Am I Doing It Right?

[PaulDuggan]

I'm a 5'8"(1.72m), 46-year-old male. I'm 163lb and my current aim is to get to 149lb and, if and when I achieve that, to work on fitness.

After spending a few weeks doing UT2 work only, in order to get back into some kind of condition I'm now doing this:
2/3 sessions/wk UT2 for 60min, and
2/3 sessions/wk of 20s all out/40s 'walking pace' intervals followed by 30-40min of UT2. I'm working towards 10 reps of the intervals but only managing 7/8 right now before tanking.
I have been increasing my pace in the 60min runs so that I'm somewhere around the middle of UT2 by about 15min in and keeping a constant pace regardless of whether my HR rises outside of UT2 range. In the post-intervals UT2 I go the same pace as I do in the 60min runs even though I have a significantly higher HR for most of it.

I'm basing my UT2 zone on my absolute peak HR during the all out intervals (which is 183) and RHR first thing in the morning (50). Is this correct?

At the weekend I decided to try a 2k for the first time ever and finished in 7:56. I was pacing myself for 8:00 so may be able to go quicker, but the last 500m wasn't pleasant!

After a few weeks of this 5/6 workout per week regime I've started to notice less tightness in my clothes but nothing much happening on the weight front. Not expecting massive results so soon but this seems odd - maybe muscle tone?

I'm looking for comments on my current routine vs my goals. Am I getting it all wrong? Should I carry on what I'm doing? Is UT2 really UT2 if my heart rate rises outside that zone? I'm completing an hour without being tired out, just getting sore in the hands and rump!
Thanks.

[bisqeet]

you forgot to mention what it is you are trying to achieve ?
just weight loss
any specific targets / goals along the way ?

ut2 guestimated from HRr is a decent approximatition. for more accurate UT" zone calculation you would ned lactate testing...

not unknown for world class arthletes to be still in UT2 at ~85-90% HRMax

[PaulDuggan]

Thanks for responding. My initial goal is to lose 1st in weight and after that to get to a 'good' level of fitness to maintain health. That's it really. I'm not going to row competitively or target a marathon or anything like that. Using my C2 is the only focused exercise I do. Training for a 2k race looks interesting though even if I'm not going to do one, and I don't have a target date but if I'm still hanging around the same weight by Christmas I'll be...disappointed in myself.

Being the engineering type I thought that lactate testing sounded interesting and then I saw how much the kits cost. I'll stick to approximations I think. I don't need to worry about having an Olympian physiology. But I'm basing my MHR on what I see on my PM, received from my Polar strap, for a very short period of time (usually a few seconds after finishing a rep). Should I regard this as my 'real' MHR or will that be lower than this figure?

[bisqeet]

HRmax should always be that what you see. not a calculated value.

I occasionally check my current HRmax by doing a eddy fletcher HRMax test:
Personally I do test 1 (Page 20), but there are various others.

https://indoorsportservices.co.uk/train ... n/download


Losing weight can only be done with a calorie deficiency, so nutritient is quite important. i.e. no point carbing up as these will be used first for energy instead of fat cells.

either slow and steady or HIIT are the best "fat burners". the body gets used to slow/steady after a while so it doesn't have the same impact after time - thats where hiit comes in. the body cannot adjust.

aerobic will give you the most "fitness", as I define it. at leaast create a great base for later on.
just try and concentrate on technique, lower the rates, but try and build up a powerful stroke.
invest time on the seat and enjoy...

[PaulDuggan]

Thanks. I forgot to mention that on the UT2 work I'm doing 20-22spm. The all-out intervals are more like 46-48!

[bisqeet]

Thanks. I forgot to mention that on the UT2 work I'm doing 20-22spm. The all-out intervals are more like 46-48!

i must be the only person that doesn't get any faster over r30...
but then i avoid short stuff (anything under 5k) like a teen avoiding housework...

[jamesg]

Since you've done a 2k test, you can forget HR and use percentages of your 2k power (about 200W), so 140-160W. This also tallies with your target weight, using about 1W/lb for LSS, and makes things much simpler.

You'll have to do an awful of work for it to have any large effect on weight, and you're doing plenty already. I've found that work gets me fit, eating gets me fat.

[PaulDuggan]

James:
Thanks for the reply. I'm reluctantly accepting that I'll have to diet as well...

Is using Watts based on 2k time 'better' than using HR? What is LSS please?

[jamesg]

HR was a proxy for power output, still used for many sports, failing simpler methods.

The erg measures our power output directly, so as you may have seen, the Interactive plans show 2k power %s for training bands. Then every time you do a 2k test you have an automatic band update. The C2 erg is the only machine that can measure power simply and accurately.

LSS is long slow steady, usually one piece > 20 minutes at 19 - 23. With good technique and endurance it can become LSF, long steady fast.

Shouldn't worry too much about diet. When I switch from xmas dinners to salads and soup, I switch from gaining 1kg a week to losing same.

[PaulDuggan]

remisture:
Unfortunately I've given up weights due to injuring myself too frequently. I put this down to my terrible coordination and inability to maintain form. Rather than regularly render myself completely unable to exercise I've chosen to mix HIIT into my longer runs in the hope that that will compensate.

james:
Ah! Do you mean Table 5.8 (2,000 Training Pace Guide) in the C2 PDF? That - and the rest of the doc - look really useful. Thanks.