Monday, August 09, 2004

5000m Row

I managed to do a very taxing 5000m row today. I had a pretty disappointing workout last week, aiming for 4000m but only managing 2300m. My back's been playing up and I found it impossible to breathe deeply- taking a deep breath resulted in a sharp pain radiating around my ribcage. Well, after a weekend of rest I flipped the Concept 2 up to level 10 and cranked out 5000m. Not a fast time by any means, just over 22 minutes, but the important thing for me is that I did it.

Right now though, I'm absolutely shattered. It really took a lot out me- more than it should have done. Just goes to show how unfit I am at the moment. My stamina is nil. Time to work on that over the next few weeks. 5000m is plenty to do on a rowing machine so I'm going to mix up my workouts- do a few short and fast ones and maybe keep the 5000m as a weekly "treat". Greater distance is a not so important priority, but a 10,000m is definitely in the works soonish.

One of my aims for training right now is to try and burn away the spare tire around my waist- something that doesn't seem to have happened AT ALL. I'm eating a little better than I was and my muscle mass has definitely increased, but the fat still remains. To target that, within a month- when the rowing has strengthened my back up some more- I'm thinking of hitting the gym to do some weights. Weight training is by far the fastest route to fat loss I know of. The hard part is combining it with the cardio work- when I weight train I want it to show (and I tend to be fairly driven when it comes to weights to lift all that I can, to push myself really hard), but cardio tends towards leaner muscle. More muscle=less fat. Mmmm. Probably my first few weights workouts will be very basic- leg press, deadlift and bench press. Try not to get to obsessive about it; more of a supplement to the rowing than anything else. With luck that should help shift the flab. Cardio would probably do the job but the results take longer to show.

Today’s training tip- within half an hour of a workout try and get some carbs and protein into you (I tend to have a protein shake and a banana or something like that). After cardio your body tends to be depleted of energy and eating within those thirty minutes will help speed your recovery. The thirty minutes right after a workout seems to be the optimum time.

2 comments:

John said...

can you post a link to the concept 2 maching? thanks.

Jay.Mac said...

The Concept 2 rowing site is at- http://www.concept2.com/ or add a co.uk for the Brit site. The latter has a plethora of training inofrmation and tips available to download for free- I'm sure the US site does too.
The rower itself is pricey but they are built for gym use- they are tough and long lasting; one of the reasons I invested in one.
Next to cross country skiing, rowing is one of the toughest sports around in that it works the whole body. In the few weeks that I've been training I've noticed an increase in muscle, especially in my thighs, upper back and shoulders. This bit of kit gets 5 stars from me.