Concept2 Forum

Just wondered what people tend to do re weightloss training when they're feeling pretty sapped and tired.

For example - this weekend I was away watching the rugby in Cardiff and ended up out very late and didn't get a great deal of sleep, as a result, I've just felt totally knackered and dazed really.

In this situation, is it best to

just push on doing what you were doing?
Take a break and get yourself back on form
do a lighter set - slower, lower heart rate etc.
do a shorter set


My brain's telling me to go home tonight and do a set, but my body's saying the exact opposite!

For me it depends on why I'm feeling tired and not feeling the love of the erg!
If I've done a lot of exercise that week then I'll take it off. If I've been partying hard and neglected exercise that week I'll usually aim to do a shorter and easier session (although often these end up the same length just at an easier pace). Alternatively if I think I think I must be being lazy I'll start a normal row and see how it goes (if I manage 10 minutes I'll usually keep going until the end).
So, "all of the above"!

For me, taking a day off is key.

this is especially true if you have been training hard during the previous days you have been training especially hard.

The rest day allows your body to fully replenish your glycogen stores, making you fully prepared for a good hard workout the following day. In many ways the rest day is most important.

For example, I was stuck on a 10K time, and I took a day off due to fatigue. The next workout, I knocked 40 seconds off my 10K time!

My 2 cents.

Neil

I think that there is merit in both taking a day off and also getting on the machine even though you feel like crap. I believe that age, experience, and the concomitant physical limitations come into play.

When I was younger I would take a day off of rowing if I felt out of it and would attack the erg the next time I rowed. This worked well because I could recover quickly and I could retain my fitness level for longer periods of time. Now I am older and I don't have the physical ability to recover as quickly as I used to. I also have learned to be more paitent with myself and while I row as hard as I can each time out I realize that some days will be better than others in terms of effort and my times due to illness, injury, stresses, etc. I want the rowing to be a stress reliever and not to cause unnecessary stress.

So I personally have come around to the point where I would rather get on the erg and row even if I am not pushing myself to the absolute limit. I have been able to get past some mental "roadblocks" with this approach and have been able to keep rowing 4-5 times per week/40K meters for quite some time.

Thanks for the feedback

I've had some pretty nasty reflux and taken a week off - every time I rowed it made it worse - but I think it's better now, certainly not hurting, so onwards tonight!

Cheers

Came across this article in the Wash. Post re: exeercising while recovering from illness. Shed some light on things that I was not aware of.

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