you could read the wiki article to get a decent overview

the general idea though is that the more fat you burn (as opposed to glucose) the more your body will preferentially burn fat and vice versa. It is theorized the be involved in type 2 diabetes where fat burning has become so preferential that glucose metabolism is so inhibited that you get high blood sugar and seeming insulin resistance

fat burning also reduces mitochondrial activity which is where cholesterol is converted into protective hormones like testosterone. my guess is this could by why you saw higher cholesterol after the keto fast

first interval session in 3 weeks and my first time doing this one for 6 weeks.

250m 1.39.4
500m 1.40.3
750m 1.41.5
1000m 1.43.0
750m 1.41.9
500m 1.39.7
250m 1.36.0

Overall 13.28.9 at 1.41.1 an improvement of 0.5secs per 500m

really happy with this...I was actually pretty nervous about it. I 100% believe that it's the interval sessions that make me 'fitter' and so I was prepared to have stalled a little given my recent lack of this type of training.

I rowed it at a drag of 118 and the lack of interval training and the higher drag made me think there was a good chance I might bonk in the second half of the session.

I could definitely feel the extra drag in my legs (I'd warmed up at 125 and that felt really heavy, so I dropped it down a little before I started) and the jury's still out, but it was without a doubt easier to keep my speed in the final two intervals.

we'll see. either way, happy to get this out of the way and get back on the horse

thanks for taking the time to explain this. I read the wiki and also a reddit explainer.

without asking you to spend a lot of time on this...are there any main implications/learning from this in terms of building a balanced diet?

lifting today

4x4 Bench - 95kg
4x5 seated DB Press - 22.5kg DB
4x10 Bent over Row - 70kg
3x5 Deadlift - 120kg
3x10/10 Barbell curl/Hammer Curl - 40kg/12.5kg DB

meh, fine. Have hardly lifted the past few weeks and I find it hard to attack my weights in my home gym. Really need to start integrating some squatting as well.

was supposed to be a 50 min slow row today but my wife interrupted me at the 10 min mark with something 'urgent' and so I adapted.

4x10mins, 3 mins rest

10006m 1.59.9 22

2439m 2.03.3 sr 21
2471m 2.01.4 sr 21
2526m 1.58.7 sr 22
2570m 1.56.7 sr 23

no warm up, so the standard negative split.

really need to start using my Polar strap now that I've bought it.

On a scale of 1-10 how “urgent” was urgent?

first time doing 30r20 for 4 months.

7732m at 1.56.3/500m, stroke rate 20. 163m further than last time.

6 min splits splits were

1544m
1546m
1549m
1544m
1548m

it's a great workout, because it really helps you focus on strong, long strokes. and because the stroke rate is low, you don't ever get totally gassed. so it's most muscularly taxing than most other distances.

I did it at drag of 120, but was very happy with how i held up. the higher rate is beginning to feel more natural

I watched Olympic rowing last night. Was 2k Women's Singles and Men's Pairs (didn't catch the distance)

Interesting and seems like a lot of these cats train on ERGs off the water.

I’m 99% certain 2k is the distance for al Olympic rowing

Bench 4x3 97.5kg
Press 4x8 22.5kg DB
Bent over Row 4x9 - 80kg
Close Grip Bench/bar super set 3x10/10 77.5kg
Barbell curl/hammer super set 3x10/10 42.5/12.5kg DBs

did a 75 minute hill walk this morning.
1 hour rugby training with son
7000m in a little over 30 mins. very easy row. 2.11.4/500m

that's 6 days in a row and I was feeling the fatigue in my body on the erg. Rest day tomorrow

wore my polar chest strap for the first time today and synced it to the erg. highest the rate got to was 135.

I'm sure there's ways of looking at the data and doing some stuff with it, but I haven't worked that out yet.

15x 60 secs on/60 off

4529m at 1.39.3/500, sr 31

m heart rate
300 142
301 146
301 150
302 153
301 153
302 156
302 156
303 159
302 161
302 161
301 160
302 162
303 164
303 162
305 166

fun workout. gets difficult quickly but then it's basically fine to maintain at the same pace. it never gets beyond a RPE 9. Guessing if I did 20 or more it may get me closer to the edge but I had a drink last night and also had half an edible so I didn't want to push it too hard

only my second workout using my new polar chest strap. will have to do an exercise to work out my max heart rate at some point soon


also...and please sit down Slim and prepare to be shocked...if the ghost of Monte ever comes back in here, he'll be proud to know that I managed to both sync the HRM to the erg, but then also link erg data to it AND upload both onto my C2 website.

4x5 Bench - 92.5
3x8/8 DB Flye/Bench superset
4x6/12 22.5kg DB press, 12.5kg DB flyes
3x10/10 close grip bench 75kg/bar dips superset
3x8/12 45kg barbell curl, hammer curl super set

8x500m, 3.30 rest

Bah - was really keen to do 8 rounds at a faster pace than last time while also keeping it at RPE

Got 5 rounds in and got the dreaded call from my daughter to pick her up. Decided to redline a 6th round to maximise the fitness impact but am annoyed because the session was going really well. You can see the extra work the faster time took me by the strike rate.

6 rounds at 1.38.0/500…a 0.8/500 improvement on last time.

10k row at stroke rate 20

39.30.7 or 1.58.5/500

it's a PR by 18 seconds, albeit it wasn't a PR attempt...I just haven't ever rowed this as fast as possible.

my weekly structure is basically...2 intervals, 1 hard distance and one medium distance. (Distance = 8-15k for me...although I aspire to increasing this if I can find both the time and the mental stimulation to stay on the erg for longer)

this was the hard distance. At some point, I'll pluck up the courage to attempt a fast 10k, but for now, I'm happy using the intervals as the really intense sessions and using the distance ones as more relaxed sessions to push hardish and relax into a good stroke and an enjoyable piece of exercise

(just for lols, I ranked it and it ranks as 85th percentile). My guess would be that I can take between 30 and 60 seconds off this if I went balls out but IDK. I certainly know my longer distance times lag behind the people on the C2 site whose 1 and 2k times I'm equivalent to

3x3 Bench 97.5
3x7 seated (backless) DB press 22.5kg
3x9 Close Grip Press 75kg
3x9 Bent over Barbell Row - 75kg
3x4 Deadlift 125kg
3x12 Hammer Curl 12,5kg

also have done a really long hill walk and am about to do some sprint training with my son.

once that's done, I'm gonna BBQ an eye fillet for the family and then drink wine, eat an edible and watch the Olympics

love lockdown Saturdays

It’s time for me to move up in weights again on both my 3 and 5 rep bench (to 95kg and 100kg).

Not sure I feel that comfortable doing it in my home gym tbh - something intimidating about repping at 100 for someone like me for whom 100 was at or above my 1RM for most of my life. Great to be making progress on bench at my age (albeit off a low base). I really put it down to doing specific arm exercises for the first time in my life

recovery row

10006m in 43.01.3 at 2.08.9/500m

drag 115, s/m 18, ave heart rate 135 (122-145 over the row)

very easy row with no focus on pace at all, just getting into a rhythm. rate went from 2.11.8/500 in 1st 1k to 2.05.4/500 in the final 1k without me trying to increase it.

have had a really great week's training. 2 good weight sessions and then the ideal 4 row sessions for me, with 2 intervals, a hard distance and an easy distance.

I was planning on entering an indoor rowing competition next Sunday...the first of three which will culminate in the State Championships on October 10th. Given we're in lockdown still, i'm not sure I'll do it - it's going ahead virtually, but I think I'm gonna stick to my training schedule for the next month. IDK, maybe I'll change my mind later next week and decide to enter anyway...I'll be interested to see how long you get between each row. Or maybe I'll hold off and enter stage 2 in early Sept?

4x1k, 5 mins rest.

tough session, but still making progress, which is great. I feel like I'm training well at the moment.

3.26.1 which is 1.43.0/500...an improvement of 1.2 seconds per interval, or 0.6/500m

drag was 115.

Time Meters Pace Watts S/M HR

13:44.4 4,000m 1:43.0 320 29 165

3:26.1 1,000m 1:43.0 320 29 159
3:26.2 1,000m 1:43.1 319 29 165
3:25.9 1,000m 1:42.9 321 29 168
3:26.1 1,000m 1:43.0 320 30 169

first time doing this with the HRM on. Was probably at RPE 9-9.5 by the end of the last interval, but wasn't at redline. Not sure how much higher my heart rate will go though...guess I'll find out if/when I next do a time trial

4x4 Bench 95kg
3x8/8 DB Flye/Bench super set 22.5kg
4x6 DB seated Press 22.5
3x10/10 Barbell Curl/Hammer Curl super set 40/12.5
3x8 Close Grip Bench 75kg

meh, fine. really boring training in the home gym....fairly limited equipment wise and don't like pushing too hard without a spotter. Still...I'm grateful to have what I have during a lockdown that's already 5 weeks old and looks like extending at least as long into the future

4x5mins 2.30r

20:00.0 5,495m 1:49.1 24 159

5:00.0 1,370m 1:49.4 25 152
5:00.0 1,371m 1:49.4 24 159
5:00.0 1,373m 1:49.2 24 162
5:00.0 1,382m 1:48.5 26 164

I'm not temperamentally suited to doing longer intervals and I wasn't at all sure what pacing to go at, but this was about right. I managed to get into a decent rhythm and both from a perceived effort and stroke rate, it ended up being a UT1 type session.

I'm really keen to improve my physical and mental fortitude for the longer distances, so that I can take 10+ seconds off my 5k, so I need to keep going with these kind of sessions and potentially even longer intervals.

I'd guess when I do it again, I'll aim for a 1.48.0 ave and that would be tougher.

30r20 at drag factor 123

7779m, an improvement of 47m or 0.7/500m on the previous time I did this two weeks ago. I really like this workout.

30:00.0 7,779m 1:55.6 20 158

6:00.0 1,548m 1:56.2 20 148
12:00.0 1,558m 1:55.5 20 156
18:00.0 1,561m 1:55.3 20 160
24:00.0 1,549m 1:56.2 20 163
30:00.0 1,563m 1:55.1 20 167

there's something great about getting to Friday evening and having completed your 3 tough sessions for the week. Weights tomorrow, long slow row on Sunday and then a rest day on Mon.

4x3 Bench 97.5
3x8/8 DB Flye/Bench ss 22.5kg
3x7/12 DB seated press/DB Bent over Rows 22.5kg
3x8/12-77.5kg Close Grip Bench, 12.5kg DB Hammer Curls

long slow recovery row today.

a little hungover and 6th training day in a row for me, so basically rowed as slow as possible for an hour and listened to a podcast

60 mins, 13516m at 2.13.2. stroke rate 16, ave heart rate 122.

rest day tomorrow.