on the C2 rankings, it's 94th percentile globally for all ages, although I really don't think I'm as suited to it as I am to the shorter distances, physically or temperamentally

.

Congrats!

There is certainly no lack of heart in this thread - chest contractions and asthma attacks for a 4 second PR!

We avoid injury but we embrace pain breauxx. The path of excess leads to the Palace of Wisdom

Bench 3x4-95kg
DB Flye/Bench super set 3x8/8-22.5kg
DB seated (backless) Press 4x6-22.5kg
Close Grip Bench 3x11-70kg
Bent over Row 4x6-80kg
Barbell Curl 3x7-45kg

back still a little tweaky and so didn't deadlift. Really focused on getting a 2k time trial in before my birthday next week.

Once I get that done, I'm gonna reassess and plan the next 3 months - the first of 3 Indoor Rowing events in my state is early August and then there's another early Sept and State Championships early Oct

Biblical rain here today so I couldn’t get out for my walk.

Did an easy 5k instead - 21.54, which I think is 2.11/500m

My brand new erg arrived today. Given we’re locked down I won’t have many excuses not to set it up tomorrow...albeit I’m such a biff that I might need help from wifey to ensure i do it right

Set up my new erg. So much smoother - love it

Did an easy 50 mins.

12038m at 2.04,6/500

Also did an 80 min hill walk. It’s looking like we’re gonna be locked down for a few more weeks at least so I’m not gonna have anything to do but walk and train.

unscheduled day off yesterday, due to boozy weekend and bad sleep getting up in the middle of the night to watch a typically spineless England football display

really easy 30min row today 7030m at 2.08/500m

really love the new machine - so much smoother than the previous one. rowed at 115 drag today which was higher than usual but was fine. Once I get this next 2k out the way I'm going to do some more detailed trialling with drag

new 2k row PR 6.50.3 at 1.42.5/500m sr 31

a PR by 1.1 seconds

oh wow, that hurt. Probably went out a little hard without trying to - the first 250 I was at 1.39/500 and gradually slowed down and I paid for it a little in the 2nd split. Chest contractions started at about 600m and continued for a few hundred until morphing into an all over body fatigue. As ever the pain stabilised and while my attempt to turn the screw with 600 to go didn't get much response, i tried again at 300 and managed to accelerate. For a brief period I thought sub 6.50 was on, but I just couldn't find the gas in the last 25 strokes

I think there's a better time in me now - not sure 3 time trials in 10 days was optimum for old man aussie

Splits were

1.42.2
1.43.5
1.42.8
1.41.8

I'm happy to fit in one final PR before I turn 50 to lodge the best possible times in that part of the age group in the C2 world rankins, but realistically, it was madness to attempt 3 PRs in 10 days and I'm delighted to be able to commit to a month of solid training with no PR attempts now.

I'll do an overall summary of the past 7ish months in the next few days and put some plans in place for where we go from here

Well, I’m now 50. I’ve been hungover the past few days, so it’s hard to say if I feel ‘different’.

Full write up to come at some point. Also had my annual blood test on Weds before the drinking started so will be interesting to see what the results are. Cholesterol had been creeping up the past few years

Thurs

20 mins row, 2.04/500

Fri

Rest

Sat

4x6 Bench 90kg
3xDB Flye/Bench super set 8/8-22.5kg DBs
4x6 DB Press 22.5kg DBs

2 hour walk

Sun

50 mins row 2.03.5/500

am 2 sessions in to a 3 week experiment with doing all my sessions at a higher drag factor - 128.

Still feels heavy but I’ve been told to expect that given the difference and I managed the session with about the same heart rate as usual and without any real muscle fatigue and while I wasn’t pushing, this was the fastest I e done for a 50 min UT2

Did it as a negative split - first 10mins 2.04.6, last 10 2.01.9

Happy Birthday!

50th year PRs wrap up

I set out to reach my 50th birthday in good physical condition and I think I've achieved that. I had a DEXA booked for last Weds but out stupid ****ing lockdown prevented that from happening. Nonetheless, the increased cardio and a few other factors have helped me strip some fat.

More importantly for me, I've improved all of the PRs I've been shooting for, but I've enjoyed doing it. I've always had a good engine and been 'good' at endurance based events, but since my knee recon and my inability to run/play sports, I've struggled to find something that 1. I enjoy and 2. I can compete at.

here is a summary of the PRs I've managed to beat

Bench Press: 105 - 107.5kg. (I actually think I have more in me now, but I'm hardly lifting as I focus more on rowing)

Military Press 70 - 72.5kg.

Assault Bike
50 cals: 1.09 to 52 secs
100 cals: 3.11 to 2.44

Rowing

500m 1.28.9 - I haven't attempted this. I will do soon, but I've been all 'PRd out' recently

1k 3.17.6 to 3.12.1 an improvement of 5.5 secs
2k 6.59.8 to 6.50.3 an improvement of 9.5 secs
5k 18.43 to 18.28.3 an improvement of 15 seconds

for reference, my times relative to the rest of the male population on the C2 world rankings are...

1k: 95th percentile
2k: 94th percentile
5k: 93rd percentile

pretty good for a 49yr old who's only been doing it seriously for 6 months, albeit my competitive gene isn't satisfied and I'm comparing my times with all my new buddies on the Concept 2 forum I'm posting on and I've still got a long way to go....particularly with the longer distances.


The plan from here.

I'm gonna see how good I can get at rowing...for as long as I'm passionate about it and enjoying it and am injury free.

there are three competitions coming up run by Rowing Australia that I'm planning on entering.

one in August and one in September which are regional Indoor Rowing events and then the State Championships in October, which is my primary focus. There is also a National Championships in Nov, but my attendance there will depend on where the event is held and how I've done in the other events.

In the competitions, you do a 2k then a 1k and then a 500m. (not sure on the time period between races)

So I'm planning on rowing 4x per week and lifting 2x a week ultimately - I want to keep lifting and I think by doing 2 intervals, 1 hard long row and 1 easy long row, I'll be able to build fitness and speed still.


tbh, I'm not sure if I'll continue much longer with this thread.

I haven't been getting much out of it the past few months, other than the accountability of posting. Since Monte disappeared (RIP) and Lozen went, I've got no rowing buddies and I've stopped learning and got no one to talk with about it all. Monte was phenomenal as someone whose training I copied and also someone who patiently answered all my idiotic questions.

I've started posting on the C2 forum and that's been really interesting and informative already - I'll definitely continue there and I'm open to continuing here, but we'll see. I might still need it and maybe some other rowers may appear

thanks for reading anyway

tyty

If you do hang it up from this thread, thanks for posting. It’s given me some good insight I’ve used to up my fitness game. Namely to keep doing my workouts even when I’ve got aches and pains or otherwise not feeling 100%. It’s usually stuff that can be pushed through and isn’t worth getting out of rhythm for.

Congrats young man on an excellent year

thanks gutterball!

There's definitely a balance to be had...in my rugby days it was the difference between being injured or being hurt...you never quit if you're hurt, only if you're injured. I reckon most of us can train through most of the discomfort & other reasons we give ourselves for not training, but we also have to be smart, either when we're injured or (and this is IMO not something I've ever researched)...when we're sick/super hungover. I won't do really hard cardio when my heart rate is up or I've had a massive boozy or PED night. But other than that, I train through everything

thanks mate. I enjoy reading your thread, even if I rarely have much to add!

congrats on the year

I mostly just lurk your thread but I enjoy reading it. Rowing is basically the only cardio I do (though I don't do much cardio at all). I used to be really into rowing but I've toned it down so it is fun to read you and Monte's logs to see how you are doing.

thanks bro. IMO, rowing is the best cardio for stronger bigger dudes. ALbeit, the assault bike is cool too

got my annual blood test results back today.

all organs are normal/good functioning

Prostate check (PSA) is very low/good

testosterone is very good for my age at 21 – normal range for 18-25 year old is apparently 10-28. (this is slightly annoying as I was hoping to persuade the doc to prescribe me a test cream)

Cholesterol is the one I had the watch on, after a progressive rise from 2012 to 2019 what had me worried. But it's down for the second straight year. Not sure if the readings, which are mmol/L make sense in pints and gallons or w/e you guys measure in.

2012 5.1
2015 5.6
2019 6.4
2020 5.7
2021 5.6

of which LDL is 3.4 (ideally should be sub 2.5) – so I have a little bit of work to do on this one.

Sugars are up to 5.8% from 5.3% last year. Should ideally be at 5%. If it gets to 6.4% it’s seen as pre diabetic so need to watch this. (need to reduce dietary sugars and alcohol)

My risk of a cardiac event in the next 5 years (which takes on board age, gender plus all key indicators) is 3% …which is apparently as good as it’s possible to get given age & gender

so the doctor said I’m healthy and doing well and don’t need to change much, but I know I need to eat cleaner and I know I need to drink less alcohol

Not a fan of those cholesterol levels.

Fat. Cut.

175lbs

yeah, I'd like to get it under 5 if possible.

tbh, I'm happy the increases have stalled/turned around...particularly because I'm 17 lbs heavier than I was when I had the 6.4 reading. (I'd just done an 8 week keto cut)

feels wrath, are you familiar with the randle cycle?

no sir, I am not. never heard the name before?