1 month in and no change... suggestions?

[Cillacat32]

Hi, I'm new to posting on the forum. I am 50 and need to lose 20 lbs. I used to be a body builder, but injuries and the rigorous diet have kept me away for a long time. I am a rucker and have done several marathons... but again, injuries knee, calves etc.. seem to plague me. I do still walk between 2 to 4 miles almost every day.. (my dog demands it) Anyway, a month ago I just got fed up with my weight, so I went back to rowing.
Decided to make sure I did at least 5 days a week at at least 30 min. I ended up doing 140,000m last month and am pushing for more this month. I mix up my sessions, some are slow and long,, some are fast, some I pull hard every last 10 seconds of every minute. This month I'm adding a little lifting in, plus I try and do 20 min of stretching (yoga/ROMWOD) which helps with everything. My hip has started to bug me and one of my calves. I'm reading and watching about proper form and trying really hard to row correctly to avoid injury. My times are getting faster, (I Pr'd my 10k at 46:11 yesterday) But I haven't lost a single pound!!
I know I can't out train a bad diet... but I thought I was eating a little better then what my results are showing me.
I'm not giving up. I'm digging in, which is what has led me to this post.
What have you done that has yielded results?
Do you know of any online rowing coaches that could review my form?

I hope I don't sound like a crazy person... I mean.. I am one... but I try to hide it.

Any info would be great. Thanks

[Ombrax]

Do you know of any online rowing coaches that could review my form?

Welcome to the forum.

Here are a few ideas:

1) Take a video of yourself (from the side), save it online and post a link here with a request for help. You'll get lots of good advice.

2) Eat less, eat better, eat less. Go to bed slightly hungry if you can.

3) Measure % body fat instead of overall weight, set a goal, and go for improvement there instead of just pounds. I use a Tanita scale for this, but there are plenty of other options out there. They aren't perfect (e.g. results are affected by how hydrated you are) but are still a good way to track your overall trends.

https://www.tanita.com/en/consumer-full ... mposition/



Good Luck

[mict450]

Welcome. 2 things to do:

1. Most important is diet. You have to find someway to restrict your caloric intake.

2. Ditch the speed work. Long & slow to burn the most calories. Stay solidly in UT2 band. High intensity work will make it harder for you to control your appetite.

If #1 isn't in place, doesn't matter how much you work out. You'll be just like the hordes who inhabit the gyms.....fit but overweight or down right fat.

Good luck on your journey.

[mict450]

Re: caloric restriction.....you gotta find a method that you can tolerate for the rest of your life. Plant-based, paleo, low carb, IF, OMAD, WW, etc, etc.....it really makes no difference.

Personally, I've used portion control with good results in keeping my weight under control. I don't eat till I'm full & want to feel hungry between every meal. I use "cheat" episodes, at most, twice a week. Note, it's "episodes", not cheat days.

This quote by Hippocrates has stuck with me: "If you have a slight sensation of hunger after a meal - you have eaten well. If you feel full - you have poisoned yourself."

Any diet will work, but the harder part is sticking with it for maintenance for as long as you live. A common mistake is assuming once you reach your goal weight, you can go back to your old eating habits & maintain your lean form. Your old eating habits will pack on the fat again, exponentially faster than you took it off.

Best wishes in meeting your goals.

[Ombrax]

Do you know of any online rowing coaches that could review my form?

Something else you can do on your own - if you haven't noticed it, the force curve on the PM will give you a rough idea of how good or bad your technique is. See link for more info.

https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... orce-curve

[jamesg]

But I haven't lost a single pound!!

If you've not lost any weight, you've not put on any either, so with your current regime you have your weight under control. It won't take much to tip one way or the other. The crash course is no carbohydrates at all, replaced with plenty of vegetables that someone has to get and cook, and no more than two small meals a day.

Exercise is said to develop muscle, not just fitness, so maybe you've added some? Does your dogwalk include hills and/or rough terrain? These can be done fast and give you a good sweat if you use sticks, but not so simple if you can't free the dog.

If you're working and travelling 10 hours a day or so, you won't have much time to exercise more. If so, rowing technique can help somewhat, but can't be criticised without data and possibly a video. 46'/11k is not bad (135 Watt) but could be a lot better. I got below 40' at age 63, with some style but no strength, using my height (6'2). So what rating did you do the 10k at, and how did you learn to row? Also current weight and height.

[hjs]

Hi, I'm new to posting on the forum. I am 50 and need to lose 20 lbs. I used to be a body builder, but injuries and the rigorous diet have kept me away for a long time. I am a rucker and have done several marathons... but again, injuries knee, calves etc.. seem to plague me. I do still walk between 2 to 4 miles almost every day.. (my dog demands it) Anyway, a month ago I just got fed up with my weight, so I went back to rowing.
Decided to make sure I did at least 5 days a week at at least 30 min. I ended up doing 140,000m last month and am pushing for more this month. I mix up my sessions, some are slow and long,, some are fast, some I pull hard every last 10 seconds of every minute. This month I'm adding a little lifting in, plus I try and do 20 min of stretching (yoga/ROMWOD) which helps with everything. My hip has started to bug me and one of my calves. I'm reading and watching about proper form and trying really hard to row correctly to avoid injury. My times are getting faster, (I Pr'd my 10k at 46:11 yesterday) But I haven't lost a single pound!!
I know I can't out train a bad diet... but I thought I was eating a little better then what my results are showing me.
I'm not giving up. I'm digging in, which is what has led me to this post.
What have you done that has yielded results?
Do you know of any online rowing coaches that could review my form?

I hope I don't sound like a crazy person... I mean.. I am one... but I try to hide it.

Any info would be great. Thanks

5x30 min. Rowing at 2.00 pace, guess? Would be 2.5 hours. Per hour roughly 1000 cal. So 2.500cal. That would be half a pound. You go slower so you burn less. Its simply not so much. If you are not strict on your diet, its makes sense you don’t change in weight.
Good to hear you know you are crazy those are the most fun.

Re weight. Diet, the rowing is not doing it. Be strict and be honoust to yourself.
Re technique, make a vid. And post it. Side angle, not to close.
Re pb, Shows there is a good bit to gain.

[Tony Cook]

Alcohol?
I’ve known several people who had a reasonable food diet and worked hard at their training but were blind to the calories in their alcohol consumption - 200 in a pint of beer, 600 in a bottle of wine.

[Cillacat32]

Thanks Tony and Hgs.

No on the Alcohol. Been sober for quite some time. I think the consistent message from everyone is my diet... or lack there of.

Looks like I just gotta face facts and start eating clean.

Have got a lot of great help from everyone, thanks so much, ill keep ya posted.

Oh, Hgs, I rowed more then 30 minutes on many days, and if I could row a 2 min 500m. I'd be fired up. Maybe it would help for me to mention I'm a woman? I was kinda thinking my 46:11 10k was kinda good.... but... ahh... ya... may need to humble myself down a bit.

[hjs]

Thanks Tony and Hgs.

No on the Alcohol. Been sober for quite some time. I think the consistent message from everyone is my diet... or lack there of.

Looks like I just gotta face facts and start eating clean.

Have got a lot of great help from everyone, thanks so much, ill keep ya posted.

Oh, Hgs, I rowed more then 30 minutes on many days, and if I could row a 2 min 500m. I'd be fired up. Maybe it would help for me to mention I'm a woman? I was kinda thinking my 46:11 10k was kinda good.... but... ahh... ya... may need to humble myself down a bit.

Being a woman certainly matters, reason being, man are bigger, so put more effort in the machine. So 46 min is certainly not bad. Talking in general and ofcourse. Thats also why females can eat less.

Good thing is ofcourse you got started, now start looking at your diet, and you will get going. Its simply not easy to loose weight. Excercise alone is often not enough.

[Dangerscouse]

Thanks Tony and Hgs.

No on the Alcohol. Been sober for quite some time. I think the consistent message from everyone is my diet... or lack there of.

Looks like I just gotta face facts and start eating clean.

Have got a lot of great help from everyone, thanks so much, ill keep ya posted.

Oh, Hgs, I rowed more then 30 minutes on many days, and if I could row a 2 min 500m. I'd be fired up. Maybe it would help for me to mention I'm a woman? I was kinda thinking my 46:11 10k was kinda good.... but... ahh... ya... may need to humble myself down a bit.

Try tweaking your diet, or can you afford more time on the rower? Longer and slower might help with weight loss. We are all built differently, and respond differently, so there isn't much that is a definitive rule, but diet is probably your primary focus.

Imo 46:11 for a 50 y/o female is good and you should be proud of that. Looking at the rankings, that would put you, more or less, in the top 25% out of 189 rowers. The average time is 50:04.

[MiddleAgeCRISIS]

Hi, I'm new to posting on the forum. I am 50 and need to lose 20 lbs. I used to be a body builder, but injuries and the rigorous diet have kept me away for a long time. I am a rucker and have done several marathons... but again, injuries knee, calves etc.. seem to plague me. I do still walk between 2 to 4 miles almost every day.. (my dog demands it) Anyway, a month ago I just got fed up with my weight, so I went back to rowing.
Decided to make sure I did at least 5 days a week at at least 30 min. I ended up doing 140,000m last month and am pushing for more this month. I mix up my sessions, some are slow and long,, some are fast, some I pull hard every last 10 seconds of every minute. This month I'm adding a little lifting in, plus I try and do 20 min of stretching (yoga/ROMWOD) which helps with everything. My hip has started to bug me and one of my calves. I'm reading and watching about proper form and trying really hard to row correctly to avoid injury. My times are getting faster, (I Pr'd my 10k at 46:11 yesterday) But I haven't lost a single pound!!
I know I can't out train a bad diet... but I thought I was eating a little better then what my results are showing me.
I'm not giving up. I'm digging in, which is what has led me to this post.
What have you done that has yielded results?
Do you know of any online rowing coaches that could review my form?

I hope I don't sound like a crazy person... I mean.. I am one... but I try to hide it.

Any info would be great. Thanks

Hi, In April i was 20 stone and i decided to sort it. I rowed 20km per day at low intensity at 3 minute splits.

I rowed fasted every morning and I have lost 3.5 stone give or take. I now row at 2.30 with a heart rate of 100 bpm.

Things ive noticed are

1) proper hydration can move your weight around by a lot. So each litre of water is a kg.

2) digestive processes can vary with diet so this can be impactful too.

3) you are going to put on muscle even with low intensity. I've not hit any weights but i've started to get a lot stronger.

4) the best advice I've had around rowing is to block out the last foot of the rail with a cloth. This stops your bum hitting your heels or overbending and then your ITB doesnt get too tight and impact your knees and hips. I had really tight quads and ITBs and really really painful hips and hip flexors. The cloth sorted that out. Plus I used a black and decker jigsaw and mounted a massage tip on it. This sorted out my knots. I did 7 minutes of massage on every part of my leg to keep going.

5) If you row fasted - you will feel when your body starts to burn fat. Early days - this made me feel awful and i could sense when i had run out of fuel for a minute or so. After time you dont have this feeling and in other endurance sports - i never really run out of energy now. For me 30 minutes would only give me 10 minutes of burning body fat - so id say maybe try an early morning one hour fasted row and see if you can feel it.

6) Set yourself 100 days to judge it.

Cheers

Robert

[MiddleAgeCRISIS]

2. Ditch the speed work. Long & slow to burn the most calories. Stay solidly in UT2 band. High intensity work will make it harder for you to control

I agree entirely. Plus I think if you do do speed work there's a chance you'll build muscle and theres a likelihood you will do that more easily because of your background.

Me- i used to do reps of 140kg lat pull downs when i was 12 stone. I have a massive back - ive noticed i've started building strength super quickly in that area even though ive not trained that way for 30 years.

try low intensity and sneak off the fat rather than build more muscle.

[Cillacat32]

Hey a little update and a lot of thanks for the support. Since posting I have increased my time on the rower to at least 1 hour a day. Trying to do this 5 to 6 days a week. The scale has moved a little in the right direction. But not much. Am working much harder at cleaning up my diet, but there is always room for improvement.

Water is key and I recover better when I'm drinking 1gal a day.

I've tried fasted cardio in the past... I hate it... but I do agree it works and will make the effort.

The force curve has been a great tool!! I definitely have too much power from the catch and not enough follow through. Ie... the hump of my haystack is too close to the beginning... am working on slowing myself at the catch and doing it more like a dead lift. Which seems to give me the desired haystack... but its a hard habit to break.

Not ready to post any videos of my rowing yet though... little shy. Lol.

Thanks again for all the support and guidance. Much appreciated.

[mict450]

Great to hear you're making progress! Fasted cardio works for me personally, but if you absolutely hate it, I would advise you not to. Find some other way to restrict your calories that you find more enjoyable.

Losing weight is hard work. No sense in making it more odious. At a certain level, you have to be enjoying the process to make it a life long habit.