My New Erg Adventure for Weight Loss and Health!

[IMHester]

Hello Concept2 Forum!

I’m the proud owner of a recently-purchased Model E (direct from C2)! I purchased this machine for home use because my weight and health has gotten entirely out of hand over the past few years. I weighed in at 313 lbs the other day, which is not the heaviest I have been. I topped out a few months ago at 332 lbs. Lost some weight during a 2-month exercise challenge at work so I know that I have the ability (mentally) to lose the weight, but lost interest after the competition was over since all I did was ride my bike during this time and it’s now pretty cold outside to ride.

I’ve always loved the C2 ergs and have used them frequently at the gym that I used to go to (I still pay for the monthly membership but can’t get myself to go on a consistent basis). I have used ergs at gyms for the last 20 years because of the great workouts and frankly, it’s one of the most overlooked machines at the gym and is always open for use as some of you may know. I work long hours so going to the gym before or after work simply doesn’t work for me, which is why I wanted to purchase an erg for home, for convenience. I bought a Model A from a fellow gym member a couple years ago and replaced some of the parts, but it still didn’t run very well as I still need to replace the chain. I have it in storage and still plan on reconditioning it once I purchase a home (I only have room for one rower in my apartment). Gonna retrofit a PM5 on to it (if that is possible) as well so I can log the use on it.

Once I ‘pulled the trigger’ and purchased the Model E from C2 a couple weeks ago, I’ve been getting familiar with proper rowing techniques through the C2 website, YouTube, and other various websites. Realized that some of the things I have been doing for years on the erg were not correct (frog legs at the catch, lifting the handle at the end of the drive, and not leaning back to the 11 o'clock position at the end of the drive)! Was very excited to see that there is an online ranking and tracking system to track your history and personal bests as well. Needless to say I’m near the bottom of the rankings so I’ve got some work to do!

I received the rower on Monday and immediately assembled it. Did a set distance workout of 100m and was so amazed at how smoothly the machine works compared to the gym ergs - just like driving a brand new car!

It’s only the 3rd day of owning the erg but I have been rowing each day before and after work, working up to a 1000m workout, which I will probably stay at for the rest of this week. I plan on gradually adding distance each week until I get to a comfortable pace and rate of about 30 minute workouts – this is what I was doing when I was rowing at the gym on a consistent basis.

If anyone has some good advice for this beginning rower I sure would appreciate it! I bought a book called ‘The Erg Book’ that has 375 workouts plus I’m receiving C2’s daily suggested workouts, but even the short workout is too much for me right now. I’m starting off slowly for now, sometimes less is more.

I do realize that nutrition is as, if not more important than the actual fitness part of being healthy so I’m slowly implementing better food into my diet, but that of course will be the biggest challenge.

Thank you in advance to anyone that has some good advice/tips! Hopefully I’ll be updating this post with some weight loss updates and better times/rankings as well.

The adventure now begins!

Cheers,

[Anth_F]

Hi, welcome to the forum!!! This is a great place to hang if you are really into your rowing. Loads of stuff you can learn from people on here, especially from the highly experienced veteran members who may drop in to offer their advice.

From what you are saying regarding training, i think you have the right idea in mind!!!! Just start out nice and easy and build up gradually with the distances and times on the machine. Thats exactly what i done, i remember my first few workouts lasted no more than 5-8 minutes as i wanted to slowly build things up, after all there is no rush with these kind of things

It's much better having an erg at home, no excuses tbh when thats the case lol. Diet is important for sure and i'm glad to see you mention that and are doing something about it, some don't and just think a stack of exercise will solve the problems when it won't. It can be tough at first cutting out most of the junk, but with a little determination and willpower it doesn't take long for the body to adjust and get used to eating healthy stuff, and then you don't crave the junk anywhere near as much as before.

Best of luck on your journey, and have fun as you go

[IMHester]

Thank you Sir! I'll definitely give it my best shot.

[lindsayh]

Hello Concept2 Forum! If anyone has some good advice for this beginning rower I sure would appreciate it! I bought a book called ‘The Erg Book’ that has 375 workouts plus I’m receiving C2’s daily suggested workouts, but even the short workout is too much for me right now. I’m starting off slowly for now, sometimes less is more.
I do realize that nutrition is as, if not more important than the actual fitness part of being healthy so I’m slowly implementing better food into my diet, but that of course will be the biggest challenge.
Thank you in advance to anyone that has some good advice/tips! Hopefully I’ll be updating this post with some weight loss updates and better times/rankings as well.

Great thing to do and a great tool for weight loss and there is a lot of motivation here. If you look in the training thread say in the last 6 months for threads that include "newbie" you will find a bit of a gold mine of material that will help as well especially with technique and plans. Starting slow and going for longer distances is good idea and 30-40 minutes is a good goal especially if you stay with HR in the fat burning range (<80% max).

This may help too https://indoorsportservices.co.uk/weigh ... nteractive

[hjs]

Next to training, really diet, not a bit but go 100%, go low carb, really for very overweight people thats the best.

Example www.dietdoctor.com or www. ditchthecarbs.com

And welcome ofcourse,

[jamesg]

1 working up to a 1000m workout, which I will probably stay at for the rest of this week, gradually adding distance
2 I’m slowly implementing better food into my diet

Welcome aboard if I may say so.

Above looks like the ideal 1 - 2 juxtaposition, and doubt we're most all in it at some stage or other: a little more than we can chew off on the erg, and a little less at table.

There are differing approaches to chewing the erg. Recently after a sick Xmas I've been reduced to pulling four minutes on, one minute off and similar combinations. It lets me get up to 7-8 k a day without excessive suffering and of course I take the chance to go slow so that I can better develop my technique which will be perfect any day now.

[IMHester]

Thank you everyone for the kind words and encouragement! I'm going to call week 1 of owning my own erg a success - I did my first 2000m piece this morning and wow I am exhausted, but it feels great! Missed yesterday because I was working out of town but I'm going to take 1 day per week off for recovery anyhow.

I did slightly better on nutrition and that is to say I replaced some of my breakfasts this week with plain instant oatmeal than McDonalds. I planned out my food for next week and bought everything from the grocery store this morning to make it easier. Oatmeal for breakfasts and I'm juicing for dinner (kale, spinach, beets, sweet potato, carrots, and an apple for flavor). Making some tuna sandwiches for lunch. Work is always tough because there is always someone bringing donuts, burritos, etc.

I'll report back on this post in a month or so, hopefully with some better results. I'm going to work up to 2500m morning and evening workouts so by the time the C2 Valentines Day Challenge starts I will be able to participate

[Railbended]

Welcome!

Just got my rower in a few weeks ago!

Glad to see more newb-brethren!

[IMHester]

Welcome!

Just got my rower in a few weeks ago!

Glad to see more newb-brethren!

Thanks Railbended! I just finished the Valentine's Day Challenge on the C2 website and it feels good to have an accomplishment!

I'm now looking forward to the Mud Season Challenge as well. I would like to join a team for extra motivation and encouragement as well as being part of something positive!

Diet is tougher than I thought, but I am eating much healthier during the work week.

[dpetzko]

Diet is tougher than I thought, but I am eating much healthier during the work week.

Diet is the key component to losing weight. I'm currently on an 1100 cal/day diet with specific macronutrient goals and am losing about 2 lbs/week. Started on 8 Dec 2016 at 240 lbs and am down to 204 lbs. My dietician indicated that the exercise I'm doing is to make sure I retain muscle mass during the diet. I've also been instructed not to eat back the calories I burn exercising (currently running and swimming...but ordering a Concept2 soon). Eating healthier foods is a great start, but you need to get a better understanding of your calorie intake.

Join myfitnesspal (or something similar), enter your weight loss goal and activity level, be honest when you enter your profile so you get a good recommendation on calorie intake required to meet your weight loss goal, log everything you eat, get a food scale to weigh the meals you prepare at home, plan your entire daily food intake first thing in the morning, hit your daily calorie intake and macronutrient targets, drink at least 64 oz of water each day and you will lose weight.

It's a pain at first, but gets easier over time...

Dave

[IMHester]

Join myfitnesspal (or something similar), enter your weight loss goal and activity level, be honest when you enter your profile so you get a good recommendation on calorie intake required to meet your weight loss goal, log everything you eat, get a food scale to weigh the meals you prepare at home, plan your entire daily food intake first thing in the morning, hit your daily calorie intake and macronutrient targets, drink at least 64 oz of water each day and you will lose weight.
Dave

Dave:

Thank you for the info! I do have a myfitnesspal account but haven't used it in a couple years and it defintely helped me keep on track by being able to vizualize what is going into my body. I'll have to start using it again.
I'm drinking at least 64 oz of water daily since I got the erg!

[jimmy1]

Welcome! Sounds like a few of my twins on here lol although 1100 cal/day is grossly under what a semi-active 200 lb guy needs imo. Went from 230 to 190 on about 2500 cal/day over 40 weeks using myfitnesspal. Started the erg in nov 5x week but rather random in my approach -- some short intervals, some long. At the beginning 5k (even 2K) seemed like running a marathon but things are improving... getting about 20k a week in.

Moving forward, I'm also looking for something a bit more formal if you stumble into something. The PP sounds much too ambitious.... https://darkhorserowing.com/ has been a great resource.

[Slacker]

Moving forward, I'm also looking for something a bit more formal if you stumble into something. The PP sounds much too ambitious....

Try the beginner Pete Plan:
https://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/beginner-training/

[dpetzko]

I do have a myfitnesspal account but haven't used it in a couple years and it defintely helped me keep on track by being able to vizualize what is going into my body. I'll have to start using it again.
I'm drinking at least 64 oz of water daily since I got the erg!

Sounds like you're on the right path. Just get control of your calorie intake to create whatever calorie deficit you need for your weight loss goals and the weight will start dropping. Just don't get in the trap of eating back calories you burn exercising...at least not until you get close to being an elite athlete where calorie budget is important for maximum performance (at least that's the guidance from my dietician). If you use myfitnesspal, you can set it to not show exercise calories on the food summary page. Good luck...

Dave

[hjs]

Welcome! Sounds like a few of my twins on here lol although 1100 cal/day is grossly under what a semi-active 200 lb guy needs imo. Went from 230 to 190 on about 2500 cal/day over 40 weeks using myfitnesspal. Started the erg in nov 5x week but rather random in my approach -- some short intervals, some long. At the beginning 5k (even 2K) seemed like running a marathon but things are improving... getting about 20k a week in.

Moving forward, I'm also looking for something a bit more formal if you stumble into something. The PP sounds much too ambitious.... https://darkhorserowing.com/ has been a great resource.

Agree, if you are pretty actice, 1100 cal is nothing, eating so little will cause muscle loss.

And its not so important how much you eat, but what you eat. Drastic lowering carb intake but on the other hand upping fat and protein intake will keep bloodsugarlevels stable, which is very important for both weightloss and developing a "normal" eating patern. Carbs do cause bloodglucose peaks followed by lows, giving false eating signals.

Drastic lower carbs and that will go away.