my story....
Posted: June 25th, 2007, 12:56 pm
I thought I would share, hopefully it will help someone.
I started rowing for weight loss/fitness last thanksgiving, and I set a goal to row 100 hours in the 5 months from Thanksgiving until May 1, 2007. It was a simple goal, average 20 hours a month, at a slow steady pace.
I am 52 years old, short (and historically somewhat round) and I row at a fairly slow pace.... so I figured "time on the erg" was a good goal for me to set. I was able to achieve my goal of 100 hours, and during that time, rowed about 1,200,000 meters. According to my calculations, the rowing from Thanksgiving till May, burned about 65,000-70,000 calories. That amount of calories translates to 18-20 lbs of body fat, but I actually lost a bit more, I ended up losing about 28 lbs during my 5 month "program". I expect that this extra weight loss was due to a better diet, and maybe a higher metabolism. I had to be away from the erg for a two week vacation in March, but I increased my before and after vacation rowing, so that I still met my goal.
During May and June, I have continued , and have rowed another 500,000+ meters since May 1, and lost another 12 lbs. After all this, I am approaching 20% body fat, and feel better than I have in years.
It has been a lot of work, but for me, setting a long term goal, then breaking it to monthly/weekly/daily goals made the weight loss simple.
For me, it hasn't been a magic pill, but it has been nearly a "magic pull"
I started rowing for weight loss/fitness last thanksgiving, and I set a goal to row 100 hours in the 5 months from Thanksgiving until May 1, 2007. It was a simple goal, average 20 hours a month, at a slow steady pace.
I am 52 years old, short (and historically somewhat round) and I row at a fairly slow pace.... so I figured "time on the erg" was a good goal for me to set. I was able to achieve my goal of 100 hours, and during that time, rowed about 1,200,000 meters. According to my calculations, the rowing from Thanksgiving till May, burned about 65,000-70,000 calories. That amount of calories translates to 18-20 lbs of body fat, but I actually lost a bit more, I ended up losing about 28 lbs during my 5 month "program". I expect that this extra weight loss was due to a better diet, and maybe a higher metabolism. I had to be away from the erg for a two week vacation in March, but I increased my before and after vacation rowing, so that I still met my goal.
During May and June, I have continued , and have rowed another 500,000+ meters since May 1, and lost another 12 lbs. After all this, I am approaching 20% body fat, and feel better than I have in years.
It has been a lot of work, but for me, setting a long term goal, then breaking it to monthly/weekly/daily goals made the weight loss simple.
For me, it hasn't been a magic pill, but it has been nearly a "magic pull"