Am I training too hard?

[Bob S.]

Great post, Greg. Now that is what I would call constructive advice - working within the time limits available. Reminds me of the origin of the "Pete Plan," which had its start when Pete (Marsden) worked out a plan for himself to fit the time he had available - years ago. Now it has evolved into one of the 3 programs most generally recommended (along with the WP and the IP) and has had its own very well attended thread on the U.K. C2 forum for quite some time.

Bob S.

[NELSON]

Here is a good 20:00 minute routine, it is a variable set, pyramid.
1. 5 minute warm up
2. 20 minute routime: 3:00-1:00-1:15-1:30-1:45-2:00-1:45-1:30-1:15-1:00 0(It has a very short active rest period of :20 seconds between work times) It is 16:00 of high intersity work with 4:00 or a active rest cycle.
3. 5 minute cool down.

Oh, you have to pre-set the program under new workout, intervals variable, but once it is set you have it as a rerow function.

[penncrnp]

Wow! You guys rock!

Thanks Greg for the excellent suggested workouts that fit my time constraints. Really cool! I will have to take the time to digest what you have suggested and maybe give it a shot over the next few weeks. Really creative. And yes, I went to UPENN for grad school and now I work at the Hospital of the University of Penn as a Trauma ICU nurse practitioner.

Nelson, I really appreciate your suggestion as well. However, I am confused by #2 of the training plan. Could you explain this more?

Can't tell you how much I really am enjoying the advice offered.

Thanks again!

[NELSON]

The 20:00 total time -- the work intervals are high intensity effort (think close to 2000M pace +5-6 sec arena)
1st interval = 3:00 hard work cycle (:20sec active rest after each work cycle- barely moving)
2nd " = 1:00
3rd " = 1:15
4th " = 1:30
5th " = 1:45
6th " = 2:00
7th " = 1:45
8th " = 1:30
9th " = 1:15
10th " = 1:00

As I stated, you will have to program this piece using the new workout function. It is a good 16:00 of hard work & it will get you on & off the rower in 30:00, with the 5:00 warm-up & cool down.
Hope this helps, it is a little bit different from some of the other powerhouse rowers routine. I just happen to really like the variable pyramid routines.

[gregsmith01748]

@penncrnp: I went to Penn, BSEE'85. My daughter is there now, you might see her in the emergency room, she's doing incoming patient data collection for a research course she is in.

I remember how hard it was to find time to workout when my kids were little. I hope you have better luck than I did. Now that they are older, I have more flexibility in my schedule and I can get in a good hour a day. There are some great resources that Bob referred to that you might want to check out, not to use directly, but to give you ideas for workouts.
- The first is the concept2.uk website. They have nifty interactive programs for 2K training and weight loss. You plug in your weight and fitness and it generates a program for you.
- The second is the Pete plan ( ). A great varied workout plan, with a beginner level and a more intense race prep version.
http://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/beginner-training/
- The third is the more "hard core" Wolverine plan. This has the plan that the coach of the U. Mich women's crew developed and is used by a bunch of folks on the erg. It is a race prep oriented plan and requires a bigger time investment, but the explanations of how and why to do different types of workouts is quite well done.
http://www.concept2.com/forums/wolverine_plan.htm

[penncrnp]

Thanks again guys for the information and for the creative ideas!

Also thanks for the explanation on the interval workouts. It makes much more sense now.

I think I have been suffering from two things in regards to erging. First, I have had a terrible lack of variety as I have been rowing 5000m six days a week since last march. Second, I think I was pushing myself too hard. That is to say, I was alway trying to get within 1-2 seconds off my PB for an average 500m split over the course of 5000m. Exhausting and boring - a combination sure to sap all but the diehard's motivation.

Now I understand that it is possible to add variety to my regimen while keeping to the confines of my time constraints. I imagine that it is possible to program RowPro to sequence through some of the various workouts you all have suggested. Is this in fact true as it would make things much easier to switch things up each night?

And alas, my baby girl although two months old now will one day be grown. And then I will have, as a fellow PENN alumni alluded to, hours to spend on my concept2.

Thanks again guys for taking the time to answer my questions and for imparting your knowledge.

[row dude]

I was just reading your post and thought - Since you were kind enough to post in mine, I think I'll reciprocate.

Ok,this has happened to me twice. Once when I trained for Henley and the second time when I was training to metal at nationals. I was completely bewildered why it was seeming everyone was recovering so much faster then I was and my split's were not getting better even with strict adhererance to training regime's (precompetitive etc...) put out by our coach.

Now that I look back on it, I never just rowed to row. It was always "Get a better split push, push ,push". I never allowed my body to recover (everyone's different), and mentally to just enjoy the UT2 sessions that were meant to develop my cardio. What really put me back on track, was cutting my work outs (no matter how big or small) by 75%, and enjoy putting down some numbers regardless.

Lesson: Give your body time to recover. Some times, your head may need a little break as well.
Good Luck!

[David Pomerantz]

penncrnp,
sounds like you and I are made of the same stuff. I've been entrenched in 5000m @ 2min/500 forever! It's always an accomplishment. I've had many days where I've sat down on the rower thinking I would try to do something else and I end up saying to myself that I just need to prove that I can do 5000m @ 2min/500 again! I'm at the point where I might do that 9X a week. Lots of days I think I'll row longer slower and when I sit down I just want to get it over with. Other days I think about going faster and trying to last just as long and I whimp out. The responses to your post will help me lots too. I also like Nelson's pyramid intervals.

Dave