What's the best program for a competitive 2k?

ppierce · Post by **ppierce** » February 5th, 2009, 9:04 pm

If I were willing to do whatever it takes to become competitive on the erg... I mean like CRASH B qualifier competitive... what's the best program to follow? I'm healthy and fit with a good base. I don't care how long it takes. 6mo? a year? two years? I don't care how many hours a day i have to train (or not train). Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

pmacaula · Post by **pmacaula** » February 5th, 2009, 11:33 pm

ppierce wrote:If I were willing to do whatever it takes to become competitive on the erg... what's the best program to follow? I don't care how many hours a day i have to train (or not train). Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

PP - Not clear whether you are comfortable with a DIY approach or would be happier with a coach/trainer helping you along, but assuming that you are ok doing most of it on your own, there are a few programs that are actively discussed on this forum and its sister forum on concept2.co.uk

1. Concept2 Interactive Plan - http://www.concept2.co.uk/training/interactive.php Very much a DIY program - just answer a few questions on the website & then out pops a training schedule.

2. The Pete Plan - http://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/the-pete-plan/. There is also an active thread on the C2 UK forums on the Pete Plan - http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... f=4&t=5409
A derivative of the Wolverine Plan (Pete describes this relationship on his website). The Pete Plan is has the advantage of simplicity and Pete Marston offers online coaching services.

3. The Wolverine Plan - http://www.c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=8295
Developed and written by Mike Caviston, requires a lot more reading and preparation. The thread above and the links in it contain most of what has been published or discussed on the WP.

If you are ok with DIY and are comfortable with spreadsheets and putting in the hours on the erg, this is by far the most rigorously researched and comprehensive plan outside of a fully coached team program. You can scale the WP up to elite level workload and the principles remain the same.

Full disclosure - I went through the same evaluation as you last summer and ended up starting on the WP in September. Having put in the time and effort, the results have come out the other end.

If you have an erg at home & it has a PM2+, PM3 or PM4, you might consider looking into RowPro (www.digitalrowing.com). It can help you with recording and tracking your workouts, but more importantly (to my mind), you can erg online with others. Having others around certainly helps if/when your motivation flags from time to time.

Cheers. Patrick.

ppierce · Post by **ppierce** » February 5th, 2009, 11:49 pm

Great answer, thanks Patrick. I'm about 3 weeks into the uk interactive plan now. I've generated a 6 month plan for myself and have followed it to the letter thus far (plus weights). Just seems a little easy? I realize i'm leaving myself open to criticism on that one but... i just want to make sure i'm onthe most effective plan. Thanks again. -PP

pmacaula · Post by **pmacaula** » February 6th, 2009, 12:13 am

ppierce wrote:I'm about 3 weeks into the uk interactive plan...I've generated a 6 month plan...and have followed it to the letter thus far (plus weights). Just seems a little easy?

You would do well to read the original WP document, whether you choose to follow it or not.

One thing that was new to me was the incredible amount of 'easy' erging required to support a relatively small volume of very high quality (read extremely challenging) high intensity work.

My vague recollection of the C2 Interactive plan is that you don't see any AT or TR workouts until week 4 or so. So you are likely still building the base for that work.

What you should be doing is keeping track of your comfort level with varying levels of workout intensity as sa they relate to pace (sec/500m).

As someone on the UK forum has said, you want to be ready when you 'open up the hurt box'. Even if a workout is painful, it is a whole lot better to finish than to put the handle down because you have picked too hard a pace.

Best of luck with it. Post your progress. People here are usually pretty supportive and helpful.

Cheers. Patrick.

ppierce · Post by **ppierce** » February 6th, 2009, 1:36 pm

Will do. Sounds like i should savour these early days while they last. Thanks again. -PP

konarzewski · Post by **konarzewski** » March 10th, 2009, 12:46 pm

pmacaula wrote:
You would do well to read the original WP document, whether you choose to follow it or not.

I agree. It's a great document, though it's long and takes a several reads before you really get to understand it. But, as Mike Caviston says, if you can't take the time to read it, you won't have the time to do it. The Pete Plan is simple and involves about 50-60k a week broken down into 6 sessions of about 40 minutes each. The Wolverine Plan involves about 100k spread over 9-11 sessions a week although you can do more or less as you choose. Most of the WP kilometres are done slowly at low ratings (16-22 strokes per minute) to build up strength and stamina. If you have unlimited time at your disposal, you might as well do the WP which incorporates most of the Pete Plan anyway. Best wishes, William

KevJGK · Post by **KevJGK** » July 16th, 2009, 12:42 pm

I think the choice of training plan depends to a large extent on how serious and intense an athlete is going to be about his training. All of the plans will yield excellent results if you put the work in but for me there is only one plan to recommend to somebody that says "If I were willing to do whatever it takes to become competitive on the erg" and that is the Wolverine Plan.

Mike Caviston has gone to enormous lengths to describe his plan and the methodology and logic behind it and for me it brings a new dimension to training. If you study all of the material available from the links in the above quoted thread I think you will discover what you are looking for.

Best of luck with whatever plan you choose.

TabbRows · Post by **TabbRows** » July 22nd, 2009, 10:00 am

pp,

My suggestion is to stick with the uk interactive until completed, pick a race to focus on for first go in a competiive situation. Once that's done, then reevalaute what you did, where you are overall in terms of time, energy, development, ultimate goals, etc.. At that point you can reevaluate your training program vis-a-vis the Pete's Plan or WP, or personl coach.

But, don't go shifting between plans after starting one.

Even if you are DIY-ing, you may wish to have someone observe your technique both in longer peices, especially as you tire, and during intervals, again especially over th e last couple of sets. Any adjustments in technique early on will pay off down the road.

Good luck.

ranger · Post by **ranger** » August 21st, 2009, 5:43 am

ppierce wrote:If I were willing to do whatever it takes to become competitive on the erg... I mean like CRASH B qualifier competitive... what's the best program to follow? I'm healthy and fit with a good base. I don't care how long it takes. 6mo? a year? two years? I don't care how many hours a day i have to train (or not train). Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

Training for rowing is the same for everyone.

What do you need to do?

Learn to row well.

How long does this take?

I suspect there is no answer to this.

It's different for everyone.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

It's best to get this done at your own pace.

It takes as long as it takes.

ranger

Robt.Lee · Post by **Robt.Lee** » November 4th, 2009, 7:02 pm

I don't know what is best. I have been using the C2 Interactive Programme by Eddie Fletcher that is on the UK site.
I have improved my time every year so far.
Since you have been on it a while at this point, I have only one suggestion.
For me trying to catch up when I missed a day, is a bad idea. Doing two or three workouts led me to overtraining. So know if I miss a workout or two, I just keep the remaining schedule.

nharrigan · Post by **nharrigan** » November 5th, 2009, 2:51 pm

PP- I agree with Patrick and would recommend the WP. It does require a little reading, but it is well designed and can be scaled down if need be. The commentary has recommendations for doing as few as 4 session/week (vs 11 in the WP document). I could never manage more than 6 or 7/week.

Best of luck,

Neil

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » November 5th, 2009, 5:50 pm

For the sake of prosperity, I thought I would resurrect Xeno's training plan that he posted here once a couple of years ago.

http://c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4165

My memory is that there was some good discussion and ideas in there too.

TomR · Post by **TomR** » December 12th, 2009, 7:01 pm

Unless you are at an elite level, it doesn't make a lick of difference which plan you follow.

The C2 plan, the WP, and Xeno's plan, all were put together by elite athletes an coaches. Any one will serve you well. You could also look into Tom Bohrer's program (tbfit.com). He another elite oarsman/coach.

More important than the program is your approach. Training consistently and intelligently, eating well, getting adequate rest are all more important than the particular program you follow. Hell, they've all produced world champs. What does that tell you?

Nosmo · Post by **Nosmo** » December 13th, 2009, 4:58 pm

TomR wrote:More important than the program is your approach. Training consistently and intelligently, eating well, getting adequate rest are all more important than the particular program you follow.

agreed

Hell, they've all produced world champs. What does that tell you?

I seriously doubt anyone following the Pete Plan as it is presented on his web site has produced any WR's (except possibly for one of the very uncompetitive divisions). Which is not to criticize the plan--it is just written for someone who has an hour 5 days a week. I believe Pete has coached people to world records but no one he is coaching is strictly following the original plan.

Finally I think it can make a big difference which plan one follows, but the plan has to match the personality and situation of the athlete.

TomR · Post by **TomR** » December 13th, 2009, 11:29 pm

Nosmo--

A quick review of my post will show that I did not list the Pete Plan. I did, however, add Tom Boher's to the list.

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