did 30 mins steady state on the eliptical and then 20 mins weights. Was quite tired this morning - yesterday's session plus 26k steps walking around Rome broke me down a little

flying back to London this pm and staying overnight before the flight back to Oz. the hotel we're staying at near the airport has a gym so I might try to get in there tomorrow am before we fly....more to keep things moving and make myself feel better before the flight than anything else

I arrive back into Sydney at 11pm Fri night and then have my State Championships on Sunday morning, which will be quite the challenge. Last year I did all 3, albeit I went hard for the 2k and then struggled through the 1 and 500m within 2 hours. This year, I'll probably just pick one event and probably a shorter one because the flight and lack of sleep and jet lag etc will surely have a big impact.

flew back home last night and jumped on the erg to attempt to flush out the stiffness and toxins. Was expecting it to be tough, but it was even tougher/worse than I'd thought. No co-ordination, racing heart beat, out of breath etc etc....it turns out being awake for 32 hours straight and stuck in a small space for 24 hours plays havoc with your body. It's gonna take a few days or longer to recover

Which wouldn't be an issue except I have my state championships tomorrow morning! I'm entered the 2,1 and 500m but will probably from a just choose 1 and shamelessly look at the starting list and see which one gives me the best chance of a win. Sadly, that looks like the 2k which I'm guessing will be the toughest event to perform well in.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
30:24.4 7,002m 2:10.2 158 844 16

Good luck feel, smash it

Thanks but nah…I’m out. Jet lag kicked in and I’ve had 4 hours sleep. Not gonna do anything silly - Aus champs is in 3 weeks time and I’d prefer to continue recovery from the flight and have a few good weeks training

So I have a sleeping pill strategy that normally gets me back on local time within 3 days and feeling normal, but I couldn't do that last night as I needed to be racing early this morning. Sadly, that meant I woke after 4 hours and couldn't get back to sleep and I didn't feel up to racing.

struggled with the decision but having just tried to row, it was definitely the right one.
I just did a light paddle again and technique was sloppy and my heart started racing after 20 mins.

will hopefully sleep better tonight and try something longer tomorrow

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
30:00.8 7,001m 2:08.6 165 866 16

Good call. Smash in three weeks.

got a decent sleep last night and felt a little more human today. Did a 60 min steady state. Can tell my body is still not back to normal though, as my heart rate was very high. I kept ramping down the intensity to manage the HR and ended up 4-5 secs ish/500 slower than my usual steady state and still with a higher than usual HR

still...progress

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
1:00:01.0 13,777m 2:10.6 157 839 17 146

5:00.0 1,186m 2:06.4 173 895 18 137
5:00.0 1,175m 2:07.6 168 878 18 143
5:00.0 1,156m 2:09.7 160 851 18 138
5:00.0 1,158m 2:09.5 161 854 18 143
5:00.0 1,155m 2:09.8 160 849 18 142
5:00.0 1,141m 2:11.4 154 830 17 151
5:00.0 1,147m 2:10.7 156 838 18 147
5:00.0 1,140m 2:11.5 154 828 18 147
5:00.0 1,137m 2:11.9 152 824 18 151
5:00.0 1,125m 2:13.3 148 808 18 148
5:00.0 1,116m 2:14.4 144 796 17 154
5:00.0 1,138m 2:11.8 153 825 18 154

thanks Floppy and that's the plan!

I'll choose between the 2k and 1k a few days before once I see the list of starters, albeit I'm assuming I'll be competing in the 1k as I think that's my stronger event, so will be gearing my training for that

did another 60min steady state. feeling better each day. Still not totally recovered from the flight/jet lag but managed 2/500 quicker than yesterday with a lower HR, but still needed to slow the pace to keep the HR in the right zone. Hoping to do something friskier tomorrow

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
1:00:00.6 14,004m 2:08.5 165 866 18 142

5:00.0 1,194m 2:05.6 177 907 18 128
5:00.0 1,191m 2:05.9 175 902 18 137
5:00.0 1,193m 2:05.7 176 906 18 142
5:00.0 1,175m 2:07.6 168 878 19 141
5:00.0 1,174m 2:07.7 168 877 19 142
5:00.0 1,154m 2:09.9 159 848 19 144
5:00.0 1,160m 2:09.3 162 857 18 146
5:00.0 1,159m 2:09.4 161 855 18 141
5:00.0 1,166m 2:08.6 164 865 18 147
5:00.0 1,149m 2:10.5 157 841 18 145
5:00.0 1,134m 2:12.2 151 820 18 143
5:00.0 1,153m 2:10.0 159 847 18 147

two short sessions today

early am 30min UT3 as the dog woke me up really early and I wanted to do something

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
30:00.7 6,781m 2:12.7 150 814 15 130

short & frisky sprint session this evening. 3x400m 2r at 1k target pace. Couldn't get the top speed I was expecting in the first 100m and as a result had to rate higher than I had planned. It was only afterwards that I realised I hadn't increased the drag and was rowing at 110, instead of high 130s which would be my usual 1k drag. Still....good to start sprinting again and I have a few more of these sessions planned for the next few weeks as I've got Australian/NZ championships in 17 days and I expect I'll row the 1k

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
1:14.7 400m 1:33.3 430 1779 38 123
1:14.6 400m 1:33.2 432 1785 38 139
1:14.7 400m 1:33.3 430 1634 40 155

first decent day in the gym in about 3 months. kept things really light to attempt to minimise the DOMS but was exhausted by the end. really miss lifting

am focusing on as much single leg work as I can to attempt to even up the current imbalance I have - my left quad is currently 3.5 inches smaller than the right quad due to an old ACL injury and I favour my right leg clearly while rowing

unsure really how smart it is the re-introduce leg weights 16 days out from a comp vs waiting til afterwards, but have signed up with a coach (more info to come in a day or two) and will ask him

4x12 alternating leg extensions - 25kg ish as warm up
3x5 front squat - 50kg
3x8 trap bar DL - 60kg
3x10 one legged KB RDL - 24kg
3x12 one legged leg press - 100kg

3x8/10 24kg DB Bench/100kg close grip hammer high row
3x8/12 20kg DB Press/80kg seated wide grip hammer row

am gonna aim to a 30min ss tonight just to flush out some of the DOMS and then rest day tomorrow

did a light row tonight in the hope of flushing out the worst of the DOMS I'm expecting. Was expecting to feel tired but the legs actually felt the best/strongest they have all week and it made me think that doing a double day with lifting in the morning and a row later in the day will be quite do-able


Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
25:30.1 6,005m 2:07.4 169 882 17

7x50' 7mins rest

Oof.

first session programmed by my new coach and that is the only reason I didn't quit after 4 repe.

Did this as a max effort every rep and as a result, it is almost certainly the worst I've ever felt on an erg. The splits tell the tale very nicely - my legs totally went in the middle of the 4th rep and from then on it was pure torture.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
5:50.0 1,997m 1:27.6 520 2089 41 142

0:50.0 291m 1:25.9 552 2199 42 148
0:50.0 294m 1:25.0 569 2259 42 111
0:50.0 294m 1:25.0 569 2259 43 159
0:50.0 287m 1:27.1 530 2122 42 119
0:50.0 279m 1:29.6 486 1974 41 154
0:50.0 278m 1:29.9 481 1956 41 153
0:50.0 274m 1:31.2 461 1885 40 153

What's the deal with your coach? I read that notation as 7x50 minutes 7 minutes rest and was immediately concerned.

Yeah, I’m not very good on my ‘ “ type things.

I’m on a monthly plan with the coach. He’s a British team athlete who also coaches.

My brief to him is for us to use the next 4 months to see how good/fast I can get l, with an eye on World Indoor 2k at end of Feb and 1k in early March. There’s also a short term goal of Aus indoor in 2 weeks time

Coaching includes weekly technique analysis and pointers, programming for the erg but also weights and nutrition as well as mindset coaching. The first 3 weeks of programming don’t look super different tbh - lots of UT2 with two intervals a week. I’ve committed to 6 rows and 2 weights sessions a week and he organises into Hard Medium and Light weeks. We’ll see if my body holds up.

Just got the first film study stuff back and it was pretty useful. Can send to you if you have WhatsApp?

50 mins steady state, mainly with eyes closed trying to install and 'feel' the stroke changes. Interestingly, this dropped my stroke rate but increased my watts per stroke.

second consecutive row with flaky HR readings, so probably need to buy a new battery

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
50:02.6 11,672m 2:08.6 164 866 16 139

5:00.0 1,197m 2:05.3 178 912 17 133
5:00.0 1,187m 2:06.3 173 896 16 134
5:00.0 1,183m 2:06.7 172 890 16 125
5:00.0 1,182m 2:06.9 171 889 17 148
5:00.0 1,167m 2:08.5 165 867 17 150
5:00.0 1,157m 2:09.6 161 852 16 121
5:00.0 1,148m 2:10.6 157 839 16 141
5:00.0 1,142m 2:11.3 154 831 17 145
5:00.0 1,144m 2:11.1 155 834 16 147
5:00.0 1,161m 2:09.1 162 858 16 146
0:02.6 6m 3:36.6 34 418 0 146

2x 17 min UT2,5min UT1, 1min30r

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
44:00.0 10,451m 2:06.3 174 897 18 153

17:00.0 3,967m 2:08.5 165 866 17 142
5:00.0 1,275m 1:57.6 215 1039 22 160

r: 1:30 14m

17:00.0 3,944m 2:09.3 162 857 17 148
5:00.0 1,267m 1:58.3 211 1025 22 165

Interesting piece - I assume you set it up as a variable interval session . . . How did it feel? Did he give any rationale?

yes to variable interval session.

what the piece is trying to get you to do is get your heart rate to recover back down to UT2 level. So when more trained, I should do that piece without the 90 secs in between.

as I'm sure your boy did, my guy is telling me that there is literally no benefit from rowing at the higher end of UT2 bpm and speed...it's really all about the time I'm in the zone for. So learning from this session is that I'm probably rowing my UT2 too fast.

the HRs shows were actually the final HR at the end of each interval vs the average. Ave were probably 135 and 143 ish for the UT2. But I'm gonna force myself to row slower for a few weeks to aim to keep my HR at 135 ish, even for the longer UT2s.

He was more about relative than absolute heart rate, and wanted you to titrate your UT2 HR such that you "felt" like you were in UT2 as opposed to just rowing off of a generic chart (i.e. HR zones are very individual specific). Re: UT2 pace, I think he mostly disagrees with your boy in that going "too slow" can actually blunt progress, though I'd imagine some of this can be explained in part by their personal/coaching experience. I've done super slow and pretty brisk UT2 and I think I prefer going faster, though right now I'm kind of in the middle and that feels alright - going to keep my pace in the 2:11-2:12 range for a while and just try to get my HR to come down.

2x(10x30sec/30r) 5mins rest

the goal was to aim to hold these at 1k goal pace. I'm not sure exactly what that is for me but PR pace is 1.34.6/500 and I figured 1.33.5/500 would be a good target. So I was very happy to beat that. The wheels fell off after rep 6 in the second set. I managed to complete 8 but pulled the pin as the chest started exploding and I got the shakes and I didn't see the value to destroy myself 9 days out from an event.

set 1

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
5:00.0 1,612m 1:33.0 434 1795 38 160

0:30.0 162m 1:32.5 441 1817 40 130
0:30.0 162m 1:32.5 441 1817 38 151
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 38 157
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 38 160
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 36 164
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 38 165
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 38 167
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 40 168
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 38 169
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 38 169

set 2

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
4:00.0 1,287m 1:33.2 432 1786 38 163

0:30.0 163m 1:32.0 449 1845 38 128
0:30.0 162m 1:32.5 441 1817 38 159
0:30.0 162m 1:32.5 441 1817 38 166
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 38 169
0:30.0 160m 1:33.7 425 1761 38 170
0:30.0 161m 1:33.1 433 1789 38 171
0:30.0 159m 1:34.3 417 1734 38 171
0:30.0 160m 1:33.7 425 1761 38 171

trialled a slower UT2 where i rated a little higher and took some heat off my stroke. Definitely an easier way to keep the HR within the correct zone

erg data didn't upload

10008m 43.18 2.09.8/500 sr 19, hr ave 133

Tuesday's weights session was very light (so much so that I don't appear to have logged it here) so I was fresh enough to get my second double day for the week out the way.

Still staying very light. Will start adding weight after the comp.

3x12 single leg extensions to warm up knee
3x6 front squat 50kg
3x12 single leg press 120kg
3x6 hex bar DL 80kg
3x10 single leg KB RDL 24kg
3x8 DB Bench SS with 8 hammer high close grip row - 90kg
3x6 Shoulder Press 50kg ss with seated hammer row - 90kg

more higher rate UT2. definitely easier to keep the HR down - it was 98% humidity today too, but it's gonna take a while to get used to feeling OK with putting so little sauce on each stroke. Still....once this 1k is out the way, I'm anticipating an increase in volume as I focus on the 2k, so doing my steady state this way will definitely help with volume

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M HR
50:01.6 11,589m 2:09.5 161 854 19 136

5:00.0 1,162m 2:09.0 163 859 19 127
5:00.0 1,163m 2:08.9 163 861 20 133
5:00.0 1,172m 2:07.9 167 874 20 135
5:00.0 1,153m 2:10.0 159 847 20 135
5:00.0 1,157m 2:09.6 161 852 20 139
5:00.0 1,156m 2:09.7 160 851 19 139
5:00.0 1,155m 2:09.8 160 849 19 138
5:00.0 1,153m 2:10.0 159 847 19 139
5:00.0 1,157m 2:09.6 161 852 19 139
5:00.0 1,160m 2:09.3 162 857 19 137

Building on/dimensionalising a chat in Monte's thread, this is another quote from a super knowledgable guy on C2 about training intensity for endurance athletes (with endurance defines as 3mins +)

I have always been a ‘more is better, go hard as much as you can’ type person but it seems all the evidence is that volume is way more important than intensity for building conditioning and that too much intensity is counter productive. The example below was someone who only trains with intensity....ie never does any steady state...and for those guys, it seems that 3 sessions is the limit and the 4th actually reduces fitness. But then if you’re training a lot more, it seems only 2 sessions per week should get into the intense heart rate zones.



The studies show that too much intensity with too little recovery yields worse results than a better mix.

The one commonly quoted study normalized the total exercise work done, then compared groups of trained cyclists doing 2, 3 and 4 days of intensity at the same total workout exercise done. The results were 2 day and 3 days were in a statistical dead heat (with 3 being slightly better), and that 4 days was worse than 2 or 3. (aside another study compared 0 days and 1 day of intensity and found that 0 intensity days per week is a bad idea even in off season.)

The studies were triggered by the discovery that winning Olympic athletes were doing less intensity than their non-winning peers. I find the conclusions from the training logs of the elite athletes more compelling than the studies, and am glad they say the same thing.
1. Results are positively correlated to total time spent training. Train more do better.
2. Too much time above UT2 (too much time in high intensity workouts) is Negatively correlated with performance. Winners did less work above UT2 than losers. Athletes who train the same amount as others, but do less above UT2 do better.
3. Results apply to "endurance" sports that have a duration roughly > 3 mins. Clearly applies to 2K row, not clear that the same approach is best for say a 500m attempt. Compare the training of two elite rowers here ... Alex F trains differently than Cam. And I doubt Brian Shaw's training has much UT2 work in it, but for 100M rowing he is very strong.
4. Results apply across running (400M through marathon), cycling, nordic skiing, etc. Same training log analysis results, same research study results.

Separately, the claim has been made by Seiler that 4-5 hours training a week is the past the crossover point where you get measurable benefit from forcing some training under UT2 vs "Grip it and Rip it" (neat phrase !).

Finally all this is about marginal gains comparing people who work out at the same level. Someone using "Grip it and Rip it" is absolutely much better off than someone using "coach potato".