Pete Plan Group - Startup Aug 20th thru 22nd

[hjs]

Also, the last 1500-2000m I developed a wrist pain pulling the handle that I haven't had before. I adjusted my grip and position a couple of times to allow me to finish. I'll do some wrist stretches today and hopefully it doesn't turn into a recurring issue.

@ Ben - I've had this happen on long rows as well. I have noticed late in the game as I try to make sure I lengthen my drive my arms have a tendency to "chicken wing" as I lean back and try to reach my sternum. I am sure the pros will say this is a no-no, and it certainly puts my wrists at a weird angle.

Go strapless on long rows, overly extending the stroke is not the way to go. Feet out will prevent this.

[mdpfirrman]

Ben - wrists should be flat the entire time. Also, it takes some work to do this but you don't hold the rower with your thumbs wrapped around it. You basically use your other 8 fingers like a loose "claw" around the handle. It takes some practice. Just make sure your wrists are flat the entire sequence. It took me a good part of last year to loosen my grip on the handle. You think it's counterintuitive -- like the stronger you are, the harder you finish and hold the handle. Not the case. My finish now (though I've gained a moderate amount of speed) is soft with a feather finish - not a chest / sternum thump like before. Speed comes from your legs and the sequence (and your abs and back), not your hands. The looser the grip too, I find it improves your return speed of your hands (which is critical).

[mudgeg]

PP Beginners Week 9 Day 2

4 x 800m (target pace in brackets below)

1. 800m / 3:07.3 / 1:57.0 (1:58.5)
2. 800m / 3:08.2 / 1:57.6 (1:57.2)
3. 800m / 3:04.9 / 1:55.5 (1:55.9)
4. 800m / 3:03.5 / 1:54.6 (1:53.9)

Tried to beat the Week 5 4 x 800m by about a second per interval. Did that on the first interval quite easily, poor on the others.

[Litewait]

BPP Week 10.2 2000m x 3 r4'

25:53.5 6,000m 2:09.4 161 853 28
8:37.2 2,000m 2:09.3 162 857 29 153
8:35.4 2,000m 2:08.8 164 864 28 160
8:40.9 2,000m 2:10.2 158 843 28 161

Target was 2:09.5 starting to know my body, still not smart enough to not skip a day and not try to up the pace to quickly.

@gordon, sweet: you guys are hauling.
@ben: you get as old as me rest is your enemy, nice job.
@nick: welcome back

@pros - I just tried my Polar H7. Given my age and level of fitness (couch to here in 5 months) look at HR of 153-161, is that considered UT1? Felt like I couldn't get past that without stroke-ing out! Advice appreciated.

[Pie Man]

You need to find your resting heart rate. Best to measure that when you are still in bed when you have just woken up. Do it a few times if you can. You also need max heart rate which is tougher to get. I have got mine by observing my highest heart rate that I have sustained for more than a few seconds while training. Initially I didn't see anything over 159 but Pete has managed to show me otherwise. Formula based on age are inaccurate for most people.

Once you have those you can use this website to find your various bands. http://www.freespiritsrowing.com/forum/ ... calculator

[lindsayh]

Very strong PB there Lindsay, when you say 0.2 what's that in seconds, i only ask
as when i beat my PB i go by the time. On your 6k you say 1:52.5 down to 1:51.2 and say 1 second, what was your old 6k PB
in time and what was your new PB in time, that's a huge chunk in time off a 6k
and the 6k is a very hard one to PB on.

Thanks Paul things are gong well right now but not as well as that (unfortunately) - I was talking total times not rate so my old mile PB was 5:28.1 and the new one 5:27.9. Likewise the 6km was 22:15.4 and is now 22:14.5.

Lindsay - PB on the mile! Very nice! That's like the 2nd or so PB you've beaten since working on the PP.

Thanks Mike actually I think it is 3 now - 4min and 6k plus the mile. The plan is certainly helping to get a few extra %% out which is what I was really hoping would happen. (Earlier this year I did PB the hour and HM as well so it has been a gradual process which started with longer kms - you can't beat getting the fitness right first)

[lindsayh]

@pros - I just tried my Polar H7. Given my age and level of fitness (couch to here in 5 months) look at HR of 153-161, is that considered UT1? Felt like I couldn't get past that without stroke-ing out! Advice appreciated.

As above the bands are based on heart rate reserve - the formulae are pretty much meaningless - been a lot of discussion here over the past couple of years.
Take your resting (RHR) and your Max (MHR) then HRR = MHR-RHR. You can estimate max by doing a hard interval piece to failure or say a 5km TT flat out. Then take the % of that and add back the RHR. So if MHR is 180 and RHR is 60 then HRR is 120. So 80% of 120 = 96 so your cap at 80% = 96+60 = 156. (The % is not of your MHR but the HRR) You can then use the table to sort out zones.

[Slacker]

@Mike: Thanks. I only mentioned it here as it was a new thing. My thought/hope is that it is not form related. That may have shown up earlier or a different time than today. Re: my technique, my fingers are held like a hook with my arm, back of hand, and first segment of my finger all flat and in line. The handle just sort of sits in the hook made by the curl of the middle part of the fingers and the tip. I think that is what you are describing as well. As for the thumb, it feels more comfortable under the handle but I can sit on top as well and it makes no difference to the rest of the grip. I'll watch a couple videos and and pay closer attention on the next few rows, but I'm thinking it is not related. I've had other wrist issues in the past (pre-rowing) and the previous 9 weeks of rowing have been without issue.

@Tim: Re: HRM, since you've been rowing a bit already, just watch the values and learn what your ranges are for the different workouts. Once you get a good feel for things, you might find you can use the values to speed up or slow down, but I wouldn't do anything with right now other than observe. Good job on the 3 x 2000m. I'm happy not to first on the workouts this week. I get to see some results before I determine my target pacing for the same workout tomorrow.

[G-dub]

SD: 8K, r20, 2:09, HR more correct. Ended at 147 which is 67% HRR. Battery bad yesterday. + 30' run this morning.

[john_n]

@paul45 Thanks for the kind words Paul. Only take up golf or more walking, if you continue rowing, Paul. Other people, who don’t row, don’t know what a great activity they are missing out on the benefits of. Nice 8K steady you did, at 2:15.

@lindayh Impressive pace for the mile, Lindsay! I’d have to be riding a bicycle alongside you, to keep up with that pace for a mile. Does your friend Terry have a computer or is he one of those people who don’t get along with computers?

@Street Feeling the burn! Congratulations on hanging in there on the 3 x 2000 and burning without HD.

@mdpfirrman Thanks for the kind words about the waterfall, Mike. It was a torrent of fun. If you keep up with the weight lifting and strength training, you’ll be a lot stronger than I am when you arrive at the gates of 70. I’ve avoided it (lifting etc) and am only now starting to try some of it, very gingerly.

@Slacker. Nothing slack about that 9,500m you did on the BPP, Ben! Like Tim and Mike and any others say, the wrist pain you experienced might be cured by a “looser” grip or a “grip that doesn’t grasp”. My thumbs basically don’t do anything while rowing. And like Henry said about strapless - you really don’t need straps at all except for very high ratings, much higher than 20.

@mudgeg Strong, solid looking 4 x 800 Gordon. The spirit and mind are willing but the body doesn’t always agree perfectly

@Litewait Nice looking 3 x 2000 and only 4 minutes rest. Getting to know yourself is what BPP is about, among other things.

@G-Dub. Nice r20 8K at a pace of 2:09, Glenn!

Oct 26 PP Cycle 1 Week 3 Day 4
8K steady distance
no warmup
Targets in order of priority:
1. HR no more than 60% - 75% max and lower than 60% okay.
2. Rating 22
3. Pace: 2:18
Straps loose
DF 135
No warm down, but followed with 10K at “erg equivalent” of ocean rowing effort level based on what Sami Inkinen said in an interview relating to calories expended in 18 hours daily rowing. (The “ocean rowing” 10K isn’t shown here because it’s not part of Pete Plan.)

NOTE: IGNORE the report data for the last split - there's something wrong with that line of data! I rowed the 8K as near to targets as I could throughout every split and DID NOT row the last split at a pace of 1:32! The total time is correct and the more precise pace average was 2:17.8 but RowPro 5 for the Mac rounds all pace values to the nearest second.

(The software version of RowPro I'm using on a Mac is a Beta version with a few bugs left in it. I use a Windows version of RowPro for any Pete Plan variable intervals, because this Beta version for the Mac won't do variable intervals... but for everything else, including this session today, I use this Beta version of RowPro 5 for the Mac, which usually works perfectly.)
8K report
8K charts
Blogged about it all at: http://etherealrowing.com/pete-plan-cyc ... an-rowing/

[lindsayh]

PP2.3.4
endurance waterfall
3k/2.5k/2k /5r
(last time 1:51.9)
goal = to be faster than that!
2k w/u and c/d @2:15

7500m @1:50.4
df128 sr29 260w
1:50.7 (155)
1:50.2 (162)
1:50.3 (167)

@lindsayh Impressive pace for the mile, Lindsay! I’d have to be riding a bicycle alongside you, to keep up with that pace for a mile. Does your friend Terry have a computer or is he one of those people who don’t get along with computers?

Thanks John - terry has a computer but doesn't spend any time here of other forums really => I am his PR agent I guess!

[aussieluke]

PP week 5 day 6

3 x 20' 2:07.5 r22

Felt pretty easy. Toyed with with idea of going a lot harder but hoping to start straight on week 6 tomorrow (as I had a rest day yesterday) and do 4x1000m so thought better of it.

[Slacker]

@ Luke, Your easy distance looks a lot like my interval pace. Good for you, bad for me.

BPP10.2
3x2000m/4:00r row

25:35.1 @2:07.9 r23
8:38.9 @2:09.7 r23
8:32.7 @2:08.1 r23
8:23.5 @2:05.8 r24

It will be interesting to see how these feel once I'm not sucking so much wind. Right now the averages are ok, but during each interval they are pretty crazy as I try to find the pace and rates that feel right.

[G-dub]

Sat down to do 5 x 1500. Got one rep in at 1:52. Power went out in the house. Am pressed for time anyway so will do it tomorrow instead. Bummer.

[aussieluke]

Sat down to do 5 x 1500. Got one rep in at 1:52. Power went out in the house. Am pressed for time anyway so will do it tomorrow instead. Bummer.

Look, we all know these machine don't need electricity to run - no excuse! Lol