. But, on those days, I would just do my rowing and stretching, no extra workouts. I'm spending 1 1/2 hours at the gym completing these workouts. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[beerbelly]

I am your age and have started rowing two months ago.
I lost 2 inches of my waist line since.
I would suggest that you mainly track your waist line, because it's likely that you gain some muscle weight picking up rowing + strength training.
Your changes in weight could therefore be misleading.

I don't think rowing played a major part in my fat loss, however.
While my activity level has risen for sure (180km of rowing in 8 weeks), I also reduced my calorie intake by
1. Portion control, see http://nosdiet.com/
2. Avoiding refined carbs
3. Upping protein intake (protein keeps you "full" longer)

Strength training is always a good idea, but your training would be much more efficient if you would train with free weights instead of machines.
Google for "Starting Strength" or "5x5 Madcow" to get an idea how to structure a weight lifting routine.
I am too lazy to go to a gym and follow a proper weight lifting plan nowadays, but I do my press-ups, pull-ups and dumbbell presses at home whenever I am in the mood.
Whatever kind of strength training you follow, I would always start with the weights and do the rowing after that, though I doubt you'll be in any shape for serious rowing after a few sets of barbell rows and squats.

Btw, I am using the "Pete Plan for Beginners" which looked the most appealing plan from outside.
You can find my training log here: http://www.editgrid.com/user/beerbelly/ ... preadsheet
No matter what plan you follow, once you start continuous rowing for 20+ minutes you will need a sweatband for your head.

Hope this helps.

[hjs]

Rowing a hour at 2.00 will roughly burn 1000 cal, you need to burn 7k to burn 1k of fat (7k plus extra energy to use that fat)
So you see, excercise is good and helps, but loosing weight is mostly in the eating. The most easy way is cutting the carbs a lot and eat more protein.
Ofcourse the training helps and will change you body, building muscle will not happen much if you are on a restricted diet.

[beerbelly]

Rowing a hour at 2.00 will roughly burn 1000 cal

A beginner would struggle to do that though.
Even if he could manage such a workload, he surely would have the appetite of a lumberjack afterwards.

[hjs]

Rowing a hour at 2.00 will roughly burn 1000 cal

A beginner would struggle to do that though.
Even if he could manage such a workload, he surely would have the appetite of a lumberjack afterwards.

I meant only 1000 cal, so you to row 7 hours to do that. You are right beginners row slower, 2.00 is not fast though. Good achieveble for an average man.

[Pivotal]

Rowing a hour at 2.00 will roughly burn 1000 cal

What does 2.00 mean? What are the units of measure on 2.00? I guess I don't understand. Is that time/500m?

[gregsmith01748]

I'm a bit confused. What I have seen is that you need to create a calorie deficit of 3500 to lose 1 pound of fat, not 7000. It is 7700 for a KG, however.

But, Henry's point is right on. It is very easy to eat an extra 1000 calories after you start rowing because you will feel more hungry. In order to lose weight, you really need to limit food intake and weigh yourself regularly to make adjustments.

[Citroen]

Rowing a hour at 2.00 will roughly burn 1000 cal

What does 2.00 mean? What are the units of measure on 2.00? I guess I don't understand. Is that time/500m?

Almost everyone talks about pace and rate (the odd one talks about wattage).

Pace is time (mins & secs) taken to cover 500m.
Rate is number of stores per minute.
Watts is indicated power.

But at this stage all of that is irrelevant to you.

The first, second & third things you need to work on before worrying about numbers are: 1. technique 2. technique & 3. technique. If you don't get that right before anything else you may as well give up now. Once technique is fixed and hardened the numbers will work themselves out.

[Pivotal]

The first, second & third things you need to work on before worrying about numbers are: 1. technique 2. technique & 3. technique. If you don't get that right before anything else you may as well give up now. Once technique is fixed and hardened the numbers will work themselves out.

I absolutely understand and agree with focusing effort on technique. I watched the videos at Concept2 Technique Videos to ensure I am rowing the correct way. Once I got that down, then I focused on setting benchmarks to help pace myself and have structure to my workouts. But, I revisit my technique often to ensure I haven't gotten lazy.

Almost everyone talks about pace and rate (the odd one talks about wattage).

I do use wattage and rate to determine my pace, maybe that makes me odd. I don't really care. I ensure I'm maintaining my rate at the desired setting and that my wattage stays above a certain amount.

I have noticed my waist line shrinking, but I haven't been paying too much attention to the scale. I feel really good doing what I'm doing, so I'm going to keep doing it. I'll start rowing 5x a week and start dabbling in the "Workouts of the Day" provided by Concept2.

[redevil29]

Hi all,

I've read the different msg of this thread and i'm very surprise to see that NOBODY seems to understand the crucial
parameter : Heart rate !

To lose some weight you don't have to row at a pace of 2.00/500m or less by far !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In fact all you have to know is :

1) "Rowork" a minimun of 30mn ( better 1h ) at least 3 times a week ( not counting the warming session ! )
ideally every day .

2) depending of your condition ( but if you're looking to lose weight i guess we are not talking of people spending
their free time in stadium/gymnasium !! but more in the *** DELETE - SPAM *** or a restaurant !:^) )
work at a 50% ( to max 75% ) of your max heart rate within your age ( 220-age ). Aerobie session is the key
it helps no to be to much incomodate by the tireness or muscle pain the next day at work ! .
( Of course the usual thing applies : drink ....water (:^), and do NOT avoid the streching session AFTER the
main training)

I REPEAT the IMPORTANT issue : the LENGTH of the session is A LOT more important than it's Heavyness
It take TIME to the body to mobilize the fat reserve to use it if an effort is made ! So listen to your body
and give him TIME too !

3) Heart rate monitor is NOT an option and it help you to monitor your progress ( you'll be amaze of the result
after only a few ( 2 or 3 ) month if you're serious and don't suffer of intercourse health issue !

4) Of course , as i read here and around : CONTROL your diet, reduce_not suppress_ fat and refine carbon.
It's the crucial part of lose weight and more important for everyone , change your body shape ( less belly , more muscle
nobody care to weight a TON if you look like Brad or Angelina ..right ? )

Thanks to read until here & sorry for my english/american ...i'm not an english native.
Hope it helps !
Dr ESTEVE

[peters0]

Hi Pivotal,
If I were you I'd start cutting out the rest periods between the 5 minutes sessions, perhaps start by reducing by 30s each rest and continuing to reduce until you can row for 30 minutes without a rest break in between at all. This will maximise your workout in the time available, and even allow you to work harder in less time. Your stroke rate at 24 spm looks about right to me for your height, but to help develop more power you could think about reducing perhaps to 22 spm and just pulling a little harder when you do make a stroke, such that your pace, time/500m stays the same (you must have good technique first to be able to do this without hurting yourself though). Once you're there, then each session try to lower your average pace to start getting faster, which will burn more calories without you having to increase the duration of the row. I never look at the watts when I'm rowing, I can assess how hard I'1m trying simply by looking at the pace/500m - the lower you get it, the harder you are pulling and the higher the watts. If you have time though, duration is far more important than speed to burn fat so try and extend your steady state rows from 30 minutes to an hour.

Make sure you get a heart rate monitor and know your maximum heart rate so that you can then train in the right zones to both burn fat, and improve cardio - they are different if you are to maximise the benefits of each. It was mentioned that working hard makes you hungry - if this is the case then perhaps drink a protein shake after your row, it will rehydrate you, help repair the muscles, and help make you feel full so you don't then go eating too much. The formula of 220-age isn't really very accurate at all - best if you determine it simply by rowing for a while and then increasing your pace so that you heart rate rises by 5 beats per minute each time, and continue doing that till you feel you're about to throw up. At that point your heart rate is likely to be the highest you can get it to. I suggest however you speak with your doctor first before you try this...

It takes 3500 calories to burn 1 lb of fat. For me, a 1 hour row at 20 spm, heart rate at 85% HRmax with about a 2:10/500m pace burns about 875 calories. So in theory, for me to burn 1 lb of fat will take 4 hours on the rower. I row 5x a week, an hour each time (perhaps a half-marathon at the weekend), so I'll lose 1.25 lbs a week. That said, I also reduce my calorie intake to give myself a deficit, so I expect to lose some weight simply by eating less too, so you can actually lose 2 lbs a week, sustainably like this. The deficit can easily be achieved by stopping alcohol, cakes, sugar, chocolate and the like. The C2 nutrition advice suggests however not to give yourself a calorie deficit of more than 15% for more than 2 days a week, so for the standard 2500 daily value, you should be looking to take out 375 calories from your intake, IF, your intake was 2500 to start with, so that you weren't gaining or losing weight in the first place prior to the exercise. 375 calories is the same as a Mars bar I think, so hardly stressful to leave it on the shelf...

Good luck!

[heroesfitness]

Hello forum!

I'm relatively new to indoor rowing but am enjoying it immensely as my workout staple! I wanted to request some advice from the forum as a sounding board for my workouts if any avid rowers would like to help me hone my rowing workouts to achieve my goals.

I am 37 years old, 5'-7" tall, weight 210 lbs. My goal is to lean down to 170 lbs. I followed recommended starting workouts to get my body used to the motions of indoor rowing but am at a point where I'd like some advice on where to go from here. A little information on my current rowing workouts:

I utilize the ErgData app on my iPhone to link it to the PM3 on the rower at my local gym so all my workouts are posted in my logbook sync'd from my phone. Tonight will the beginning of my 5th week rowing 3 times a week. I start out with 5 mins of light rowing (22 spm @ 115 - 128 watts). Then, do 5-10 mins of stretching (recommended stretches from this website). Then, I do four 5 min rows (24 spm @ 125 watt avg). Finally, I do a 10 min row (24 spm @ 122 watt avg). These workouts are separated by 1-3 min rest. So, I'm doing 35 min rowing on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays. I have been using the watts unit of measure to determine how hard I am rowing. I have been increasing my wattage week to week pushing myself. My ultimate goal is weight loss, but increasing my cardio endurance is important too. I have noticed the 2 parts of my body that are most sore are my abs and my back. After my rowing is completed, I do several ab/back workouts trying to strengthen them (Ab Crunch, Rotary Torso, Leg Lifts, and Back Lifts) and work in a chest press, leg press, or something else varied by day. I've thought about adding 2 days of rowing a week to my schedule. But, on those days, I would just do my rowing and stretching, no extra workouts. I'm spending 1 1/2 hours at the gym completing these workouts. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Great Info here for Fat Loss Rowing, hope this helps

The benefit: "Rowing machines provide the best total-body workout of any cardio machine," says U.S. Olympic rowing coach Mike Teti. This is because they require equal effort from both your lower and your upper body, which could lead to greater gains in overall cardiovascular fitness.

Do it right: On the back stroke, your knees should be almost completely straight before you squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull the handle to your sternum. Your back should stay in its naturally arched position during the entire movement. Got it? Now sign up with the Million Meter Club at www.conceptII.com. Record your distance online after every rowing session and see how you rank against more than 3,700 other club members. (Stay motivated by finishing your second million in less time.)

The 20-minute fat-burner: Try Teti's routine. It's designed to max out your muscles during each interval, while the recovery periods help increase the efficiency of this fat burning exercise routine. Set the rowing machine at a resistance of four. Then perform sets of 10, 15, and 20 power strokes—pulling the handle to your torso as fast and as hard as you can. Separate the power strokes with 60 seconds of easy rowing at about 50 percent of your full effort. Repeat the cycle until you've rowed for 20 minutes.

[Sevenfeet]

My wife began rowing three weeks ago as an anchor exercise in her overall desire to reshape her body, lose weight and get back into proper cardio shape. Since she's female and she would kill me if I gave weight specifics to her situation, but I can say that she's 45 years old, 5'9" and I'd say she needs to lose about a third of her body weight. We have a 27 year old Model A that used to belong to my brother who bought it when he rowed on his college crew team back in the 80's. It sat lightly used over the last 20 years, mostly at the house of a friend until I decided to reclaim it a month ago. It's still in very good shape for an old timer machine. It was one of the last Model A's of that period and one of the earliest machines to sport the 1st gen computer instead of the speedometer (and the computer still works).

When she began rowing, she could only do about 5 minutes of work, but that quickly increased to 20 and now she's doing 30-35 minutes per workout, averaging about 5500 meters. She's not concentrating on weight loss at this point but she is interested in how her body is changing. Since she began, she's has lost an inch from her waist, 3/4 inch from her arms and about an inch from her thighs. She's also trying to eat better and is investigating cutting out gluten and maybe a few other methods.

The hard part will be next week when we go on vacation and trying to keep up her 5 days out of 7 weekly workout schedule. There are YMCAs nearby where we are going that should have rowing machines in their weight rooms (our local Y has a Model D machine). My wife has a heart rate monitor from her running days a decade ago, but we haven't found it in the house yet (I'm hoping to avoid buying a new one). We're debating on upgrading the computer to give her some better telemetry and access to modern devices (iPhone and the like). Right now, she has to manually keep whatever data the computer generates from her workout.

Since the early success with her measurements, my wife seems to be more determined than ever to stick with the program. I think by Labor Day she'll begin to see real body shaping progress and by Christmas, I think she'll be well on her way to her goals. I'll check in from time to time on updates.

[Sevenfeet]

An update on my wife's progress...

She's now completed about 5 weeks of training, having started on 6/16/13. She's been pretty faithful to rowing 5 days a week, only dropping to 3 days a week during a recent vacation where she sought out a local YMCA which had a C2 rowing machine to get in her workouts. Her typical workout is now about 6500-7000 meters usually lasting 30 minutes. When we see fitness data from most of the people on this forum, it's generally coming from men whose bodies lose weight differently than women. Women's bodies, and especially my wife, tend to be very stubborn about weight loss. The single most frustrating thing for my wife is that despite needing to lose about a third of her body weight and having the problematic "apple" body type, she hasn't lost any significant weight...2 lbs, which is she's pretty much where she started. I'm chalking it up to a combination of muscle mass gain increasing while fat is decreasing...right now its zero sum total.

That being said, everything else is a complete success. My wife's measurements are all on the decline. In the 4 weeks since we started measuring, her arms and legs are all about an inch smaller. Her chest is also down an inch and her middle is down about 1 1/2 inches. Needless to say, my wife is really psyched about that and is trying to look at the weight issue more in the context of everything else. For example, we have a special needs 10 year old boy and a few days ago during a trip to a local children science center, he decided to take off in the wrong direction across the parking lot. Normally I'm the one who will sprint after him if he goes off and won't respond to direction, but this time she sprinted about 40 yards to catch up to him. After she came back, her reaction was "Hey, I'm not winded at all!!"

More to come in another month.

[Howard N]

"Hey, I'm not winded at all!!"

Good on your wife! Getting into shape is one of the rewards of doing this erging.

Good luck on her weight loss.