Over training in rowing?

[gnu]

The past 2-3 weeks i have been unable to do the amount of normal training routines i have been used to doing for over 2 years now. 2x a week im doing long steady state ergs which im unable to hold the splits i should be holding (had been holding) this summer i would be holding around 1:59 for my SS however now i find myself up to 2:04 ava while the rest of my competitors are around 157 now. It got even worse with Level 1 workouts the past few weeks. i went backwards in results...by at least 2 splits on certain pieces. We had 2x2k this past weekend, and just about all my competition on my team destroyed me over 8 seconds. When im the one whose 2k pr was well over 10 seconds ahead of all them last year. and i didn't even come NEAR my pr this past weekend.

My coach who i trust along with the assistant coaches believe im am over trained and are asking me to take 2 weeks off and to slowly build myself back into erging.

Has anyone else experienced over-training on the erg before? What kind of recovery time am i looking at?

[mikvan52]

Periodization of training over the long term is wise.
Such periodization includes taking time off. The length of time is debatable. IMO: two weeks is not too long.
I even think that such breaks help you break through the plateau of prior PB performances.

I have experienced over-training. Recently I've enforced breaks so that I do not overtrain (8-10 days a year in November or December when the OTW season ends)

[gnu]

i assume i will have to ease myself back into rowing after the break? How long do i wait before i should attempt LeveL 1 and 2 type of workouts?

[leadville]

Gnu - how old are you? what else is going on in your life now? school, work, etc? are you eating and sleeping well? has your weight changed?

what is happening with your heart rate during the SS? hwo does it compare to HR for previous SS attempts what other training are you doing besides the two days of SS work? has that changed? more intervals, or more AT work?

it does sound like overtraining, but that is a very vague and general term that can - and does - have many definitions and causes and symptoms. many rowers chronically overtrain; this is a very tough sport that requires much rest, especially as you (that means me) get older. give us more info and we can help figure out what's up.

think of it this way - training wears you down, and rest is when you build back up. rest is equally important, and should be approached with the same diligence and dedication. far better to be slightly undertrained than tired, demotivated, frustrated, and getting slower.

[gnu]

I'm 20 years old. Doing L2s on monday, SS 90-120 tuesday/moderate weights, L1 wednesday, SS 90-120 min and weights thursday, L1 Friday, saturday 45 SS and endurance weights. If i have to get more detailed about the work i will. School may have effected me a little bit but kind of think of it...my schedule does sound like too much. My resting hr is around 48-54 in the morning now. I didn't really measure it when i was in the middle of training though.

It's a real problem though when i cant hold the SS splits. Im thinking i need to cut back on the SS for now to get back into i and get rid of the level 1 on friday and level 2 on monday. Suggestions?

[bloomp]

I would suggest simply forcing yourself to take 4-5 days of rest. It was hard for me to do the same over the summer, but once you get back into it, you'll feel a lot better. I did not lose much in respect to SS work over that time and it probably prevented me from seriously degrading before the fall season...

Funny, your training schedule sounds identical to mine when I'm at school - except we have extra workouts Wed/Fri. I wonder why that is.

[gnu]

Yeah im on day 8 of rest right now. I think i'll do a moderate SS tomorrow and go from there. Since my coach hasn't responded to my messages yet.

Ya idk whos bright idea it was to put an L2 workout on Wednesday and then Friday. Really smart right paul? haha.

[TomR]

With all that rowing, weights 3x week could be too much.

[leadville]

Gnu - I'd do more SS and less of the higher stuff - TomR's right - all those weights tear down the muscles and then you're asking them to perform without much of a break to rebuild.

See Steven Seiler's seminal work on what makes for fast rowers; his logic makes a world of sense - when you do SS< do it low, slow, and LOOOONG - 90-180 minutes at an HR of 65-75% of HRR - and no harder!

do that for 93-95% of your training, and for the rest do hard AT+ work -no more than twice a week. the big base work increases mitochondrial density, capillary growth, and cardio performance - so when you work at very high levels, the body is ready.

intervals tear down the body but the stress doesn't result in as much adaptation as the very long SS work. and make damn sure your SS work is NOT hard - no more than 75%, and 70% is just fine.