Weight loss rest days

[Schaapveld4]

Hello,
I've recently gotten serious about losing some weight, and I've seen many post that longer work outs (and diet changes) are the way to go.
So currently I am rowing one hour every other day, I just started doing this two weeks ago. I am at a Drag factor of 115 and trying to keep my heart rate between 150 and 160 which determines my pace.

The question I have is should I start filling in some of my days off?

I have been doing these workouts in the morning before work and I usually feel recovered by lunchtime, maybe a little sore the next morning after a nights sleep.

I am 39 years old 5'11" tall and 260 Lbs. currently

Thanks for the input,
-Matt

[Dangerscouse]

I'd simply recommend you do as much as you're able to based on your recovery and time availability. More is always better in this instance, but it might make sense to do something a bit / a lot harder once or twice a week too, just to stop you adapting to the sessions

[Tenshuu]

Hello,
I've recently gotten serious about losing some weight, and I've seen many post that longer work outs (and diet changes) are the way to go.
So currently I am rowing one hour every other day, I just started doing this two weeks ago. I am at a Drag factor of 115 and trying to keep my heart rate between 150 and 160 which determines my pace.

The question I have is should I start filling in some of my days off?

I have been doing these workouts in the morning before work and I usually feel recovered by lunchtime, maybe a little sore the next morning after a nights sleep.

I am 39 years old 5'11" tall and 260 Lbs. currently

Thanks for the input,
-Matt

As recommended by Dangerscouse - more is better if you feel recovered and comfortable adding in more sessions - the moment you feel like you need the rest, don't ignore that sign, and take a rest day.

Remember that diet is also the major key player in a weight loss journey. I have re-entered the "need to drop a few pounds" block of folk recently myself. I switched my eating habit to match Intermittent fasting of 16 hours of fasting, with an 8 hour window of eating - I generally do 2 meals and avoid snacking completely on most days. I don't specifically count calories or macros, but I do consciously make an effort to make the meals higher quality than I normally would, and I eat until I'm full with each meal - most of which consist of non-processed foods.

I've dropped 10lbs from my 200lb starting point a few weeks ago. Last week I saw the scale and was still hovering very close to 200lbs, but last night it had dropped out of nowhere, I had to check it like 3 times to make sure I wasn't crazy. Sometimes the weight doesn't come off incrementally it seems like, but rather in delayed chunks....

Happy erging, watch out for your body's feelings and responses to changes in training, it's important to avoid injuring yourself, or you could end up rowing less frequently or not at all in order to recover!

[jamesg]

The question I have is should I start filling in some of my days off?

What you're doing will certainly get you fit, which will let you do more.

How that "more" fits in can happen in a number if ways: working a little harder (which by using constant HR may happen in any case), increasing distance, increasing number of work days, using higher ratings or improving style.

The common denominator is "work done", which is Watts x minutes (or hours) aboard. By tracking this with say a cautious 1-2% increase per week, you'll be able to engage all these methods.

Exploration and experimentation can be done using the wave idea, say increase three weeks in succession by 3-4%, then take a step back, change the approach/style/intensity, take stock; ready for the next wave.

Variety I hear, is the spice of life.

[nates]

I'm trying to balance my max interval days (trying to build up my aerobic base) against trying to get more bulk calorie burning 1hr slog days. One the one hand the interval days are sort of like sharpening the axe, but on the other hand the day after I'm finding really needs to be a rest day, so I get both a shorter workout and I lose a day.

[lindsayh]

I'm trying to balance my max interval days (trying to build up my aerobic base) against trying to get more bulk calorie burning 1hr slog days. One the one hand the interval days are sort of like sharpening the axe, but on the other hand the day after I'm finding really needs to be a rest day, so I get both a shorter workout and I lose a day.

IMO just listen to the body - rest days are really important part of training. Fitness gains will change things a bit and the rest day can become a steady slower session and the like. Overtraining is as much or more of a problem as not doing enough.

[Dangerscouse]

IMO just listen to the body - rest days are really important part of training. Fitness gains will change things a bit and the rest day can become a steady slower session and the like. Overtraining is as much or more of a problem as not doing enough.

100% agree. The only way I have made progress is having rest days when needed, but just like hard intervals there's a subtle difference between laziness and genuinely not being able to do it.

Be honest with yourself and question every decision

[8sWwr2]

While rowing is definitely good for your body & organs (heart, brain), it will not in and of itself assist you in your weight loss.

While watching what you eat always helps (give low carb a shot - cut sugar, refined grains), the other side of the coin is when to eat.

A compressed eating schedule will always help you lose weight and improve your health (lipids, visceral (aka truncal fat) - that oatmeal around your midsection coating your organs). Time restricted eating is the way.

Time-restricted eating

Satchin Panda, Ph.D. on Time-Restricted Feeding and Its Effects on Obesity, Muscle Mass & Heart Health 7-1-16

Dr. Satchin Panda on Practical Implementation of Time-Restricted Eating & Shift Work Strategies 10-30-17

[nates]

I think that's been well established. But it doesn't negate the fact that once you have diet controlled, exercising for weight loss is best served with a lot of long duration calorie burning workouts.

[Schaapveld4]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone.
Sounds like I'll try and incorporate more sessions slowly and listen to my body.
I am doing the Keto diet and watching my calorie intake, including logging everything I eat with the myFitness pal app.

Thanks again,
-Matt

[Gabe_G]

I'm trying to balance my max interval days (trying to build up my aerobic base) against trying to get more bulk calorie burning 1hr slog days. One the one hand the interval days are sort of like sharpening the axe, but on the other hand the day after I'm finding really needs to be a rest day, so I get both a shorter workout and I lose a day.

IMO just listen to the body - rest days are really important part of training. Fitness gains will change things a bit and the rest day can become a steady slower session and the like. Overtraining is as much or more of a problem as not doing enough.

Excellent advice and it seems to mirror my thoughts and experiences.

[kingalpha]

The question I have is should I start filling in some of my days off?

Do you have any activities that you enjoy doing on your days off?

A simple 30 mins walk and some body weight exercises would compliment your current rowing program nicely. I have a stationary bike that I use on my non rowing days. I hop on for 1 hour (watch a movie or something on Netflix) and just go easy (no more than 50% max heart rate) followed by 50 pushups and 50 crunches. My rowing days are long steady state session, either 20km total or 90 mins so the off days are there as active recovery. It helps get the blood flowing to the muscles which helps with recovery (or so I've heard..)

[lsufan1972]

...so I'm going to give you the reverse of the "conventional wisdom".

I generally row every day 10-20K per day, and I weight in at 285 today (down from 324).
I have taken off 2 days in the last month, and probably 5 total in 2 months.
Maybe that is too much, but I feel GREAT.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with David Goggins, but he is a crazy fitness guy (former US Navy SEAL) who says people start with rest and have no idea what they have in them.

I will agree with the crowd when I say take the rest your body needs, but I will also say if you are fueling your body right, you may not need much time off. You really can be the only judge of that.

I could probably take a few more days off here and there, but since I'm losing weight and not trying to push my body to the limits for say my PR for 2K, I don't feel that i need the time off. If you are taking nice easy rows for 1/2 hour to an hour (or more), you may be fine to go 6 days out of 7.

Best of luck either way, and do what works for you!