40/50 Challenge

[nchasan]

I am 49 - 6 months to 50 and I am about 40 pounds overweight. So my friend and I are on a 40/50 challenge (he has 50 pounds to lose by 40). I started rowing today (yesterday I did a 4 minute row, no real effort, and I rank about last in the age group.) I started with 10 minutes at about 29 SPM rate on level 3. I did a little over 1500 M I intend to combine 30 minutes a day with the Russian KettleBell Challenge ( a 35# kettle bell drill) and the TRX Core workout. Thats my plan 5 days a week after work before dinner. I also plan to cut out almost all carbs intake relying on fresh fruit and vegetables only along with lean forms of protein. I predict 1-2# per week fat loss. For the record, I weigh 196 and I am only 5'7" tall. It sucks because I snore like a freight train and my wife is ready to boot me. So thats my story, I plan to record my data every day. I intend to work up to 30 minutes over about a week and I will experiment with the level to determine the best level of work for me.

For those interested, as a sports PT I offer an injury blog at srcpt.blogspot . c o m

thanks...Neil

[Citroen]

I think you'll need to do more than that to lose a pound a week.

http://www.concept2.co.uk/weightloss/interactive.php

Your weight is 14st 0lb (or 89.1Kg) for that programme.

[nchasan]

Have you ever worked out with a 35# kettle bell? It is a very intense workout.

[PJM]

I just got my TRX system..can't wait to try it!!!

Pat

[badocter]

I am 49 - 6 months to 50 and I am about 40 pounds overweight. So my friend and I are on a 40/50 challenge (he has 50 pounds to lose by 40).

I applaud your decision to attack this challenge. You will not believe how good you feel after you drop 50-60lb of deadweight...a lot of us on here have been there including myself.

I started rowing today (yesterday I did a 4 minute row, no real effort, and I rank about last in the age group.) I started with 10 minutes at about 29 SPM rate on level 3. I did a little over 1500 M

The damper setting, ie. "level 3", effects the feel rather than the intensity on a rower. A lot of people make the mistake of relating the damper position to being like weight on a barbell, but it is really more analogous to gearing on a bike -- in any given gear on a bike you can vary the intensity by pedalling faster, and likewise on a rower at any given damper position you can vary the intensity by pulling more forcefully and/or pulling with the same force but at a higher stroke rate. The measure of intensity that we use here is the 500m split (ie, the time require to do each 500m). At 1500m in 10 minutes, your 500m split was 3:33 -- which is only about 33 watts (the monitor can show the 500m split or watts, but the split is the more intuitive of the two once you get used to it and is the one everybody here uses). I suspect a 3:33 split felt quite easy for you -- I suggest immediately cutting that split down as I suspect you can go quite a bit faster without killing yourself...if you use the interactive plan as Dougie suggested I think you will automatically have to push harder to meet the heart rate targets for the sessions (do you have a heart rate monitor?) If you don't have a HRM, for the time being you can go by feel...I am going to take an educated guess that you can handle at least a 2:40 split (85 watts)- so aim for that next time and if you can handle that for 10' then never go slower than that again.

As time progresses and you get more fit, you will have to adjust your pace targets. On the interactive plan Dougie suggested you have HR targets, so the progression of pace changes will occur naturally as it will take increasingly higher power to drive your heart rate to the target as you get more fit. HR is one approach, pace based workouts are another option, the beginner Pete Plan being a pretty well though out one:
http://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/beginner-training/
One of the keys to improvement is systematic progession.

I intend to combine 30 minutes a day with the Russian KettleBell Challenge ( a 35# kettle bell drill) and the TRX Core workout.

I have heard of the Russian Kettlebell Challenge, but have no idea what the exact routine is. On something like this I suspect progression means either doing the workout faster or with a heavier weight. I would be suspect of any weight based program that does not somehow address progression -- without progression, your muscle strength or endurance will simply be maintained once you get accustomed to the weight and will not improve. I also don't know what the TRX Core workout is, but I would be surprised that the kettlebell work did not do core ?!?

Another common mistake for beginners is thinking you have to do umpteen different things to improve strength -- you can thank the bodybuilding community and inventors of the Naultilus equipment for that. The truth is that a bodybuilding split routine is not optimal for strength gains, in reality the most effective beginner programs are the ones that focus a small number of full body lifts...like the starting strength program
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224
There are also a number of 5x5 programs that focus on full body lifts and are also very effective.

My point is, if you are doing the kettlebell stuff you probably are already hitting your core pretty well, so you may not need additional accesorie exercises to hit it more -- if the kettlebell is not wiping your core out enough, then either do the kettlebell routine faster or with a heavier kettlebell -- in other words, increase the intensity.

I also plan to cut out almost all carbs intake relying on fresh fruit and vegetables only along with lean forms of protein.

To get the most out of your workouts and best recovery after, you need to get both some protein (to facilitate muscle growth and repair) and some carbs to facilitate replenishing your glycogen stores (so that you have gas in the tank on the next workout). Cut the simple carbs and fat, but keep the complex carbs.

I predict 1-2# per week fat loss.

I think this is well doable. Again good luck. I know this post is rather long winded, but it is essentially the stuff I wish someone had told me when I started.

[nchasan]

Thanks for the posts guys, I appreciate it.

Well I am a week or two in and I am up to a five minute warm up followed by two 2000 m intervals with a 4 minute rest period. I sprint the last 500 of each 2000 and I feel like my technique is improving as well as my cardio. I take the full 4 minutes to recover. During the sprints I am operating at a stroke rate of between 24 and 30s/m and cruising at about 2:12/500. During the last 200 I try to really turn it up. My HR is in the 220 range at the conclusion. BTW, my resting HR was 60b/m when I started this program, and my VO2Max was 30. My BP at the doc the other day was 120/90 - I was stressed out though- I don't like going to the doctor!

After the second 2000 I am so fatigued that I have a hard time doing the kettlebell challenge (its basically the swing exercise with a 10 minute jog between sets and also the half turkish get up to fatigue at this stage. I also do single leg dead lifts to overhead all with a 35# kettlebell. I am also doing several TRX core exercises and also the dips and pull ups machine as well. All systems go.

The good news so far - I am sleeping like a baby, I snore less already and I am comfortably sore (post exercise soreness) so far. I am doing pretty well watching m my diet so far and all told I think I am on track.

I have adjusted the resistance to level 3 (it was on level 7) so thanks for that. But I am now revising my plan to work up to three 2000 m intervals with sprints in the last 500 of each one with 4 minutes rest between sets. My plan is to gradually reduce the rest to one minute between sets to make the time more efficient. Sprinting is where its at!

I am enjoying the log book on line because it gives immediate feedback as to improvement, and I notice that I have moved up about 100 places so far!!!

OK, 5 down, 35 to go!

Neil

[nchasan]

I just got my TRX system..can't wait to try it!!!

Pat

Cool! How do you like it so far?

[Rhubarbarian]

Guys, this was a great discussion. Thanks for to Neil for posting and to everyone else for answering. I'll be checking out the links when I have more time.

[nchasan]

Guys, this was a great discussion. Thanks for to Neil for posting and to everyone else for answering. I'll be checking out the links when I have more time.

Tanks Val,

I am making great headway with a good 1000m warm up more or less - 5 minutes of about 80% output. I stop and stretch before I hit it hard. At the beginning of the week I can do two sets of 2000m with a 5 minute recovery, but by Wednesday, if I have a prayer of hitting the kettlebell, i need to go on the weights after one set. My best 2000 so far is 8:56 - I knocked 8 seconds off on Monday and then 8 more seconds off on Wednesday.

With the kettlebell I am using a 25# weight and dong swings, single leg dead lifts to overhead press, squat and press overhead (floor to overhead lift), and squats. I walk on the treadmill between sets if my legs get too tired. I also use the dips and pullups Gravitron with 10 rep max loads.

When I am done, I am done. But I feel great an I am losing weight and highly motivated.

Have a great weekend everyone

Neil

[nchasan]

For what its worth, I am making headway. I completed my first effort at 5000 m yesterday and felt good about it - actually I feel great about it since my first row was only 500 m and I thought I was gonna die!

But I am doing fine, exercising 6 of 7 days, 5 on the ERG, and I am averaging about 5000 m 1K to warm up na dn two 2k repeats with my 2K about 8:50 or so. This leaves me taxed at the end of each 2K with a sprint in and my HR up to 159 once I am done. I can usually recover and go again within five minutes though and I feel like I am making good progress. The 5 K was actually fun, took me about 24 minutes and I worked at about 24 spm with my 500 m splits about 2:20 or so.

I am doing several free weight and kettlebell exercises after I work out and I am watching my diet a little bit at least making sure not to overeat and not to eat fatty or salty food. I am trying to skip carbs like rice and potatoes and pasta grains and also dairy too.

So far I have lost about 15#, probably more in fat because I am exercising harder and longer now so I must be building muscle.

I do have a question though, on the PM 2 computer, is the calorie read the total number of calories? it sure seams like lot of effort to burn 120 cal...

Neil

[Nosmo]

I do have a question though, on the PM 2 computer, is the calorie read the total number of calories? it sure seams like lot of effort to burn 120 cal...
Neil

Yes but it is a rough estimate. It does take a lot of effort to burn calories. But you continue to burn more calories though out the day and more muscle mass mean you will also burn more calories. If you weight is coming down don't obsess about the calories. When you get faster you will burn many more calories in the same amount of time, so soon that 120 will be 200 and feel easier.

Since you have lost 15# you are going great! You are in this for the long haul so as long are you are making progress don't worry about the calorie number too much.

[nchasan]

When you get faster you will burn many more calories in the same amount of time, so soon that 120 will be 200 and feel easier.

Thanks, one more question for one and all to respond to:

While rowing on the ERG, I tend to watch my 500 splits, How do you watch your output? I have heard that some watch the power output by looking at watts, some by keeping the calorie output in mind and others like me, by watching split times. Just curious.

Thanks

Neil

[jamesg]

Well done on your progress and efforts. The further you go, the more you'll see how worthwhile it is in terms of fitness and general well-being.

Watts (= Power), pace (time/500m), distance and kCal are all related on the erg by a set of equations, so it doesn't really matter much which you use.

As the erg is a rowing machine, and only times count on water, Pace is the most widely used. 2k courses have timing markers every 500m. The only catch is that to go 10% faster, you need to produce around 30% more power (there's a cube law, on the erg and afloat too), so the Pace readout does not directly reflect the amount of work you're doing. You'll have noticed that the small pace difference from 2:20 to 2:00 is no joke at all in terms of blisters.

Power, or rather Work per stroke, is what a C2 ergometer measures - hence it's name. You can see your work per stroke by dividing Power by Rating. Needless to say, if we want to move a boat fast, there has to be a lot of work in each stroke, but not so much that we die before getting to the finish. So this number can be quite useful in planning training and racing.

Calories are calculated directly from work done, considering 25% efficiency and adding 300/h to take account of work not going into the handle.

In any case the erg is there mainly to get us fit, and it does if we use it, whichever number system we apply. You can use the sweat index too - weigh before and after, and if the diff is more than a kg, you're doing fine.

[nchasan]

The only catch is that to go 10% faster, you need to produce around 30% more power (there's a cube law, on the erg and afloat too), so the Pace readout does not directly reflect the amount of work you're doing. You'll have noticed that the small pace difference from 2:20 to 2:00 is no joke at all in terms of blisters.

Thanks, great info!


N

[Big Chris]

I have been following this post as I am working along the same lines a long term weight loss goal. I want to loose least 100 lbs.or more. My lengths and time have been getting better every day. I logged over 90,000 meters in January. How ever I have been wanting to change things up a bit and am very interested in using kettle bells as you put in the first post. But cannot seem to find info on how to use them properly. Do you have any work outs you can suggest or a site that may have a work out list that is not tring to hard sell a video.