Advanced beginner looking for decent training plan

[EastClintwood]

Hi guys, I've been reading a lot in this forum and I love all the discussions and the advises from the experienced rowers.

I got my C2 a year ago and had been training in the last winter. I especially looked for a training at home and in the dark time of the year. In summer i prefer riding on my gravel bike. So i have already some experiences on my rower and I think my technique is quite okay, so no need to focus especially on that any more.

So now, dark time of the year is approaching and I'm looking for the right training plan to gain fitness, and build up a little bit of muscle mass, especially around the core and the back. My plan is to row regularly 3-4 times a week with a little bit of body weight or kettlebell training afterwards.
I'm 185 cm tall and i weigh around 77 kg. So I'm rather a slim type of guy, somewhere between ectomorph and mesomorph.

I was thinking about doing the beginner Pete Plan for this winter. But there are plenty of steady state sessions in it and i am a little bit concerned about that as I absolutely do not want to lose weight.

Do you have any recommendations how to build up my training on the rower to avoid weight loss and focus on muscle development? Should I focus more on shorter interval sessions instead of steady state? Or maybe I could manage that issue by adjusting my pace, stroke rate, heart rate etc. while doing the BPP? I always prefered slower, powerful strokes, around 18-21 spm, anyway.

Thanks for your responses in advance.

[Elizabeth]

The BPP is a solid plan. I am doing a spectacular job of not losing weight on a high volume program by eating enough.

[btlifter]

To echo what Elizabeth wrote....

I've averaged well over 100k/week on the rowerg during the past two years. I've also gained over 20kg in that time.

[jamesg]

I always prefered slower, powerful strokes, around 18-21 spm, anyway.

That's how rowing is done, never pull a weak stroke save in warmup or down. The W/Rate ratio tells all. If younger than 60, ratio 10 should be doable.

[winniewinser]

Hi guys, I've been reading a lot in this forum and I love all the discussions and the advises from the experienced rowers.

I got my C2 a year ago and had been training in the last winter. I especially looked for a training at home and in the dark time of the year. In summer i prefer riding on my gravel bike. So i have already some experiences on my rower and I think my technique is quite okay, so no need to focus especially on that any more.

So now, dark time of the year is approaching and I'm looking for the right training plan to gain fitness, and build up a little bit of muscle mass, especially around the core and the back. My plan is to row regularly 3-4 times a week with a little bit of body weight or kettlebell training afterwards.
I'm 185 cm tall and i weigh around 77 kg. So I'm rather a slim type of guy, somewhere between ectomorph and mesomorph.

I was thinking about doing the beginner Pete Plan for this winter. But there are plenty of steady state sessions in it and i am a little bit concerned about that as I absolutely do not want to lose weight.

Do you have any recommendations how to build up my training on the rower to avoid weight loss and focus on muscle development? Should I focus more on shorter interval sessions instead of steady state? Or maybe I could manage that issue by adjusting my pace, stroke rate, heart rate etc. while doing the BPP? I always prefered slower, powerful strokes, around 18-21 spm, anyway.

Thanks for your responses in advance.

Hi,

I am/was of similar build....188cm and have been as low as 75kg for LWT rowing but now settle around 80kg. So people often comment that I am too think and skinny. I also did the BPP when I started out rowing and found it a good plan to get some progress. As you are at a more advanced level yu could always lower the longer SS rows in distance and concentrate on the intervals/harder distance pieces. Mix and match if you will.

Rowing is never going to retain muscle mass that it doesn't need though so you'd have to cut volume and eat heartily I think to stay heavier.

Good luck with your journey

[Tsnor]

... Rowing is never going to retain muscle mass that it doesn't need though so you'd have to cut volume and eat heartily I think to stay heavier.

Good luck with your journey

Everyone's perspective is different.

If you look at photos of rowers vs photos of cyclists or runners, rowers have substantially more muscle mass. Similar legs, massively larger shoulders, core. I think you'll gain muscle mass with any rowing program so if you don't have a lot of fat now you are going to gain weight. https://youtu.be/bGuTgIfDU_k

[winniewinser]

... Rowing is never going to retain muscle mass that it doesn't need though so you'd have to cut volume and eat heartily I think to stay heavier.

Good luck with your journey

Everyone's perspective is different.

If you look at photos of rowers vs photos of cyclists or runners, rowers have substantially more muscle mass. Similar legs, massively larger shoulders, core. I think you'll gain muscle mass with any rowing program so if you don't have a lot of fat now you are going to gain weight. https://youtu.be/bGuTgIfDU_k

Very true....so the whole package of a good program both physical and nutritional is key.

[EastClintwood]

Thanks for your replies so far. I think I'll stick to the BPP for now.

Any recommendations how to mix in kettlebell and body weight training?

[Elizabeth]

Hi there, I haven't chimed in with more specific advice because I don't have much experience with kettlebell training, and bodyweight training can encompass such a variety of things: I find bodyweight squats pretty easy, pistol squats and pullups pretty hard, and human flags flat out impossible. In general, it seems like the best approach is to set a schedule that you enjoy and can stick with. Behind that, it is beneficial to keep easy days easy and hard days hard, and so you may want to group harder bodyweight activity on rowing interval days.

[Dangerscouse]

I'm the same as Elizabeth, I've never used kettlebells, but I do think bodyweight exercises are really useful, especially if you can't get to a gym.

There are loads to chose from, and you can adapt it with just single limbs, an emphasis on one more than the other e.g. split press ups (one hand further back than the other) or negatives (just the dropping part of a pull up).

If you want to build your core, there are tons of Pilates exercises to chose from. Plank variations, hundreds, bear crawls, dead bugs, glute bridges etc are all really good choices.