Weight Training For Lightweights

[[old] fergie]

Hi.<br />I'm a lightweight rower - pretty much right on the deadline.<br />I've been indoor rowing for about a year now - but hardly do any weights.<br /><br />I wanna start doing some - but i don't want to put on weight, so whats the best way to do them, high reps?<br />If so - how much? 20? and do you still do multiple sets?<br /><br />Oh, and i'm about to do a search - but i'll ask anyway - what sort of weights should i be doing - like benchpressing, leg press etc - whats worth doing, whats a waste of time.<br />Or does anyone know the main muscles used in rowing (liek i said, i'm about to search the net - so it should be ok!)<br /><br />Thanks

[[old] Cran]

If you want to gain strength and not weight, do heavy weights, low reps (4-6 max).<br /><br />just standard stuff like:<br />squat, dead lift, cleans<br />bench (or seated) row<br />bench press, dips<br />shoulder press, wide grip chins<br />leg ext, leg curl<br />bicep curl, tricep press<br /><br />Spending the time on the erg will probably improve your erg times more than doing weights though, especially as a lightweight.<br /><br />

[[old] Mel Harbour]

Although it should be noted that if you're a borderline lightweight, on an energy controlled diet, weight training will not cause much (if any) muscular hypertrophy. You need to maintain a positive energy balance to cause muscular hypertrophy, which you probably won't be doing!

[[old] Andrew Burrows]

Interesting thread as Im am also a VERY borderline LWT and was thinking of doing some weights. <br /><br />Mel - I understand what your saying and that makes perfect sense but is there still some benefit to some one like me doing weights, could I maybe not build strength or size but just by doing weights increase my efficiency of my muscles? If that makes sense !

[[old] fergie]

thanks guys.<br /><br />Yea, i was thinking the same thing as Andrew.<br />Just doing really high reps to aid my endurance in those muscles.<br /><br />

[[old] Rob Collings]

You can gain strength without gaining size. A lot of the strength improvements seen will be from improved fibre recruitment (using more of what you've got) and from your brain, etc working out more efficient ways of moving.<br /><br />Generally, I think it's reps in the 8-12 range that are considered to aid hypertrophy so stick with low or high reps and you should be OK. But as Mel points out - if you are on a restricted energy diet then you won't have enough energy to put on extra muscle anyway!<br /><br />Rob.

[[old] PeterWilkinson]

As someone who came to rowing from weight training, I would agree that you should work in the lower rep ranges. Most bodybuilders work in the 8-15 reps per set range to get bigger, while lower reps, 3-6 are seen primarily as strength builders. Be aware though, almost any kind of weight routine may increase your muscle size, especially if you have never done this kind of training before. <br /><br />Muscle is heavy which may be a cause for concern if you are a borderline lightweight, but on the plus side, it is thought that the more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be, so you should burn more calories while you watch TV than you used to. You will just have to monitor your weight carefully around competition time.<br /><br />The rep range being used should determine the weight you use for each exercise. The 3-6 rep range means that the weight you use should be a struggle on the 5th and 6th reps. Indeed if you are doing three sets of the exercise, it should be difficult, or impossible, to get the 6th rep on the last set. Weight training should be progressive, so as soon as you reach your target, for example: 3 X 6, you should be increasing the weight slightly for your next workout.<br /><br />In terms of rowing specifice exercises, I would suggest that you keep it simple to start with. Three sets of each of the following exercises may be a good starting point:<br /><br />Leg Press - Strengthens the quads, useful for the drive. (Safer than squats for the novice weightlifter).<br />Leg Curls - Strengthen the hamstrings, and counterbalances the quads work done above and while rowing.<br />Seated Cable/Machine Rows - Strengthens the lats and upper back, should be a familiar movement.<br />Rear Lateral Raises - Works the rear shoulders, used in the final phase of the pull.<br />Bench Press - To increase general upper body strength and counterbalance the back and shoulder exercises done above, and all that rowing that you already do...<br /> <br />The above routine should only take about half an hour and I do it once a week myself. However, as a former weightlifter and definitely a heavyweight, I tend to do 12-15 reps on the leg exercises and 8-12 reps on the upper body stuff.<br /><br />You could also read the appropriate sections of the Guide to Training on the Indoor Rower, which can be found on the Concept2 web-site.

[[old] PeterWilkinson]

Forgot to mention. Make sure you warmup and stretch thoroughly before you start lifting weights, particularly if you do decide to go for the heavy low-rep workout.<br /><br />When I train heavy I tend to add one or two warmup sets of the exercise at 50-75% of the working weight. This helps to get your body in the right groove before hitting the heavy working sets.<br /><br />And obviously, do the exercises properly. Do not use momentum, jerking or swinging to lift the weight. If you can't do the exercise with strict form, reduce the weight. The idea is to get stronger without injuring yourself.<br /><br />Finally, it is a good idea to find a training partner. Besides being much safer, it can be a useful motivating factor as well.