Need Inspiration For Weight Loss

[[old] Schmern]

I have no idea what just got into me but I decided to buy a rower after becoming bored with my gym and exercise bike. I am probably 100lbs overweight and am desperate for anything that will motivate me or an exercise I will enjoy. I like rowing at the gym despite the fact it kicks my ass. So today I went around looking at home fitness machines and saw some big box store crappy exercise machines and found myself wishing i could have a rowing machine like the gym. I looked online and found the D model. yay! It also seems like a great online community and seeing how much I love multiplayer games online I thought this seemed like a plus. <br /><br />But now I want to reassure myself this is a good choice for a very lazy, overweight woman. I know the motivation has to come from within but some stories or gratuitious pumping up I would appreciate Anyone have experience with the travel game kits? But any ecouragement, stories or good ideas for this, I would appreciate. Thanks!<br /><br />-Jill

[[old] jimjayhawk]

<!--QuoteBegin-Schmern+Oct 22 2005, 03:22 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Schmern @ Oct 22 2005, 03:22 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--> But any ecouragement, stories or good ideas for this, I would appreciate. Thanks!-Jill <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Jill, <br /><br />I can credit the C2 with a good deal of the credit for my substantive weight loss (still a substantive way to go as well...). <br /><br />The erg can & will kick you... but if you make it a routine, pace yourself, and maintain a regular workout schedule - you will see benefits. <br /><br />With the model D you do have the capability to use the Row Pro software (that's all I can tell you, I have a model B - no such capability)<br /><br />I'd recommend checking out the Weight Loss Forum - see especially the Row Pain Row Gain thread... consider joining the Row Pain Row Gain team... there are over 70 members of all ages and fitness levels. To join... <br /><br />From your Personal Logbook screen select Profile and then Edit Profile, scroll down to "University/Club Standings Affiliation" and select "Row Pain, Row Gain" then any meters you log will go to the Team and you'll be able to track your progress "up the ladder" by clicking University/Club Standings look for team Row Pain, Row Gain, click on the link and you'll find your team members.<br /><br />The C2 Forums are a great place to find answers to your questions and others who will help you keep on track. <br /><br />Good Luck, <br /><br />Jim Schneider<br />aka jimjayhawk@aol.com<br />

[[old] chickenlegs]

i think that if you are serious about burning calories, you have made an excellent purchase.<br /><br />i burn over 1000 kcal in 1 hour of erging.<br /><br />what you get out of an erg is a direct function of what you put in, and this is really good news because it means it depends on you.<br /><br />i usually gain a bit of weight when i erg regularly and lose it again when i stop.<br />i think this is caused by changes in muscle mass.<br /><br />if your main objective is to lose weight, physical activity is as important as nutrition, so you need to both do the work on the erg and avoid putting crap in your body.<br /><br />suggestions:<br />learn correct rowing technique<br />row long (>30') steady pieces on the machine<br />keep a training book to record your scores, times, average paces, rates<br />push yourself<br /><br />

[[old] Laupi]

<b> Agree , you need to swaet to loose weight - then also you need to cut on the amercan junk food - only have vegetables and salad as well as fruits for 6 weeks with only one steak per week - and dont add these greasy american salad dressings - get something light!<br /><br />After 6 weeks you should have lost 5 kgs....... good luck</b>

[[old] csabour]

One important point about loosing weight is that you must make sure to do the appropriate work load. When you push yourself hard, lactate develops in your muscles from anarobic exertion (no oxygen is used in anarobic movement). Of course if you push yourself this hard it hurts like h*** and after a point you muscles shut down and you are less capable of pushing.<br /><br />Its important that when you excercise for weight loss the activity is aerobic(uses oxygen) . To be aerobic you must make sure that the intensity of you muscles does not breach the aerobic threshhold. In other words a point where when you push yourself and lactic acid builds.<br /><br />every saturday i try a 12km low intensity 24 stroke per minute peice. Around 1000 meters into my piece the glucose levels of my body are depleted and my body going into my secondary energy source : glycogen. For quite a while my body will run on the glycogen( 7000 meters or so ) and when my body is done with the glycogen(none is left) my body moves into the third energy source: fat.<br /><br />At this point youve sweated and lost about 4 pounds of water, you are also feeling a little bit sluggish. You've hit your wall. however, every time your muscle cell create the ATP required to push, fat has been burned.<br /><br />so to summarize basically VOLUME is the key to weight loss, not intensity.<br /><br />set your erg to 10k play some music, set up a mirror to look at your technique and recovery/drive ratio, and take your strokes at 20 - 24 strokes per minute.

[[old] michaelb]

I agree with csabour about rowing long, maybe working up to 30min to start, then 10k, then farther if possible. Use a pace you can hold for that distance, and focus on good technique. Many of us row strapless (don't put the straps on your feet), so try that at first.<br /><br />I would note that at least some people who start using the C2 to lose weight lose less when they start then what could be expected by the amount of exercise and diet, etc. Although I don't think is really verified, I believe that rowing also makes you strong, so that particularly if you haven't exercised before, you may be building muscles as well as losing weight, including the big "hidden" muscles in the body's core. This is a very good thing.<br /><br />So instead of focusing on your weight as a measure of your progress, focus on getting strong and fit and lean, and measure your progress by how much faster you get on the C2. You mention "online multiplayer games". I hope you are refering to online racing with rowpro, since that is the best and only online game in town, and just about the best motivation you could find.

[[old] Schmern]

Thanks for the tips on starting out. I will try to do it. I know at first there will be some muscle burning so I do other measurements like body size and having a C2 computer to keep track of my progress will help feel good about it when the weight number might indicate no or backwards progress. I really appreciate the plans on getting started. I know nothing about the sport of rowing but I look forward to learning more and seeing the progress. <br /><br />I saw the rowing software last night and think that is really great. Can't wait for my C2 to get here. I am a very geeky kind of woman and spend a lot of time on my PC and reading and knitting so finding something with numbers to improve and computer programs is a big winning point for me. I hope to get very into this in geeky fashion along with the hard work ahead. I live in Wisconsin in a city that loves rowing so the opportunities are big here if this happens. <br /><br />As for the eating, I got that improved a year ago and lost some weight that way. I am eating mostly a "whole foods" kind of diet and cut out garbage. My biggest problem is getting enough protein in since I head towards the carbs (whole grain ones now) so that needs some work. I keep my calories in the 1800-2000 range. But without much in the way of exercise this isn't going anywhere fast and as I head to my 40th birthday this May, I realize this is just going to get worse and not better unless I add in exercise. In past years I biked and hiked but it was hot this sumemr and I was lazy and the excuses pilled up. Even on better summers, as the weather turns cold, I move indoors into hunkering position and then wake up again in April worse off again. Gyms are somewhat embarssing to me and as a homebody getting out seems like an effort in itself. So with this being at home in nice room with temperature control and a PC I have some hopes. I just dont want to wake up to another spring having done nothing to improve my fitness.

[[old] Annabassand]

Hi there<br /><br />Welcome aboard. The forums is an exccellent way to find inspiration for rowing <br /><br />What works well for me is <br /><br />1) ... having a set goal. E.g. a fixed training routine which takes me to 20 to 30k a week. From tuesday onwards: doing the Skeleton Crew challange (see the c2 website). Maybe this is a bit early for you? If you think so, then maybe you should join in the Christmas challenge?<br /><br />2) ... think about how to get through bad days: You should never give up unless your body tells you that you're pushing it too hard. Have something to keep you going: the rower in front of a TV works well for me on bad days. Also I have big speakers nearby so I can listen to loud music anytime. Normally I don't listen to music and I don't watch TV while rowing, but on bad days the music and TV is the only thing to get me through. On good days you need to focus on your technique and improve. <br /><br />3) ... Rowpro. You will love it if you're also a bit of a techie like me The program is great. You can download times from competitors or set up training programs or maybe even race online? lots of interesting stuff... <br /><br />4) At least one week ahead: Lay out which days you will do which workout and just do it Don't think about it, just do it. Once you start considering if you should do something or not the likelihood of no doing it is so much greater. <br /><br />5) Track your improvement and training sessions - I use a spreadsheet which hold information about: session, meters rowed, time of day, duration, max heart rate, av. heart rate, calories burnt and my own comments about the session (this is also where you spot injuries before they get serious). Also make sure to export your info to C2 and take part in the online rankings. <br /><br />5) Consider getting a heart rate monitor - this is great for learning about your own limits - you will soon learn that if your pulse reaches a certain level then you'll have so much left to give. The heart rate monitor also works well with Rowpro. <br /><br />6) Consider doing other sports along with rowing: This can help improve your weight loss results quicker and reduces the risk of injury. You need to know that rowing is great for you, but can inflict injuries due to repetition of the same movements. Also you are less likely to get bored. Rowing, as much as I love it, can get very, very boring from time to time. Rowing only make up 25% of my exercise routine. <br /><br />6) .. can't think of anything else right now - but anyhow be careful and don't overdo it when you get your rower. Taking 2-3 weeks off because of injury is such a shame <br /><br />Good luck <br />Anna <br /><br /><br /><br />

[[old] knyy]

To keep from getting discouraged as you start, keep your goals reasonable. Many here on the forums recommend setting your goal in time instead of meters rowed, and I think that's a good way to start. Maybe set a goal of 10 minutes of rowing a day (or a session, maybe some days you'll be able to do more than one). That sounds like nothing, but believe me, when you're out of shape, 10 minutes of rowing will leave you huffing and puffing--in fact, don't be discouraged if that 10 minutes includes breaks for water and breathing! After a week or so, increase to 12 or 15 minutes, whatever is comfortable but still a challenge. Your eventual goal might be 30 minutes a day, and if you do that several days a week, you'll be doing great. The number of meters done in that time will steadily increase.<br /><br />Once you're comfortable with your C2, it's just a matter of getting on it regularly. Like Anna suggests, make it a part of your routine--not something you'll think about doing or not. She's right, if you give yourself an out, you're liable to take it. I speak from experience! <br /><br />Mary

[[old] ljwagner]

Overweight, you should not be huffing and puffing. You need time on the machine, and the longer you row, the more FAT calories get burned. The percentage actually climbs to about 80% at an hour. The more time on the machine, the better for your heart, too.<br /><br />The time is more boring if you never rowed on the water, so a distraction like a TV can be a good thing, but monitor your rower output. You can find yourself interested in the TV show, and you'll slow down without realizing it.<br /><br />Look at my recent entry under Health and Fitness. To start, you should not exceed 60% - 65% Max HR. If you can't maintain that for 30 minutes, back down a bit. If its easy, go up some. Need more air, try to breath deeper, but not much faster.<br /><br />Read up on heart rate while exercising. Drink your 8 glasses of water a day. You should always feel good the next day. More water is NOT necessarily good. Hyponatremia. A bad water and salt imbalance.<br /><br />Weight will shift. You'll lose fat, but add muscle, especially where you can't see it like your back, and rear. Consider getting a scale that measures body fat. Weight will come down slowly, and BF should slowly start to decline, too.<br /><br />If you are 100 lbs overweight, you could lose 20 lbs of fat, and add 10 lbs of muscle, and think you only lost 10 lbs. A pound of fat is about 3500 calories, so its hard to burn that much faster than a week, but a rower will give tyou a shot at exceeding that. You DO need some fat in your diet, but not a lot. Protein ? Try only three 3 ounce servings a day. Its puny, but it gets broken down, and some DOES get converted to fat. So excess protein is not going to help anything.<br /><br />Eat a healthy balanced diet, light on protein and fat, and some carbs.<br /><br />Always warm-up when you are going to do a cardio or other workout.

[[old] ljwagner]

I recently learned in exercise physiology, that we produce lactate all the time. We typically draw enough Oxygen to remain unaware of it and recyle it in our energy production cycle. Until we are producing more lactate than we can re-cycle through re-oxygenation, we are unaware of it. Hit the threshold, and stay there, and you can use the fingers of one hand to know how much longer you can continue, and you won't need all those fingers either. <br /><br />When you work out, if you hit a sharp lactate threshhold, backoff a small amount (2-3%) effort, and the lactic acid "burn" may clear up if you are breathing deeply and forcefully enough. You can maintain that burn-free level almost indefinitely, as long as your energy lasts.

[[old] johnhgough]

<!--QuoteBegin-ljwagner+Oct 27 2005, 06:07 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(ljwagner @ Oct 27 2005, 06:07 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->If you are 100 lbs overweight, you could lose 20 lbs of fat, and add 10 lbs of muscle, and think you only lost 10 lbs.  A pound of fat is about 3500 calories, so its hard to burn that much faster than a week, but a rower will give tyou a shot at exceeding that. You DO need some fat in your diet, but not a lot.  Protein ?  Try only three 3 ounce servings a day.  Its puny, but it gets broken down, and some DOES get converted to fat. So excess protein is not going to help anything.<br /><br />Eat a healthy balanced diet, light on protein and fat, and some carbs. <br /> </td></tr></table><br />Just wondered how the Slimming World Red plan works, its basically eat as much meat or fish, fruit & vegetables as you want, fat to be trimmed off and anything else weighed. Its not the same as the Atkins diet. <br /><br />John

[[old] zim32805]

<!--QuoteBegin-Schmern+Oct 22 2005, 04:22 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Schmern @ Oct 22 2005, 04:22 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I have no idea what just got into me but I decided to buy a rower after becoming bored with my gym and exercise bike. I am probably 100lbs overweight and am desperate for anything that will motivate me or an exercise I will enjoy. I like rowing at the gym despite the fact it kicks my ass. So today I went around looking at home fitness machines and saw some big box store crappy exercise machines and found myself wishing i could have a rowing machine like the gym. I looked online and found the D model. yay! It also seems like a great online community and seeing how much I love multiplayer games online I thought this seemed like a plus. <br /><br />But now I want to reassure myself this is a good choice for a very lazy, overweight woman. I know the motivation has to come from within but some stories or gratuitious pumping up I would appreciate Anyone have experience with the travel game kits? But any ecouragement, stories or good ideas for this, I would appreciate. Thanks!<br /><br />-Jill <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /><br />I found the best motivation (for me) was to put a pic of me or someone similar (not a pretty sight) on the refrigerator and food cabinet. Since food intake is 90% of being overweight, it has helped me eat proper amounts and not binge. Also, a registered dietician can do a simple metabolic test where you breathe into a computer. Its pretty accurate and gives you a daily caloric range as well as percentages of carbs, prot, fats to shoot for to have optimum fat loss. <br /><br />Take it slow and keep asking for feedback here. Great group. Don't get discouraged. My dietician pointed out that I didn't get fat overnight and I wouldn't get lean overnight either. It took a while but I went from 240 to my present 165. Its been 30 years and everyday is still a constant struggle with appetite. You'll do fine...just keep rowing a little each day until you can get to 30 minutes or so 4 times a week. Take care with the lower back and study how to avoid overtraining and .....never give up. <br /><br />Sorry to rattle on but I really want everyone to succeed in making their fat loss goals. Best of luck!

[[old] Schmern]

I appreciate the input. I got the Rower about 3 weeks ago. I started out at 4 - minutes and now up to 2 x 10-12 so I am pressing on to get to the full 30 minutes. So far nothing hurts and my heart rate seems ok. Down about 3lbs so it is a start

[[old] Hal Morgan]

I lost one pound a week.<br />205 to 175.<br />Just have to row more than you eat. Simple Math.