Symptoms: General fatigue- never able to get out of warm-up mode- lack of any energy or drive to go hard- once the routine was underway. In other words, I wanted to work out, but once I would start out onn a work out, I just felt weak and lethargic. I never went to see my doc- he would have just told me to rest. And it took a long time for me to recover. I am not the strong young buck I used to think I was . I turn 65 this year- and I have learned to respect Father Time.What were your symptoms, if I can ask?
I have tried to analyze what occurred and I believe I understand the cause.
I looked at the log from last year in excel format and I found that for a 6 week period I had tripled the distance I was rowing-and not taken my rest days- I love the the Concept2 Challenges we have, but they can be detrimental if you go from low gear to red-lining your workouts without a gradual build-up. It was my fault- not the Challenges fault.
I went too far too fast for too long, without sufficient build-up or rest.
I am now doing about 60- 70 K per week - but I built up to this- went from 6 to 9 to 12 and then 16 K sessions- and am taking entire days away from exercise- and for now I am avoiding any cross-training- no weights, no abs, maybe 30 minutes on the ARC Trainer 1 or 2 days of the week, when I cut the erg w.o. short due to either fatigue or boredom.
I will know better in a month or so if I built up slow enough. It also helps that i travel a bit and am forced to rest due to a lack of ergs along the routes I travel for my job.
I'll keep you posted.
I always make sure when I row that mix it up hard and easy pull's during my workout, but my biggest thing is to make sure that I focus on my form..... first and foremost.