“How’s the rowing training going?”
A question I’ve been asked a lot
The truth is, I hadn’t been putting in the metres recently and concentrating on my 5 x 5 powerlifting.
I’d decided to take some time out off the rowing machine, lifting weight instead. Doing this should have theoretically improved my rowing because it was thickening and strengthening my muscles fibres.
I was still on the rowing machine twice per week but that was nothing compared to the 5 mornings I was doing this time last year. I’d get up at 5.00am and rack up 30-60km per week!
I’d let it slip and the stats were showing that. My split times were miserable,
It’s tough getting the balance right – the fine line between busting a gut and seeing results along with getting enough rest and recovery.
But there is no cheating putting in the training!
3 valuable sources have cemented my thoughts:
- Eat & Run by Scott Jurek
- Born To Run by Christopher McDougall
- Ross Edgley in his #DoMoreInYour24 campaign.
The first 2 points aren’t to do with rowing but they’re 2 of the best endurance athletes in the ultramarathon community. They trained relentlessly, putting in the miles every single day even when they didn’t want to.
Ross Edgley, in his latest Facebook post also confirmed my thoughts; ” A higher work capacity means you can tolerate higher training “stimuli” and “stress”.
But here lies the problem. Too often the world of fitness places too much emphasis on minimalism, specificity and recovery. We seem to forget that eventually you just have to do more work. It’s that simple. Too many people place TOO much emphasis on rest days and then are surprised when they plateau …..”. “When this happens, more often than not the solution
I’m now back on it every morning and have been for the last 2 weeks. It sucks, my hands hurt, as does my bum and my lungs.
I don’t care if I feel like crap and don’t want to row. Tough shit LT. I’ve got 4,800 miles to row next year! There’s no hacking that.
