If I *can* do more, should I?

[fatbloke]

am new to the forum, sorry if this has been done to death already..

Am keen to lose weight and get faster on the water, so have acquired a model C and am quite enjoying it. I've done a 2k (*such* fun), worked out what my UT2 / UT1 etc ranges are and have been enjoying building up my time on the machine.

My question is about the longer UT1 sessions. According to the calculations I'm meant to hold an HR at 153 - 165 and my 500's at 2:04 - 2:10.

I have no problem holding a higher HR (around 170 - 172) for a lot of the 2 x 20 minutes, and by doing that I can stay at 2:04, but would I be better letting the split time drop even to below 2:10 to keep my HR in the right range?

[fishbust1]

I am no expert (in rowing) and there are experts here who will chime in but all I can tell you now (regarding any exercise program) is you can always do more and sometimes you should but you need to be able to read yourself and know your pace and energy levels because if you consistently push too hard and burn out, then it did you no good if you miss scheduled workouts from exhaustion and/or injury.

Build a strong foundation of fitness. It takes time. Mix it up to battle redundancy (and boredom) and the weight will come off. Long term is key for getting it off and keeping it off.

[hjs]

The point is getting faster at the same hf, don,t use a higher hf, training should not become racing.

[Bob S.]

My question is about the longer UT1 sessions. According to the calculations I'm meant to hold an HR at 153 - 165 and my 500's at 2:04 - 2:10.

I have no problem holding a higher HR (around 170 - 172) for a lot of the 2 x 20 minutes, and by doing that I can stay at 2:04, but would I be better letting the split time drop even to below 2:10 to keep my HR in the right range?

You have already dropped the split time below 2:10 (i.e. to 2.04) and the result was that your HR went up - as would be expected.

The question that occurs to me is the HR that you said you were meant to hold. What calculation was used to get that range of 153 to 165? If the calculation was based on your HRmax, how did you determine your HRmax? If it is based on a rigorous laboratory test, then it would be valid. If it comes from one of the many formulas that are out there, it doesn't mean much. By the most commonly used formula, my HRmax is 130 bpm, but I often get it well above that on the erg. Even the best formulas apply only to the average person. There is a wide range of individual variability. If you are comfortable at 170-172 doing a UT1 based on your 2k time, you probably have a very high HRmax.

Bob S.

[jamesg]

would I be better letting the split time drop even to below 2:10 to keep my HR in the right range?

Presumably drop means slower. The point is to get our HR within UT ranges in 5-10 minutes and then stay there. UT1 and UT2 serve to increase lactate clearance rate, long term, i.e years. The daily improvement is small and does not depend on high pressure. But it does depend on time, because it's a growth function, so we keep the intensity low and the time long.

The lactate level that produces this effect seems to be 2 - 4 mMol/liter, which is low; as HR, probably borderline UT2-1 if not less. So we avoid working hard (by dropping rating, not stroke-work) and can instead work long. If you work significantly harder, you will have to work shorter, and the improvement decreases.

UT2-1 refine technique too, which is what make the boat go fast, while endurance lets us stay fast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf84O5cTWY4

[fishbust1]

Saw the video. Jealous that there are real places like that to row!

[fatbloke]

thanks for the feedback, all! I'll keep within the HR limits.

(the max HR i used for the calculation was the biggest number recorded on my polar watch during sprints & a 2k test)