This winter I have no access to an erg and my ability to run outside is severly hampered. This leaves the weight room almost exclusively. What would be most beneficial for my 2k? I'm more concerned with upper-body rather than lower body since my lower body has never been a problem.
Bench, curls, dips.....
Weight Training
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corpsrower
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- Joined: March 19th, 2007, 9:18 pm
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Weight Training
500M 1.32.3 - 2k 6:56.5 - 5k 18:49 - 6k 22:34.8
VT Crew - Varsity Lightweight
20M, 5'11" 157lbs
VT Crew - Varsity Lightweight
20M, 5'11" 157lbs
I'm kind of in a similar situation. There is one (1) erg at my local YMCA. When some old geezer isn't on it for 3 hours pulling a 6:35 split at 18spm -- I can't really fathom how that is possible.. really, I cant -- I end up avoiding it anyway because it seems to be in disrepair. I haven't been able to pull lower than 1:45 for a single stroke on the fastest, shortest sprint I can manage, which usually results in a ~1:25 stroke on every other C2 I've been on in recent memory. I tried rowing on it, but that erg really aggravates my back.
Whatever. That gives me a lot more time to spend on lifting and other cardio. If your lower body has never been a problem, then has your upper body been a "problem?" Keep in mind how much lower body rowing involves. Also, keep in mind how much lower body correct technique involves. Still, it is my personal philosophy just from personal experience that increase overall strength and muscular endurance throughout the body is beneficial. Hence, I don't think weight lifting for rowing shouldn't exclude pecs, biceps, obliques, whatever. I personally like to train every muscle group -- within limits, as a lightweight. However, I do think there could and should be a certain degree of emphasis on "rowing specific" muscle groups.
Squats -- a classic. In the time over the summer and fall that my 2k went from like 7:30 or so to 6:49, my squat increased from 135lbs to 210lbs. I used the "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" program over the summer. That includes something like a 3x3, 5-4-3-2-1, 5x5, 10-8-6 rotation. It's good for squats, I think. But, let me tell you the crap doing squats 3 times a week did to my back, even with decent technique: blah. Be careful.
Lunges -- my new favorite lower body exercise. I didn't give these enough attention over the summer. They work the glutes, hamstrings and quads, plus some good stabilizers in the back are used. Most importantly, they don't put the weight on top of the back -- excellent. They also work each leg individually, unlike a squat where the legs work together. While the squat may be more of a "rowing" movement, lunges demand an equal power output, and hence I prefer them for gaining strength and endurance for both legs and equalizing them.
Deadlifts -- again, watch your back if you've never done these before. In that same period over the summer, my lifts went from 155lbs to ~300lbs or so. Good for glutes, and the erector spinae seems to be a fan too.
Power clean -- this is apparently not a very popular lift in rowing, and that makes sense, I guess. Still, I recommend it, if only for the psychological benefits. The power clean demands aggressiveness and explosiveness. It also is sort of like a weighted rowing stroke. It too uses every major muscle group per rep. A good heavy set of 10 will do a number on the anaerobic system, too. Watch technique big time on this one.
Rows -- there are many rows. They involve rowing; hehe. Supine rows, bent-over rows, upright rows, dumbbell rows, bench rows -- all good for shoulders, traps, and latissimus dorsi, as well as forearms, biceps and triceps to some degree.
Lat pull-downs and pull-ups are good for upper back.
Incline, decline and bench presses with dumbbells and barbells are great for pecs.
Whatever you choose to do, I recommend balancing muscle groups. E.g., if you bench press, then do lat pull-downs or some other upper back exercise. Same for hamstrings/quads, biceps/triceps, etc. If you want more lifts, don't hesitate to ask. I've got a plethora in mind for all muscle groups.
Whatever. That gives me a lot more time to spend on lifting and other cardio. If your lower body has never been a problem, then has your upper body been a "problem?" Keep in mind how much lower body rowing involves. Also, keep in mind how much lower body correct technique involves. Still, it is my personal philosophy just from personal experience that increase overall strength and muscular endurance throughout the body is beneficial. Hence, I don't think weight lifting for rowing shouldn't exclude pecs, biceps, obliques, whatever. I personally like to train every muscle group -- within limits, as a lightweight. However, I do think there could and should be a certain degree of emphasis on "rowing specific" muscle groups.
Squats -- a classic. In the time over the summer and fall that my 2k went from like 7:30 or so to 6:49, my squat increased from 135lbs to 210lbs. I used the "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" program over the summer. That includes something like a 3x3, 5-4-3-2-1, 5x5, 10-8-6 rotation. It's good for squats, I think. But, let me tell you the crap doing squats 3 times a week did to my back, even with decent technique: blah. Be careful.
Lunges -- my new favorite lower body exercise. I didn't give these enough attention over the summer. They work the glutes, hamstrings and quads, plus some good stabilizers in the back are used. Most importantly, they don't put the weight on top of the back -- excellent. They also work each leg individually, unlike a squat where the legs work together. While the squat may be more of a "rowing" movement, lunges demand an equal power output, and hence I prefer them for gaining strength and endurance for both legs and equalizing them.
Deadlifts -- again, watch your back if you've never done these before. In that same period over the summer, my lifts went from 155lbs to ~300lbs or so. Good for glutes, and the erector spinae seems to be a fan too.
Power clean -- this is apparently not a very popular lift in rowing, and that makes sense, I guess. Still, I recommend it, if only for the psychological benefits. The power clean demands aggressiveness and explosiveness. It also is sort of like a weighted rowing stroke. It too uses every major muscle group per rep. A good heavy set of 10 will do a number on the anaerobic system, too. Watch technique big time on this one.
Rows -- there are many rows. They involve rowing; hehe. Supine rows, bent-over rows, upright rows, dumbbell rows, bench rows -- all good for shoulders, traps, and latissimus dorsi, as well as forearms, biceps and triceps to some degree.
Lat pull-downs and pull-ups are good for upper back.
Incline, decline and bench presses with dumbbells and barbells are great for pecs.
Whatever you choose to do, I recommend balancing muscle groups. E.g., if you bench press, then do lat pull-downs or some other upper back exercise. Same for hamstrings/quads, biceps/triceps, etc. If you want more lifts, don't hesitate to ask. I've got a plethora in mind for all muscle groups.
19, 86kg, 155cm
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1218138029.png[/img]
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1218138029.png[/img]
fvnout,
What are you trying to achieve with your weight training? Last summer, my aim was to cause hypertrophy to increase size/strength in general, and hence also gain weight. With my heavy lifting this winter break, I'm trying to increase general strength somewhat but mostly focus on rowing-specific muscular endurance.
My idea of strength and mass gains leads to the near-exclusion of cardio. This can be tough for a rower, as aerobic endurance is so important. But, I had tremendous room to improve in terms of strength. My first 2k after a summer of heavy lifting and almost no cardio apparently balanced out to -15 seconds since the last 2k during spring. This is all just so you know the basis for "my plan."
Again, weeks rotated between 3x3, 5-4-3-2-1, 5x5, and 10-8-6 for the program core exercises of bench, squat, dead lift and power clean (and variations of these as desired), with workouts three times a week -- Monday, Wednesday and Friday for me. This is directly derived from the BSF system. But like every training program I encounter -- e.g., the Wolverine Plan, the Interactive Plan, whatever -- I feel the need to adjust it to my specific goals and background. I would recommend the same to you. The point of lifting "only" three days a week was to be able to put maximal and comprehensive effort into each workout such that I needed those four days off to recover. Like in rowing, there are different approaches to weightlifting that emphasize either intensity or volume. I personally found the intensity approach lacking in results, and I also found that I could be successful with what many told me was far too great of volume. But, the high-volume moderate-intensity approach worked for me.
I worked around the core lifts, and supplemented "auxiliary" lifts rather irregularly and according to what I felt I needed to work on the most. Hence, I didn't necessarily directly work lower back or shoulders every week. So, I'll give you two example weeks well into the summer from my actual logbook (which happened to be a C2 logbook I got in the mail, put to good use!). The did the lifts in roughly the same order as here.
Week 1 (3x)
Monday (biceps/triceps):
3x3 bench press (increase weight every set)
3x3 box squat (increase weight every set)
lat pull-downs - 3x12
dumbbell curls - 4,6,8 reps
triceps pull-downs - 10,12,14
concentration curls - 6,6,8
triceps cable extensions - 12,12,14
hammer curls - 6,6,8
lying French press - 6,6,8
2x25 Roman chair
500m sprint x 2
Wednesday (abs)
3x3 dead lift (increase weight every set)
3x3 power clean (increase weight every set... etc.)
4x6 bench row
20,20,10,30 reps Roman chair
2x15 weighted decline situps
2x20 cable crunches
2x10 leg raises
Friday (legs)
3x3 bench press
3x3 squats
weighted lunges - 8,8,12
leg press - 4x15
leg extensions - 3x12
leg curls - 3x12
250m sprints x 3
On Saturday and Sunday mornings, I'd usually take out a single or double for some light rowing; nothing intense.
Week 2 (5-4-3-2-1)
Monday (pecs & upper back)
5...1 bench press
5...1 squat
lat pull-down - 3x8
decline press - 3x8
bench row - 3x12
incline press - 3x6
pull-ups - 2 sets, however many possible
dumbbell press - 4,6,6
upright row - 10,12,15
bent-over row - 12,12,15
Wednesday (biceps and triceps)
5...1 dead lift
5...1 power clean
5x8 biceps curls superset -- starting at highest weight you can curl with, decreasing by 2.5lbs every set, done in very rapid succession; no breaks between sets.
triceps pull-downs superset -- starts (s) close to maximum weight (m): (s) + 10lbs + 10lbs + 10lbs - 20lbs: reps go 8,10,12,14,10+
dips - as many as possible, 2 sets
30 declined sit-ups
Friday (shoulders and abs)
5...1 bench press
5...1 squat
lunges 4x8
dumbbell row 4x12
upright row - 8,8,10
bent-over row - 8, 8, 12
lateral raise - 3x10
Roman chair - 20,20,15,25,10,30
cable crunches - 4x20
3x250m sprints
You'll notice, that's less than 3000m erging in two weeks, and maybe an easy 10k total on the water. I mostly would include sprints just for a rowing-specific motion post-lifting. Plus, it is good additional general anaerobic training.
While this to some may seem like an incredible amount of volume, were some important factors involved. I always had a good night of rest, ~8-10 hours. I always would wake up, grab a protein shake, fruit and orange juice, and go to the gym first thing in the morning. Finally, my workouts always took a long time, ~1-2 hours depending -- it was not all done in 15 minutes. And, I certainly did hurt the day after each workout -- a lot. Like, maybe 3 hot showers just to loosen up, a lot.
In retrospect, there are many things I would do differently with this program. But, the fact is, it worked for me. For some reference, increases included:
+45lbs bench press
+75lbs squat
+~150lbs dead lift
+55lbs power clean
+15lbs biceps curls
+30lbs triceps pull-downs
But most importantly, ~-43s between my last 2k in spring and my most recent 2k in mid-November. The point: I recommend heavy weight-training. Of course, that's just in my personal experience. It would also be good to note that I was probably basically under-developed muscularly in general, so there was much progress to be had.
Let me know if you need any more information.
Phil
What are you trying to achieve with your weight training? Last summer, my aim was to cause hypertrophy to increase size/strength in general, and hence also gain weight. With my heavy lifting this winter break, I'm trying to increase general strength somewhat but mostly focus on rowing-specific muscular endurance.
My idea of strength and mass gains leads to the near-exclusion of cardio. This can be tough for a rower, as aerobic endurance is so important. But, I had tremendous room to improve in terms of strength. My first 2k after a summer of heavy lifting and almost no cardio apparently balanced out to -15 seconds since the last 2k during spring. This is all just so you know the basis for "my plan."
Again, weeks rotated between 3x3, 5-4-3-2-1, 5x5, and 10-8-6 for the program core exercises of bench, squat, dead lift and power clean (and variations of these as desired), with workouts three times a week -- Monday, Wednesday and Friday for me. This is directly derived from the BSF system. But like every training program I encounter -- e.g., the Wolverine Plan, the Interactive Plan, whatever -- I feel the need to adjust it to my specific goals and background. I would recommend the same to you. The point of lifting "only" three days a week was to be able to put maximal and comprehensive effort into each workout such that I needed those four days off to recover. Like in rowing, there are different approaches to weightlifting that emphasize either intensity or volume. I personally found the intensity approach lacking in results, and I also found that I could be successful with what many told me was far too great of volume. But, the high-volume moderate-intensity approach worked for me.
I worked around the core lifts, and supplemented "auxiliary" lifts rather irregularly and according to what I felt I needed to work on the most. Hence, I didn't necessarily directly work lower back or shoulders every week. So, I'll give you two example weeks well into the summer from my actual logbook (which happened to be a C2 logbook I got in the mail, put to good use!). The did the lifts in roughly the same order as here.
Week 1 (3x)
Monday (biceps/triceps):
3x3 bench press (increase weight every set)
3x3 box squat (increase weight every set)
lat pull-downs - 3x12
dumbbell curls - 4,6,8 reps
triceps pull-downs - 10,12,14
concentration curls - 6,6,8
triceps cable extensions - 12,12,14
hammer curls - 6,6,8
lying French press - 6,6,8
2x25 Roman chair
500m sprint x 2
Wednesday (abs)
3x3 dead lift (increase weight every set)
3x3 power clean (increase weight every set... etc.)
4x6 bench row
20,20,10,30 reps Roman chair
2x15 weighted decline situps
2x20 cable crunches
2x10 leg raises
Friday (legs)
3x3 bench press
3x3 squats
weighted lunges - 8,8,12
leg press - 4x15
leg extensions - 3x12
leg curls - 3x12
250m sprints x 3
On Saturday and Sunday mornings, I'd usually take out a single or double for some light rowing; nothing intense.
Week 2 (5-4-3-2-1)
Monday (pecs & upper back)
5...1 bench press
5...1 squat
lat pull-down - 3x8
decline press - 3x8
bench row - 3x12
incline press - 3x6
pull-ups - 2 sets, however many possible
dumbbell press - 4,6,6
upright row - 10,12,15
bent-over row - 12,12,15
Wednesday (biceps and triceps)
5...1 dead lift
5...1 power clean
5x8 biceps curls superset -- starting at highest weight you can curl with, decreasing by 2.5lbs every set, done in very rapid succession; no breaks between sets.
triceps pull-downs superset -- starts (s) close to maximum weight (m): (s) + 10lbs + 10lbs + 10lbs - 20lbs: reps go 8,10,12,14,10+
dips - as many as possible, 2 sets
30 declined sit-ups
Friday (shoulders and abs)
5...1 bench press
5...1 squat
lunges 4x8
dumbbell row 4x12
upright row - 8,8,10
bent-over row - 8, 8, 12
lateral raise - 3x10
Roman chair - 20,20,15,25,10,30
cable crunches - 4x20
3x250m sprints
You'll notice, that's less than 3000m erging in two weeks, and maybe an easy 10k total on the water. I mostly would include sprints just for a rowing-specific motion post-lifting. Plus, it is good additional general anaerobic training.
While this to some may seem like an incredible amount of volume, were some important factors involved. I always had a good night of rest, ~8-10 hours. I always would wake up, grab a protein shake, fruit and orange juice, and go to the gym first thing in the morning. Finally, my workouts always took a long time, ~1-2 hours depending -- it was not all done in 15 minutes. And, I certainly did hurt the day after each workout -- a lot. Like, maybe 3 hot showers just to loosen up, a lot.
In retrospect, there are many things I would do differently with this program. But, the fact is, it worked for me. For some reference, increases included:
+45lbs bench press
+75lbs squat
+~150lbs dead lift
+55lbs power clean
+15lbs biceps curls
+30lbs triceps pull-downs
But most importantly, ~-43s between my last 2k in spring and my most recent 2k in mid-November. The point: I recommend heavy weight-training. Of course, that's just in my personal experience. It would also be good to note that I was probably basically under-developed muscularly in general, so there was much progress to be had.
Let me know if you need any more information.
Phil
19, 86kg, 155cm
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1218138029.png[/img]
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1218138029.png[/img]
I think it might work for me as well seeing that "under-developed muscularly" is my middle name. I'm a 6'0" 145 lb junior pulling around 7 minutes and I'm not really seeing too much progress with my aerobic training. I'm going to try to work up something like that with with some really light steady states added. The goal is to pull the fastest 2k I can while still being a lightweight.
Thanks for your input. I think it'll prove to be very helpful.
Thanks for your input. I think it'll prove to be very helpful.
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corpsrower
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- Posts: 49
- Joined: March 19th, 2007, 9:18 pm
- Location: Virginia, US
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Thanks for the replies...I'm sitting at similar times to you and it seems to me that while rowing is helping, I can see my times drop much faster if I concentrate on lifting.
My only problem is weight gain since I can't gain too much or else I lose my lightweight status. How much weight did you gain during this sequence?
My only problem is weight gain since I can't gain too much or else I lose my lightweight status. How much weight did you gain during this sequence?
500M 1.32.3 - 2k 6:56.5 - 5k 18:49 - 6k 22:34.8
VT Crew - Varsity Lightweight
20M, 5'11" 157lbs
VT Crew - Varsity Lightweight
20M, 5'11" 157lbs
Re: Weight Training
That's odd, I would have assumed that a big school like Virginia Tech had an erg room or at least an athletic centre with ergs (you go to virginia tech right?).corpsrower wrote:This winter I have no access to an erg and my ability to run outside is severly hampered. This leaves the weight room almost exclusively. What would be most beneficial for my 2k? I'm more concerned with upper-body rather than lower body since my lower body has never been a problem.
Bench, curls, dips.....
Weights are a great idea, but I really advise you to find an erg and get on it. I was in a similar situation as you one summer, the gym I worked out at had two older ergs but I neglected them and thought strictly weights with the occasional run 2-3 times a week would be sufficient. Trust me, when you get back on the water in spring without touching an erg all winter you are going to regret it. You may have built up your leg and lat strength but those will not help you during some intense 1 minute pieces or 11 minute pyramids. Running can help you build up your cardio but I've always felt the burn and pain from rowing was unique to all other forms of cardio. That and technique is so crucial in this sport that you want to make sure you are pulling efficiently.
So I urge that you try to find an erg. If that is completely impossible do some running, cycling, and swimming. I know many successful rowers who started off as swimmers and were able to transition nicely. Must have had something to do with a connection with the water.
I'd recommend the book "New Rules of Lifting". In it the author makes the point (you can debate if it is 'new' or not), that weight lifting to develop strength should be based on functional goals. In other words - unless you are specifically training to compete in weight lifting, you are lifting weights to improve at something else - whether it be baseball, rowing, or some old lady trying not to slip and break her arm.
Thus, he strongly argues against isolation exercises (curls), and machines in general, and focuses on compound lifts with free weights. Think of how many muscles are used in squats! (just like rowing)! For the old lady, isn't a squat what she tries to do every time she has to get out of a chair? Also deadlifts, lunges, rows, etc. The book has workout plans in the back that will hit every major muscle group, exhaust you in 30 minutes flat and get you out of the gym to go do other things.
Thus, he strongly argues against isolation exercises (curls), and machines in general, and focuses on compound lifts with free weights. Think of how many muscles are used in squats! (just like rowing)! For the old lady, isn't a squat what she tries to do every time she has to get out of a chair? Also deadlifts, lunges, rows, etc. The book has workout plans in the back that will hit every major muscle group, exhaust you in 30 minutes flat and get you out of the gym to go do other things.
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1225814673.png[/img]
Haha let me tell you about my 7 month journey from flyweight to heavyweight. I joined crew about 11 months ago, at the beginning of winter training. At that point I was about 6'1 130lbs -- oh yea, tiny, flyweight. I pretty quickly shot up to over 160lbs, and also grew another inch or so. Weight gain started slowing down a bit, but I would go over 165lbs every now and then, much to my coach's dismay -- lightweight in Canada, where we compete a lot including our last regatta, Canadian Schoolboys, is 72.5kg.
In any case, that was just before lifting (I just like telling that story :-p ). Before I knew very much about rowing, I decided I wanted to rid myself of weight limits and go full-out heavyweight. By the end of summer (a total training span of almost 3 months), I was nearly 180lbs, and hence I gained about 15lbs. I should note that everything revolved around me going to the gym, e.g., "no I can't go to the beach, I'm lifting today." Once I got to college, with terrible food, a crappy gym, a lousy crew, and a coach fond of 10k`s and the head season in general, it only took about 2 months to go back down to ~165lbs.
I think it is important to note that my "regimen" was not rowing specific. Hence, after I using my upper body so much, I lost a lot of the strength, definition and size I had built up, ~15lbs. While rowing does use all major muscle groups, it obviously uses lower body quite a bit more.
I do understand what you're dealing with in the whole staying lightweight deal. I'm basically doing 50/50 weights and cardio over my winter break hoping to regain some upper-body strength and really augment lower-body strength. But, I've spent the last few weeks doing "intense" cardio and better eating, so I've lost what bit of excess fat I had. Now, I can stand to add on another 8lbs or so of ideally muscle, which would put me at about 170lbs. I'm sure I'll lose some of the upper-body mass by spring, and the usual routine of just eating after weigh-ins should put me well under lightweight. Even better, I might be rowing in an open-weight boat, and weight won't even matter.
So, I think it would be fine if you overshot 165lbs by a few pounds. It's important to know your "unadulterated mass," or what you weigh when you wake up after a normal night's sleep. That's what you'll want to monitor. Over the summer, I thought I was pushing 190lbs when I would weigh in during the day, just because of the immense amount of food I was eating due to increased metabolism. Also, on that note, if you want to gain mass, you have to eat to gain. I would try to keep track of the nutrients I got daily over the summer. I'd average about 200g protein, 400g carbs, and maybe 80g fat. I would also drink absolutely absurd amount of water -- I can't even quantify it, but it was a ton.
Going off of tbartman's post, I largely agree with what it says. Emphasize compound lifts and free-weights. However, I think there is a place for isolation lifts. If you look at the legs workout I posted above, legs isolation lifts are included after squats and lunges. This is to ensure that as many muscle fibers as possible are stimulated fully. In a squat, indeed many muscles are involved. However, if you have inproportionately strong glutes, they may dominate your squat and hence your legs get less of a workout. Isolation helps promote balance, which is good for overall power as well as reducing possible injury due to overstrain.
Also, the rowing-specific training is definitely important. But that's easy. It doesn't mean you need to squat or work legs every workout -- in fact, don't do that, as you need time to recover fully for each muscle group. But, what you can do is work an erg warm-up and cool-down into your routine. Well, maybe you can't do that because you don't have access to an erg, but still it's a good concept if you ever get the opportunity to do it :-p . Rowing motions are still good. Upright and bent-over rows, dead lift and straight-leg dead lift, squats, and maybe even power clean might be the best you can do for rowing-specific lifts?
Let me know if you need any more info. I'm glad to help!
Phil
In any case, that was just before lifting (I just like telling that story :-p ). Before I knew very much about rowing, I decided I wanted to rid myself of weight limits and go full-out heavyweight. By the end of summer (a total training span of almost 3 months), I was nearly 180lbs, and hence I gained about 15lbs. I should note that everything revolved around me going to the gym, e.g., "no I can't go to the beach, I'm lifting today." Once I got to college, with terrible food, a crappy gym, a lousy crew, and a coach fond of 10k`s and the head season in general, it only took about 2 months to go back down to ~165lbs.
I think it is important to note that my "regimen" was not rowing specific. Hence, after I using my upper body so much, I lost a lot of the strength, definition and size I had built up, ~15lbs. While rowing does use all major muscle groups, it obviously uses lower body quite a bit more.
I do understand what you're dealing with in the whole staying lightweight deal. I'm basically doing 50/50 weights and cardio over my winter break hoping to regain some upper-body strength and really augment lower-body strength. But, I've spent the last few weeks doing "intense" cardio and better eating, so I've lost what bit of excess fat I had. Now, I can stand to add on another 8lbs or so of ideally muscle, which would put me at about 170lbs. I'm sure I'll lose some of the upper-body mass by spring, and the usual routine of just eating after weigh-ins should put me well under lightweight. Even better, I might be rowing in an open-weight boat, and weight won't even matter.
So, I think it would be fine if you overshot 165lbs by a few pounds. It's important to know your "unadulterated mass," or what you weigh when you wake up after a normal night's sleep. That's what you'll want to monitor. Over the summer, I thought I was pushing 190lbs when I would weigh in during the day, just because of the immense amount of food I was eating due to increased metabolism. Also, on that note, if you want to gain mass, you have to eat to gain. I would try to keep track of the nutrients I got daily over the summer. I'd average about 200g protein, 400g carbs, and maybe 80g fat. I would also drink absolutely absurd amount of water -- I can't even quantify it, but it was a ton.
Going off of tbartman's post, I largely agree with what it says. Emphasize compound lifts and free-weights. However, I think there is a place for isolation lifts. If you look at the legs workout I posted above, legs isolation lifts are included after squats and lunges. This is to ensure that as many muscle fibers as possible are stimulated fully. In a squat, indeed many muscles are involved. However, if you have inproportionately strong glutes, they may dominate your squat and hence your legs get less of a workout. Isolation helps promote balance, which is good for overall power as well as reducing possible injury due to overstrain.
Also, the rowing-specific training is definitely important. But that's easy. It doesn't mean you need to squat or work legs every workout -- in fact, don't do that, as you need time to recover fully for each muscle group. But, what you can do is work an erg warm-up and cool-down into your routine. Well, maybe you can't do that because you don't have access to an erg, but still it's a good concept if you ever get the opportunity to do it :-p . Rowing motions are still good. Upright and bent-over rows, dead lift and straight-leg dead lift, squats, and maybe even power clean might be the best you can do for rowing-specific lifts?
Let me know if you need any more info. I'm glad to help!
Phil
19, 86kg, 155cm
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corpsrower
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Elamonta
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Philrow, I had a quick question...when you said that your squats increased xxx pounds was that maxing out...or simply you increased your intervals by 45 lbs at the end...for ex. starting at 3x10 at 45 and finished at 3x10 at 90?
Just wondering...
Just wondering...
Height: 6'0
Weight: 160lbs
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Weight: 160lbs
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1205288465.png[/img]
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Elamonta
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- Joined: March 19th, 2006, 4:27 pm
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Sorry...did you measure strength gain by maxing out (1 rep highest weight possible) or did you merely observe the difference while working out...aka adding weight each day and that at the end reflecting back and noticing that at the end of the "training period" you had progressed from 5x5 at x weight and ended at 5x5 at x+45lbs weight? Hope this makes sense...it was a rather trivial question lol...so if still confused disregard...as I was bored and figured I would ask to bide the time lol...
Height: 6'0
Weight: 160lbs
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1205288465.png[/img]
(Season bests)
Weight: 160lbs
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1205288465.png[/img]
(Season bests)
I see, thank you for the clarification. I would actually measure gains in both capacities. However, they do speak to "gains" in different senses. As I loosely followed the "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" system, the point was to lift more weight per core lift every cycle. So, when I would bench press 5x5, I would be hopeful to increase both the maximum amount of weight on the last set of 5 as well as the total weight pressed. E.g., press 115,115,120,125,130lbs one week, and 115,120,125,130,135 the next week (yea, that would be a pretty miraculous week...!). Ideally, and it did happen to some degree at least, I gained both in terms of maximum endurance and maximum strength -- I could press more for longer, and press more in general.
It may be important to note that I feel I increased in my max-rep potential more than in my muscular endurance, even though as a "hard-gainer" I would usually do quite a lot of reps. Now, I can squat ~300lbs, but I can only squeeze out a few reps -- maybe 3. At something like ~250lbs, I can do maybe 6-10 reps, and 8+ at ~200lbs, etc. Obviously, such a schema is typical. But, after summer, I found I might only be able to single rep 225lbs, but I could still squat even higher, up to maybe 280lbs, but only for a single rep. Yet, I might be able to press 190 for 5 reps. This was very interesting to me. There seems to be an interesting curve involved here.
Phil
It may be important to note that I feel I increased in my max-rep potential more than in my muscular endurance, even though as a "hard-gainer" I would usually do quite a lot of reps. Now, I can squat ~300lbs, but I can only squeeze out a few reps -- maybe 3. At something like ~250lbs, I can do maybe 6-10 reps, and 8+ at ~200lbs, etc. Obviously, such a schema is typical. But, after summer, I found I might only be able to single rep 225lbs, but I could still squat even higher, up to maybe 280lbs, but only for a single rep. Yet, I might be able to press 190 for 5 reps. This was very interesting to me. There seems to be an interesting curve involved here.
Phil
19, 86kg, 155cm
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1218138029.png[/img]
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1218138029.png[/img]
Interesting:
"Canadian researchers found that a group of rowers who strength trained for five weeks before five weeks of endurance training were rewarded by a 16% increase in VO2max and a 27% improvement in lactate tolerance(8). By contrast, rowers who trained in the reverse order boosted VO2max by only 7% and showed no improvement in lactate tolerance. The explanation? The strength-before-endurance group gained quality rowing muscle without compromise, and were able to use it to row harder and faster, with greater fatigue-resistance, during endurance training. Working out for weight training gains alone may have enabled them to push beyond their ‘normal’ previously conditioned rowing power levels."
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/concurr ... ining.html
Phil
"Canadian researchers found that a group of rowers who strength trained for five weeks before five weeks of endurance training were rewarded by a 16% increase in VO2max and a 27% improvement in lactate tolerance(8). By contrast, rowers who trained in the reverse order boosted VO2max by only 7% and showed no improvement in lactate tolerance. The explanation? The strength-before-endurance group gained quality rowing muscle without compromise, and were able to use it to row harder and faster, with greater fatigue-resistance, during endurance training. Working out for weight training gains alone may have enabled them to push beyond their ‘normal’ previously conditioned rowing power levels."
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/concurr ... ining.html
Phil
19, 86kg, 155cm
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1218138029.png[/img]
[img]http://www.c2ctc.com/sigs/img1218138029.png[/img]