Pete Plan Thread

[mitchel674]

Hi all,

I am 52 years old, 6' (1.83) tall, 15st (95kg)

Have only started going to gym 3 or 4 months ago after not doing any exercise for years ( retired from rugby @ 40) and discovered the rowing machine. Now going 3 or 4 times a week.

I am now on week 5 of the BPP I completed the 7000 m last night with figs of,
2.11/500 - SR 22 - DF 120

Each week as distance increases I cope ok with the 2.11/500 ( I find the interval sessions harder) but should I be doing better times than this ? how long will it be before I will notice an improvement in my times /performance? or am I being impatient ?

My best 2k at moment is 8.16

Sorry if stupid questions and please don't ask for video as I would not know how to put one up.

Welcome, Ted. It actually sounds like you're doing great. Keep in mind that those increasingly long rows should be done at a steady state pace. You should be working, but not so hard that you cannot carry on a conversation. The idea is to get in the meters on those rows and really push yourself on the interval days and some of the optional rows.

I think I pushed myself a bit too hard on those long rows during my first time through the BPP. This second time, I slowed myself down a bit and really focused on technique. I seem to be making better gains.

Nothing wrong with an 8:16 2k for a beginner. That time will fall as you continue to get more fit. 2k is a bit of an endurance piece. As you get more comfortable with your longer rows, your 2k time will drop.

[max_ratcliffe]

Hi all,

I am 52 years old, 6' (1.83) tall, 15st (95kg)

Each week as distance increases I cope ok with the 2.11/500 ( I find the interval sessions harder) but should I be doing better times than this ? how long will it be before I will notice an improvement in my times /performance? or am I being impatient ?

<>

Welcome Ted,

Lots of experienced ergers here who are very generous with their advice.

I'm a newbie (about 6 months in) but my advice FWIW is to pay a lot of attention to pacing when you're doing your intervals. Go too slowly, and you're not getting the benefits you should. Too fast, and you won't be able to complete the workout. So record keeping is important. I still keep getting my pacing way off, which the more experienced rowers don't seem to do (or at least, they rarely admit to it!).

I went too fast on the longer distances at the start of BPP, and that left me with nowhere to go once the distance really started increasing. I was trying to maintain somewhere near my 5000m PB pace as the distances increased, thinking I was following Pete's pacing advice. There was no way I could hope to achieve that in the end.

Doing what I tried is probably achievable if you've been really sedentary since you gave up rugby, but even then, probably not wise. If you've been keeping things ticking over reasonably (which I assume as you're only a bit over 8min), then you definitely need to dial things back, as Mitchel has said.

[Dangerscouse]

Hi all,

I am 52 years old, 6' (1.83) tall, 15st (95kg)

Have only started going to gym 3 or 4 months ago after not doing any exercise for years ( retired from rugby @ 40) and discovered the rowing machine. Now going 3 or 4 times a week.

I am now on week 5 of the BPP I completed the 7000 m last night with figs of,
2.11/500 - SR 22 - DF 120

Each week as distance increases I cope ok with the 2.11/500 ( I find the interval sessions harder) but should I be doing better times than this ? how long will it be before I will notice an improvement in my times /performance? or am I being impatient ?

My best 2k at moment is 8.16

Sorry if stupid questions and please don't ask for video as I would not know how to put one up.

Hi Ted,

First of all don't think about what times you think you should be achieving, they are what they are and just keep working on improving on them. It's a slow process so stay patient and hard work will eventually pay off. It is frustrating when you don't see quick progress but there are no shortcuts unfortunately.

If you're doing longer distances at the same pace, then don't downplay the progress from that. Base fitness takes months to build up and you need to accept that it will be painful and uncomfortable to make progress. Maybe try and do a shorter distance at 2:08 pace and see how that feels?

I'll freely admit to getting my pacing wrong on occasions, but that's all part of the process; you'll never know what you are capable of until you try it, and to make progress you need to tickle the edges of a HD especially for the longer distances.

As Henry (HJS) says if you're REALLY doing a 2k at max pace you'll need to lie on the floor afterwards. You've got that to look forward to!!!

Good luck with it all, and keep posting results. We're a very helpful bunch so you'll get some great advice from other rowers, who have made the mistakes already so you don't have to

[Ted12]

Guys

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement. Think I have realized I am expecting too much too soon and to try and slow down and be more patient.

Will keep posted.

T

[tgarrett3794]

hey Everybody-

I started my own topic looking for advice, and a couple peeps said look in the forum for other topics, and I quickly found this one. I had been looking at the petePlan, and really like the idea. I would also like to have a sub 8 minute 2k some day.

I just got serious about my erg at the beginning of june, and complete the summer solstice challenge, (hm 1:39:48.9) but now are looking for more solid training plan.

but I also like to lift and do crossfit, so I am wondering:

I know there are days in the petePlan that have a lable of "steady distance" like three times a week.

I am wondering if I put in one strength session, and one crossfit session and leave one steady distance session a week, if I would get some benefit from doing this in improving my rowing. not full benefit from the petePlan I know, but still improvement since I am still new.

so my week would look like:

1: speed intervals
2: strength session with short WOD
3: endurance intervals
4: steady pace
5: crossfit
6: hard distance
7: rest

[KeithT]

hey Everybody-

I started my own topic looking for advice, and a couple peeps said look in the forum for other topics, and I quickly found this one. I had been looking at the petePlan, and really like the idea. I would also like to have a sub 8 minute 2k some day.

I just got serious about my erg at the beginning of june, and complete the summer solstice challenge, (hm 1:39:48.9) but now are looking for more solid training plan.

but I also like to lift and do crossfit, so I am wondering:

I know there are days in the petePlan that have a lable of "steady distance" like three times a week.

I am wondering if I put in one strength session, and one crossfit session and leave one steady distance session a week, if I would get some benefit from doing this in improving my rowing. not full benefit from the petePlan I know, but still improvement since I am still new.

so my week would look like:

1: speed intervals
2: strength session with short WOD
3: endurance intervals
4: steady pace
5: crossfit
6: hard distance
7: rest

I got into rowing through CF and I am still a competitive CF athlete and now also a competitive rower. So, I have experience with trying to combine the two. First, to answer your question - you definitely can get good improvement rowing 4 times a week, I even think you can make great gains with 3 days a week. Since CF trains a lot of your anerobic threshold you don't need to do as much of the short rowing intervals, you may even want to swap your hard distance for another steady state row or just do one interval session a week and alternate between short and longer. If you want to do a rowing comp or really want to prepare for a rowing time trial then moving to more rowing can get some more gains. I must warn you that rowing will compliment CF as far as capacity and endurance but you might lose a bit of pure strength if you only hit weights and do CF once a week - always a balancing act. Again you can improve rowing for sure with a 4 times a week plan.

[tgarrett3794]

hey Everybody-

I started my own topic looking for advice, and a couple peeps said look in the forum for other topics, and I quickly found this one. I had been looking at the petePlan, and really like the idea. I would also like to have a sub 8 minute 2k some day.

I just got serious about my erg at the beginning of june, and complete the summer solstice challenge, (hm 1:39:48.9) but now are looking for more solid training plan.

but I also like to lift and do crossfit, so I am wondering:

I know there are days in the petePlan that have a lable of "steady distance" like three times a week.

I am wondering if I put in one strength session, and one crossfit session and leave one steady distance session a week, if I would get some benefit from doing this in improving my rowing. not full benefit from the petePlan I know, but still improvement since I am still new.

so my week would look like:

1: speed intervals
2: strength session with short WOD
3: endurance intervals
4: steady pace
5: crossfit
6: hard distance
7: rest

I got into rowing through CF and I am still a competitive CF athlete and now also a competitive rower. So, I have experience with trying to combine the two. First, to answer your question - you definitely can get good improvement rowing 4 times a week, I even think you can make great gains with 3 days a week. Since CF trains a lot of your anerobic threshold you don't need to do as much of the short rowing intervals, you may even want to swap your hard distance for another steady state row or just do one interval session a week and alternate between short and longer. If you want to do a rowing comp or really want to prepare for a rowing time trial then moving to more rowing can get some more gains. I must warn you that rowing will compliment CF as far as capacity and endurance but you might lose a bit of pure strength if you only hit weights and do CF once a week - always a balancing act. Again you can improve rowing for sure with a 4 times a week plan.

awesome to get some advice from a CF athlete.

I know I will loose some overall strength, but that really isn't one of my major goals anyway, I want to be strong, but don't have to be stupid strong

also. thanks for the input on want I can dor for my rowing.

so I think my weeks could start out looking like, just to get into things:

1: speed intervals
2: strength session with short WOD
3: rest
4: endurance intervals
5: crossfit
6: steady pace/hard distance
7: rest

yes another rest day, but I think that is a smart way to start out. and that is basiccaly what I am doing now anyway, it will just will have more focused workouts from the peteplan.

plus I guess if I want to compete in say the Denver indoor rowing championships. I can switch more focus to rowing as I get closer to that to make me race ready. maybe this week/peteplan/strength/crossfit can be something I can maintain year round, and then switch to other disaplins as needed for comps.

[KeithT]

hey Everybody-

I started my own topic looking for advice, and a couple peeps said look in the forum for other topics, and I quickly found this one. I had been looking at the petePlan, and really like the idea. I would also like to have a sub 8 minute 2k some day.

I just got serious about my erg at the beginning of june, and complete the summer solstice challenge, (hm 1:39:48.9) but now are looking for more solid training plan.

but I also like to lift and do crossfit, so I am wondering:

I know there are days in the petePlan that have a lable of "steady distance" like three times a week.

I am wondering if I put in one strength session, and one crossfit session and leave one steady distance session a week, if I would get some benefit from doing this in improving my rowing. not full benefit from the petePlan I know, but still improvement since I am still new.

so my week would look like:

1: speed intervals
2: strength session with short WOD
3: endurance intervals
4: steady pace
5: crossfit
6: hard distance
7: rest

I got into rowing through CF and I am still a competitive CF athlete and now also a competitive rower. So, I have experience with trying to combine the two. First, to answer your question - you definitely can get good improvement rowing 4 times a week, I even think you can make great gains with 3 days a week. Since CF trains a lot of your anerobic threshold you don't need to do as much of the short rowing intervals, you may even want to swap your hard distance for another steady state row or just do one interval session a week and alternate between short and longer. If you want to do a rowing comp or really want to prepare for a rowing time trial then moving to more rowing can get some more gains. I must warn you that rowing will compliment CF as far as capacity and endurance but you might lose a bit of pure strength if you only hit weights and do CF once a week - always a balancing act. Again you can improve rowing for sure with a 4 times a week plan.

awesome to get some advice from a CF athlete.

I know I will loose some overall strength, but that really isn't one of my major goals anyway, I want to be strong, but don't have to be stupid strong

also. thanks for the input on want I can dor for my rowing.

so I think my weeks could start out looking like, just to get into things:

1: speed intervals
2: strength session with short WOD
3: rest
4: endurance intervals
5: crossfit
6: steady pace/hard distance
7: rest

yes another rest day, but I think that is a smart way to start out. and that is basiccaly what I am doing now anyway, it will just will have more focused workouts from the peteplan.

plus I guess if I want to compete in say the Denver indoor rowing championships. I can switch more focus to rowing as I get closer to that to make me race ready. maybe this week/peteplan/strength/crossfit can be something I can maintain year round, and then switch to other disaplins as needed for comps.

Sounds like a plan but make sure to get the steady state session in - I would do it over one of the interval sessions and alternate between long and short. Getting meters in improves rowing more than anything assuming form is OK.

[Ted12]

So just finished week 7 of BPP and have really now noticed a difference over the past couple of weeks after having worries of not improving quickly enough.

Week 1 my 5000 was done at 2.15, Week 7 my 8000 done at 2.09
Week 1 6x500 was done at 2.05 Week 8 7x500 was done at 1.56

I really would like to aim for a HM in a few months time what sort of rate/time do you think I should be aiming for.

[MartinSH4321]

So just finished week 7 of BPP and have really now noticed a difference over the past couple of weeks after having worries of not improving quickly enough.

Week 1 my 5000 was done at 2.15, Week 7 my 8000 done at 2.09
Week 1 6x500 was done at 2.05 Week 8 7x500 was done at 1.56

I really would like to aim for a HM in a few months time what sort of rate/time do you think I should be aiming for.

That's a great improvement Ted, well done!
For a first HM I won't think too much about pace or rate, it's challenging to finish it. I would recommend not to start too fast, you shouldn't think about stopping the session because of pace. After 10k you'll know/feel what pace you can hold till the end I think. Good luck!

[davebray]

I'm in week 10 of Pete Plan & I'm confused as to whether I should be focusing on stroke rate or time per 500m.
I started the plan at 30 spm and am now down to 27 spm averaging on the longer distances 2:11 per 500,
if I reduce to 24 spm my time goes up to 2:25 per 500. Also at 27 spm I don't bring my heels down until very
late in the drive.
I'd really appreciate some guidance as to what my focus should be on at this stage in the plan.

[thomasbaerten]

Did the 7 x 500m / 2 min rest from the BPP last friday

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
12:49.8 3,500m 1:49.9 263 1205 34
1:47.6 500m 1:47.6 281 1266 34
1:48.8 500m 1:48.8 272 1235 34
1:49.1 500m 1:49.1 270 1227 35
1:51.4 500m 1:51.4 253 1171 34
1:52.5 500m 1:52.5 246 1146 34
1:54.6 500m 1:54.6 233 1100 34
1:45.9 500m 1:45.9 295 1314 36

Really happy with the results. My goal was 1:55 average.
I did it at the end of the heatwave in Belgium and didn't sleep more than 4-5 hours a night for a week.
Didn't really tamper with my performance, but I think my immune system was down because of it. The result: felt like crap for 4 days, even had a fever

Really underestimated the impact of such a workout on the body
Did some light rowing yesterday (slow 5K) and some strength training today.
Tomorrow a 8K from the BPP. Really like it!

[Dangerscouse]

Did the 7 x 500m / 2 min rest from the BPP last friday

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
12:49.8 3,500m 1:49.9 263 1205 34
1:47.6 500m 1:47.6 281 1266 34
1:48.8 500m 1:48.8 272 1235 34
1:49.1 500m 1:49.1 270 1227 35
1:51.4 500m 1:51.4 253 1171 34
1:52.5 500m 1:52.5 246 1146 34
1:54.6 500m 1:54.6 233 1100 34
1:45.9 500m 1:45.9 295 1314 36

Really happy with the results. My goal was 1:55 average.
I did it at the end of the heatwave in Belgium and didn't sleep more than 4-5 hours a night for a week.
Didn't really tamper with my performance, but I think my immune system was down because of it. The result: felt like crap for 4 days, even had a fever

Really underestimated the impact of such a workout on the body
Did some light rowing yesterday (slow 5K) and some strength training today.
Tomorrow a 8K from the BPP. Really like it!

Given the heat and your current health, you should test your 2k again when it gets cooler, you sleep more and feel better. This is a great result for a circa 2:00 paced 2k PB, especially that last 500m!!

[mitchel674]

I'm in week 10 of Pete Plan & I'm confused as to whether I should be focusing on stroke rate or time per 500m.
I started the plan at 30 spm and am now down to 27 spm averaging on the longer distances 2:11 per 500,
if I reduce to 24 spm my time goes up to 2:25 per 500. Also at 27 spm I don't bring my heels down until very
late in the drive.
I'd really appreciate some guidance as to what my focus should be on at this stage in the plan.

BPP doesn't really specify stroke rate, but the general consensus is that you should be rowing the increasingly longer steady state pieces between 20-24 spm. The intervals are generally done at free rate depending on the distance. Pretty common for the 500m intervals to be 32 spm or even higher.

As a novice, you should really be focusing on your technique for the longer, slower rows. Smooth, powerful strokes at a controlled pace with a relaxed recovery is the goal.

[Ted12]

So after reporting how pleased I was with progress I was making after week 7 of BPP I did not do so well on leg 1 of week 8.
I was not really feeling it and completed the 8500 with a rate of 2.15/ 500 (21spm) as opposed to my 2.09’s on previous weeks.
Question I have is , should I put it down to one of them things (weekend excess) and move on to leg 2 of this weeks plan the 4x1500 or do the 8500 again and try to get back where I was @ 2.09.