2 Months For Improvement

[NavigationHazard]

Aargh. You want to improve your 2k erg score dramatically in 2 months?! Don't overthink it. There's plenty of well-intentioned bad advice out there to complicate your rowing life; moreover IMO there are no magic bullets, potions, formulas, or pacing strategies that will substitute for hard purposeful work. My 2 cents' worth again: take some simple and uncomplicated workouts from some established plan or authority; focus on power/endurance for half the time remaining to you and speed the rest of it. To the extent you can, row on the erg with the same technique your coach(es) want you using OTW. If at anytime what you're doing on the erg gets in the way of your day-to-day OTW rowing, back off the erging.

Good luck with it. Believing in yourself is a significant part of success.

[heptasyllabic]

These things are always relative to your talent, ambition, and training history to this point, but I suspect that the best heavyweight women pull as much as 12 SPI in a 2K.

This means that they would want to pull as much as 13 SPI, or even 14 SPI, in their everyday low rate training (16-26 spm), as in the Wolverine Plan Level 4 sequences.

This doesn't at all mean that you need to pull 13 SPI in your low rate training, but it _does_ underline what good technique can accomplish.

These women are accomplishing twice as much as you are on each stroke right now.

Their stroking is 100% stronger than yours.

Not to be snarky or anything, but if they're rowing 12SPI in a 2k then they're holding a 1:35-1:37 pace, resulting in a sub 6:30 2k. Which no one in Canada is doing at the moment, although Carolyn Ganes probably has a good shot at it in the future.

Navigational Hazard: There does seem to be a lot more....details in this forum than with the rowers I know from my club. I think the general outline of 1 month of long endurance work and 1 month of speed work is a good model for me. Not too detailed as to be intimidating, and not so vague as to be useless.

[Nosmo]

Not to be snarky or anything, but if they're rowing 12SPI in a 2k then they're holding a 1:35-1:37 pace, resulting in a sub 6:30 2k. Which no one in Canada is doing at the moment, although Carolyn Ganes probably has a good shot at it in the future.

Navigational Hazard: There does seem to be a lot more....details in this forum than with the rowers I know from my club. I think the general outline of 1 month of long endurance work and 1 month of speed work is a good model for me. Not too detailed as to be intimidating, and not so vague as to be useless.

You seem to have very quickly figured out who is worth listening to and who isn't.
A minor point: Your pacing sounds close to ideal, but it is fine to get your pace down to the target in three or four strokes and keep it there--no need to go faster. An 8+ will need ten strokes to get up to speed but the erg doesn't.

Talk to your coach and listen to your body. Since you are doing extra work make sure you are recovering. Eat well and rest enough. Self awareness is critical for being a good athlete.

What is important is how you help the rest of the boat. Having a bow pair that has good technique and helps with the set of the boat is much more important then having a strong bow pair. Being also light means your erg score can be slower. A 7:52 for a 140 lbs rower is roughly equivalent to a 7:38 for a 160 lbs rower, 7:26 for a 180 lbs rower.

[ranger]

if they're rowing 12SPI in a 2k then they're holding a 1:35-1:37 pace, resulting in a sub 6:30 2k. Which no one in Canada is doing at the moment, although Carolyn Ganes probably has a good shot at it in the future.

My reference was to the best rowers, not to Canadaian rowers, specifically.

Sure, the best women pull 1:37.

Just a fact.

Yep.

If you pull 12 SPI in a 2K, you go a bit faster than if you pull 7 SPI.

ranger

[heptasyllabic]

If you pull 12 SPI in a 2K, you go a bit faster than if you pull 7 SPI.

ranger

Yes, thank you. I am just focusing on what I think is attainable for the amount of time and effort I have to give, and what I want to achieve. I checked, you are correct: the WR for HWT women was rowed at 12SPI, assuming a SR of 30.


Nosmo: What's funny is that before I started rowing I WAS 165, and after one year of rowing was all the way down at 135. Being 5'10, I decided to work on adding muscle, not dropping the extra 5lbs. I might not be as fast % wise, but I sure am a lot happier haha. I actually won seat racing one year against a girl who had about the same erg time as me, only she outweighed me by about 40lbs. That was satisfying

[NavigationHazard]

Cheers, just wondering how the two-a-days were going. I had an intrasquad scrimmage this morning (1ks and a 500 in a 4x), and as a result was rather toasted for my afternoon erg session....

[heptasyllabic]

Well, the two-a-days were going swell until exams and papers picked up, but I'm hoping I'll pick up the slack after Wednesday, when I hand my last things in and have glorious spare time again! I've managed to get on the water each day, which is great, except that it is mostly novices here at this point so I'm doing a lot of learn-to-row work, and not lots of workouts. Which is just more motivation to learn how to row the single, so I suppose that's good.

When I move from my university town where I am now to my hometown for the summer, I hope to be more dedicated. Though, I must say, this forum has given me plenty of inspiration!

[heptasyllabic]

Hi! Just thought I would update you all on how things worked out for me:

Pulled a 2k and a 6k in June: 7:42 and 24:15. Not bad! Had a great summer rowing and did pretty well at Canadian Henley
Pulled some more tests this week for university tryouts and got a 7:36 and a 24:12. I was pretty pleased! My goal was under 7:40 (achieved, new goal 7:30), and under 24:00 (not yet achieved, perhaps by the end of the season) so I am happy-ish. I was grateful for all the advice from this forum - it definitely helped.

I have been having some difficulty maintaining weight with the more intense training of the fall season/moving out of my family home and having to cook for myself. Any tips on how to (healthily) maintain weight while rowing/erging/biking? I bike about 26k +/- 13k every day to and from practice, row once or twice a day, and do some erg pieces every week. I am dropping weight - I haven't been above 140 in two weeks! Does anyone have any tried-and-true tricks for rest and recovery to maintain weight/promote muscle growth?

[ThatMoos3Guy]

With regards to maintaining weight, it's not easy. To start off, what are your current eating habits?

[hjs]

Hi! Just thought I would update you all on how things worked out for me:

Pulled a 2k and a 6k in June: 7:42 and 24:15. Not bad! Had a great summer rowing and did pretty well at Canadian Henley
Pulled some more tests this week for university tryouts and got a 7:36 and a 24:12. I was pretty pleased! My goal was under 7:40 (achieved, new goal 7:30), and under 24:00 (not yet achieved, perhaps by the end of the season) so I am happy-ish. I was grateful for all the advice from this forum - it definitely helped.

I have been having some difficulty maintaining weight with the more intense training of the fall season/moving out of my family home and having to cook for myself. Any tips on how to (healthily) maintain weight while rowing/erging/biking? I bike about 26k +/- 13k every day to and from practice, row once or twice a day, and do some erg pieces every week. I am dropping weight - I haven't been above 140 in two weeks! Does anyone have any tried-and-true tricks for rest and recovery to maintain weight/promote muscle growth?

Well done, congrat's

On the weight front, are you loosing strenght of just loosing fat? If it's the latter then it's no so bad.
If it's the first, eat more concentrated food, a little bit more fat/oil, nuts etc, eat more simple carbs around your training. if you have trouble finding time to cook, cook more at once so you safe time.

[heptasyllabic]

With regards to maintaining weight, it's not easy. To start off, what are your current eating habits?

I generally try to get something in before practice - a granola bar, usually, or a banana. Then after practice I have breakfast (cottage cheese w/fruit, yogurt + granola, something along those lines). Then I generally snack a lot all day with no defined "lunch" - I eat a lot of fruit and muffins, and also a lot of junk since I justify it that since I am losing weight I need all the calories I can get! I have a crazy sweet tooth....

For dinner I try to eat some protein and some carbs - beef or fish and some veggies, usually corn, green beans, potatoes, or carrots. Or I have two cups of pasta with sauce. Since I moved out two weeks ago, I have lost about 5 - 6lbs, meaning I hover around 138 now. It hasn't affected my power yet (I pulled a PB yesterday!) but I am worried that if I continue to get smaller it will.

[H2O]

A more scientific nutrition might make you faster still:

My guess is that you work out at least 90mins a day.
That would be about 1100 cals for someone your size.
On top of that maybe 150 cals on the bike (rough guess).

You need to eat!
More over the timing of the eating is important too.
Get yourself in powdered form:
Whey protein, Glutamine, Vitamin C, table salt (sodium), potassium citrate, magnesium citrate.

You might want to get
"The Performance Zone", John Ivy, Robert Portman, ISBN 1-59120-148-9

From Table 1.1, p10:

Timing ------------------------------------------------ Nutritional Objective

30 mins before exercise -------------------------fully hydrate, raise blood sugar levels

during exercise -----------------------------------replace fluids and electrolytes, preserve muscle glycogen,
------------------------------------------------------maintain blood glucose levels, minimize cortisol production

within 15 mins after exercise -------------------shift to anabolic state, replenish muscle glycogen, electrolytes
------------------------------------------------------repair muscle damage, support immune system


Cortisol is a destroyer of muscle, you want to counteract with proteins and glutamine.
You want to produce insulin since this is a strong anabolic agent (muscle builder).
You do this by eating sucrose (table sugar) or glucose (not fructose!), normal table sugar will do.

Beginning 30 mins before exercise and continuing throughout the exercise consume a drink mixed in the following
proportions:

12 ounces of orange juice + 25g sugar (large heaped table spoon) + 6g whey protein (2 heaped tea spoons)
+ 100mg Vitamin C (1/20 flat tea spoon) + 40mg potassium (1/30 flat tea spoon potassium citrate) +
60 mg magnesium (1/15 tea spoon magnesium citrate) + 2g glutamine (flat table spoon).

The tea spoon measures are probably off quite a bit, but only the potassium is dangerous: if you get too much it can interfere with the electrical system in your heart (therefore conservative!). Don't exceed the potassium dose in total
(i.e even if you drink more than 12 ounces don't put in more potassium!). Leave out the potassium alltogether every third day.

After exercise you have a 15 minute window where your muscles are particularly receptive to insulin.
You now drink something in the following proportions:

12 ounces of orange juice + 50g sugar (2 large heaped table spoon) + 12 g whey protein (4 heaped tea spoons)
+ 100mg Vitamin C (1/20 flat tea spoon) + 60 mg magnesium (1/15 tea spoon magnesium citrate) + 2g glutamine (flat table spoon)

I.e. the same as before but more sugar, more protein, no more potassium.
The sugar generates the insulin response.

You are on your way to 7:15!

[heptasyllabic]

Thanks H20, that's interesting reading. I'll check my library and see if they have that book. I'm still sitting just under 140 these days, so at least I am not losing weight!

[tewbz]

or just drink a glass of chocolate milk right after you erg/row/lift

[H2O]

For the record (since potassium supplementation is a little dicey)

Potasssium citrate is 38% potassium by weight.
Using the specific weight of 2g/cm^3 for potassium citrate given by Wikepedia we get:

A cube 1/8 inch on the side of potassium citrate contains about 25mg potassium.
I would not use more than that (in total).

Likewise magnesium citrate is 11% magnesium by weight with a specific weight
of 1.74g / cm^3. With this:

A cube 1/4 inch on the side of magnesium citrate contains about 50 mg magnesium.