Fat2Fit wrote:Hi there, I was directed to team TimbukTOO via Izzzmeister and would love to join this group.
Welcome to the team! As you have discovered, indoor rowing is an awesome exercise. It is entirely self-paced and low impact. Add in the C2 motivational challenges and virtual teams (like us) and you have an exercise program that you can stick with. In fact, it really isn’t exercise. This is training.
If you are competitive, you will enjoy the personal and team challenges. The Fall Team Challenge (FTC) starts soon. I really enjoyed this event last year. Some of us row amazing distances. If you are less than competitive, I think you will still find that TimbukTOO and C2 have plenty of offerings to keep you motivated.
As for your rowing program, let’s start from the beginning. Here’s a great resource:
http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/training
Pay close attention to learning proper technique, damper settings, and then study these forums.
You can develop a training plan with guides from C2’s UK site:
http://concept2.co.uk/weightloss/interactive However, that isn’t absolutely necessary. I think formal training plans are best when you stop seeing improvements on your own or are trying to achieve a specific goal by a specific date (ex: row in the 2013 C.R.A.S.H.-B. SPRINTS World Indoor Rowing Championship).
Let my story serve as a reference point – not a guide:
I learned to row by watching the famous Thames Rowing Club video on YouTube. Search the forums for a link. Everyone references this video. I also watched the C2 and WaterRower videos. The folks at your gym likely know nothing about rowing. They will do you more harm than good.
I rowed all steady state (SS) the first year on the erg. That means everything I did was slow and long. Please note that long is relative. About 3,000 meters every other day was “long” for me at first. I eventually worked my way up to a half marathon (HM) which is 21,097 meters and then a full marathon (FM) of 42,195 meters. After that, I started doing intervals and speed work (speed is also relative). I now row SS six days per week and do intervals (short, fast & not always fun) the last day. My weekly rows might total as little as 35k between challenges and as much as 100k during a challenge. Some folks can easily double or triple that.
Everything I do is with the damper set to 1. I also don't even strap my feet in. That is probably not right for you, but remember that a damper setting isn't about ego or difficulty. Rowing is about speed at distance. The damper setting you use to acheive your result is best determined by you. Read up on it and then experiment.
Your body will tell you when to take a day off. Some of us need 1 or 2 days between rows. It is all about intensity and length.
As for nutrition and burning muscle, I recommend keeping a food diary. That will eliminate any question of you going into a caloric deficit. What you eat and how you eat may get tricky as you row faster and/or longer distances. For now, avoid things that make you nauseous when you row (FYI: cheesecake and beer don’t mix well on the rower). Othwerwise, just eat healthy. I think that you row to increase fitness and eat to gain/lose weight.
