Newbie excited to pick up rowing!

[LimitedTimeGamer]

So, a little bit about me.

I am a office worker, working full time. Because of this, going to the gym is near impossible, so i was considering picking up a Concept ERG. I have done rowing on machines a few times, back in school and the rare few times i went to a gym. I enjoyed it.

I am 6ft1, and currently weigh 138KG's or 304 pounds! It's not a healthy lifestyle to live, but i was okay with it, until the other day. I was out walking, and i had to walk up a fairly steep hill. I could go up it consistantly, but i was panting/out of breath the entire time, and i know that i have to change.

My weakness is Chicken. Specifically, Takeaway of any kind. I dont really eat sweet things.

I know that losing weight is mostly diet but i would really appreciate any tips!

I did my research, and from what i can tell, rowing works roughly 85% of the muscles in the body. Are there any exercises/equipment that are effective to work out the rest?

And, is there a chance of being too tired to walk? I have to walk about 5 large blocks to get to my workplace from the bus stop, mostly flat.

[iain]

As you say, weight loss is primarily about diet, but if you reduce your calories to less than you are using your body will slip into "starvation mode" and drop your metabolism so further reducing the calories you need. Avoiding that is the first benefit of adding some exercise. The second is that muscle uses more energy than fat and so building back your muscles will increase your metabolism.

What you can do is to a large extent about mental conditioning. As such, for most people (I am assuming you do not have relevant health problems and, as a current worker, you are not late 70s or above) being "too tired" to walk on the flat means not having the resilience to walk. Sorry if this sounds flippant, but I have finished rowing sessions with sore legs and not wanted to walk the 2 miles to work, but I have always managed to. Personally I find pushing my legs easy, a bigger issue when restarting is my back and core. I have a tendency to over do it at first and this leaves these key muscles sore (even having "DOMS" in my diaphragm). If this is the case, I need to be careful to keep checking my posture as sitting slumped will not do me any good.

Many people find rowing at a moderate pace difficult, doubly so if they have previously rowed when much fitter. Before I found the C2 forum I thought rowing slower than 2:00 pace was an embarrassment for a man in his 30s. As a result, despite having some fitness, it was 6 months before I was reliably rowing >2k. If you want to build fitness, you need to build up your rowing to 5k or more per session. This may take time, and will certainly need restraint as the pace that feels right in the first minute or so will not be maintainable. You may find that you need to break the rows down into intervals at first as rowing done properly is hard work and your heart should exceed what it needs to do walking, so if you have not done more strenuous exercise for some time, this will be hard. If that is the case, try and keep the intervals the same length so stop the first time before you need to so that you can go again for as long.

THe C2 is a great machine when used properly, but technique is important and harder than most appreciate. So watch the videos and try and produce a powerful stroke where your arms stay straight throughout your leg drive and you start the stroke in a strong position and don't rock forward or raise yur arms during the power stroke.

Let us know how you get on. You will find many here who started from a similar position as well as those whose achievements on the erg may always remain beyond us mere mortals.

- Iain

[Dangerscouse]

Welcome to the forum.

Consistency is your main aim. Regularly rowing isn't easy for the vast majority of people, so you need to enjoy the process rather than just the results.

A lot of people aim to lose a specific amount of weight, and when that is achieved the desire to continue is lost too. Making rowing a part of your identity is essential to avoid this, so your discipline will pull you through on the days that you don't want to row.

Evaluate your diet, and then add in lots of steady paced sessions for as long / far as you can do. As Iain suggests break it up into intervals so you've a couple of minutes rest to reset, stretch and maybe a drink of water.

Don't compare your times to anyone else, as it's all about you against you. Whatever pace you row isn't slow, it's just your pace.

Good luck with it all.

[MPx]

Well done for taking the initiative, and well done for picking C2 over any other kit. Much other kit is functionally fine, but C2 has the backing/feedback/community/etc that means you've got the best chance of sticking with it long term. I started in 1997 because I wanted to stay fit and strong after stopping some other sports. With the erg at home - so no excuse about getting to the gym - it became part of what I do so I'm still doing it. If you can do similar and stick with it long term you will become a much fitter version of yourself. Its a nice place to be! Best of luck.

[gvcormac]

One of the great things about the rower is that you can row as gently or as hard as you wish. So you won't be too tired if you don't go too hard.

I disagree that technique is all that difficult. I learned from a 5-panel pictogram, which is surely enough to get you started. The imporatant thing is to do it. https://cormack.uwaterloo.ca/con2.jpg

Research results on exercise and weight loss are mixed. As they say, you can't outrun (outrow) a bad diet. And that half-hour row won't burn even one cookie or chicken wing.

There is some (fairly weak) evidence that fairly easy exercise before breakfast is more likely to be helpful, and less likely to stimulate your appetite. More vigorous exercise during the day can help suppress appetite in the short term ... unclear about longer term.

Regardless of whether you lose weight, you'll be healthier. When I recently lost some weight, I noticed blood pressure reduction and lower resting heart rate before any substantial weight loss.

[p_b82]

Good luck with your plans - couple of things from me in a similar vein to what's been said.

As you assess your diet it might be worth just doing some calorie counting to get an understanding of whether it is just chicken or other additional sources that are cumulatively adding up; fizzy drinks, lots of small snacks with coffee (even if not "cake") etc
If you know what your start point is, you can the work to gradually reduce it a little at a time in a manner that doesn't make you feel like you're losing out.

I started rowing as I wanted a winter exercise that I could use to keep my fitness up - and because I was carrying some extra weight due to stopping swimming after I relocated - I was around 15st (205lbs) and was carrying the weight in the "wrong" places.

I've only lost about 12lbs in ~2 years, but my shape has changed a lot as I've converted the extra padding to muscle. If I want to lose more weight I need to change my diet at this stage.

[LimitedTimeGamer]

I finally picked up my rower yesterday and have started my rowing journey!

I didn't have much time, so i did a 500m and tried to keep a str of 22. Did 3:13.

I think i know the answer, but my legs were not straight up, they were chicken winging to the side. I most likely didnt have my foot pedal in the right position, but i would like some confirmation

[iain]

various accommodations are necessary at the catch if you find that your "bread basket" is impeding your stroke. Others will be better to advise on these, but they can reduce the length of the stroke. However, you should still finish in the correct position. What is different about rowing is that the force is applied for a minority of the time and so needs to be a larger force (with the recovery allowing us to repeat many times over). As such it is a bit like a horizontal squat. The useful work you were doing in each stroke equates to you squatting about 4 inches although there will have also been some effort moving along the slide, but this shows that you can push harder. To really help it would be useful to have a video from the side as you may be leaking power by not converting your leg drive into handle movement (eg taking catch with bent arms or allowing your body to rotate forward during the drive).

[Joebasscat]

Not much to add to what others have said. But over the years, and there have been plenty, I’ve noticed that if I’m intentionally engaging in physical activity to lose some weight, I’m much more cognizant of what I eat. When I have slipped into inactivity I will become more likely to eat in a less healthy manner. So congratulations on picking up the erg and I hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

[jamesg]

500m and tried to keep a str of 22. Did 3:13.
I most likely didnt have my foot pedal in the right position

A good start. Keep at it. Using low stroke rates (20-22) lets us put more work into each single stroke. Concentrate on knowhow: by rowing better we get better results.

Feet are best kept as low as possible, putting the strap over the toes. This lets the feet move and also lets us get further forward, for a longer stroke.

Read all about it here, and style in particular: https://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/ ... que-videos