Concept 2 Rower Model D (Exercise For Fat Loss)

[tropo]

You're pushing it very hard, that's for sure. Could you be overdoing it?

I haven't put a drop of sweat on the rail yet but I blow 2 fans, back and front and last night ran the aircon at 28C. I didn't want to get cold. That's one of the luxuries of doing it at home - at the gym I sweat a lot more because they don't have fans (just aircon).

[robblok]

Tropo, i skipped last night for rowing because i thought i was over doing it. So this morning i had to do it. I don't feel that i am over doing it. I think most of my progress comes from technique and being in bad shape. So its easy to improve. You on the other hand are on a higher level of fitness already so its easier for you to over do it. (as by your own theory)

I will keep on doing my morning rows. I just want it ingrained in my routine so i wont skip them. I know that once i start skipping them it will be easier and easier to skip them. Like i told you before i really want them ingrained before next month. At that time i work 31 days in a row and some evenings too to get the work done. That is my time to make money. But its a stressful time. But i hope i can keep on rowing and training. So my idea is to get it ingrained in the routine i have now. Making sure i wake up early enough for it not to bother my normal working hours.

[tropo]

I suppose considering that you're only working in your MAF range you shouldn't have a problem continuing on with daily rows indefinitely. The concern would be more for mental burnout.

Have you tried wearing gloves? I used to wear gloves on the older Concept C model because the short straight handle wasn't as comfortable.

[robblok]

I never ever wore gloves and the handle is comfortable. I just wait for my hands to toughen up a bit. Today was a bit off because the cafeine made me sweat extra. So my hands were wet and soft like they had been in a swiming pool. I too have 2 fan's on my body. But i don't open the aircon in general.

You are right about the mental burn out that is what i worry about most. But on the other hand i know myself once i start skipping its easier to skip. I see that too when im training. I have to find some middle ground because at some days training is keeping me from doing something because i worry when i skip i set a precedent.

[tropo]

There's one thing you may be interested in that I've noticed on rowing.

I was always aware of how much harder and easier I can pull when I've taken several days off. It's really noticeable in that I can pull more watts with much less effort.

I think it is because you rely so much on upper and lower body strength when rowing and a rest really makes a difference.

I'd be willing to wager if you took 2 complete days off you'd blow away your best performance so far by a wide margin.

[robblok]

I am sure you are right because i do notice how i use my upper body. If i use it to pull harder the Watt go up. Anyway its about burning fat not getting new records. I am getting the new records because i was in bad shape and im learning to row better. (so i think)

[tropo]

No rowing for me today, other than my 15 min warmup before Chest & Triceps. I blasted out a HIIT x 8 cycles on the Cybex pushing my HR into the 160's, so that should make up for my low heart rate on rowing.

Could be a really good combination if I add 2 HIIT sessions per week.

Today for the first time I've noticed a drop in strength. I noticed it on bench press, which is one of the few exercises I do where strength can be easily measured. Maybe it was just today for some reason, although I felt good and energetic at the gym.

Could be a result of losing body weight. I've come down so slowly that I didn't notice my strength going down - until today. I'm at the lowest bodyweight I've been at for many years so I need to adjust. I'd rather have a 6-pack and be weaker if I have to make the trade-off.

[robblok]

I accepted the trade off, at the moment my lifts and the squat and deadlift are far from impressive. But i dont care (too much). Once my weight is where i want it i will start eating a bit more and that will be good for my muscles too. Though at the moment i have hit a platteau. But i just let it be and watch where i am going. I am eating more as b4 and doing more cardio. So im pretty sure later i will loose weight again.

Im now not that obsessed.. (ok a little) but just accept it will take time.

[tropo]

You're pretty much doing what I've been doing all year. Eating well and burning it off instead. It's slow but it helps you to hold onto muscle. This morning I was only 300 grams (100.3kg) above my new milestone - the 90's. I haven't weighed in the 90's for over a decade. It definitely feels easier to move and climb stairs. I live in a 3 storey townhouse, so I climb stairs all day.

[robblok]

A day without a morning row, for various reasons i did not row this morning. I will probably row tonight when i exercise so its not a complete lost day. Anyway rest is also important and i had a great night sleep. Been feeling a bit tired for the last couple of days. Im feeling fresh now. So who knows. Weight still staying around the same (up and down a bit)

[tropo]

I feel reasonably fresh and slept well after my HIIT session yesterday. I'm off to the gym for my MAF session. No rowing today.

I found another very interesting article which ties in well with MAF. I'll post the link later.

I need to do some research about HIIT. I'm trying to think of a good reason to do it. People actually believe they lose weight faster with HIIT than "regular" slow cardio. I have a friend in Australia who has just completed a personal training course who claims HIIT is the way to go. He's still very overweight and hasn't started a program yet. He wasn't very interested in hearing about my real life experiences with it - he was more impressed with the credentials of his instructor.

I'm not convinced. Perhaps it's popular because it's a time saver.... I will have to look into it again.

I don't believe it's a good idea to do HIIT too frequently because of the intensity... so when is the fat burning going to happen? HIIT proponents believe it is the "afterburn" which makes it so special. Research I've seen comparing slow cardio with HIIT doesn't verify this because the "afterburn" is not significantly higher.

... to be continued later...

[robblok]

Tropo, the afterburn is not as much as people think. Its mainly a time saver but because of the intensity you cant do it too much. I have done it but i think for me its a sure way to get overtrained fast. Especially with all the other training that i do.

I did it on the spinning bike with a special timer, its great for HIT. But it was just too much, maybe if you do it once a week its ok. If ypu are only doing HIT and no lifting you can get away with more.

[tropo]

Tropo, the afterburn is not as much as people think. Its mainly a time saver but because of the intensity you cant do it too much. I have done it but i think for me its a sure way to get overtrained fast. Especially with all the other training that i do.

I did it on the spinning bike with a special timer, its great for HIT. But it was just too much, maybe if you do it once a week its ok. If ypu are only doing HIT and no lifting you can get away with more.

I'm no pussy in the gym, but still find true HIIT (as opposed to guess work without an HR monitor and thinking I'm working hard) quite hard on the brain. It takes a lot of motivation to get the heart rate very high and without a good reason for having to do it it will be next to impossible to do it often... and then when you get fitter getting the heart rate high becomes even harder.

The problem is that so many people are getting on this HIIT bandwagon these days, claiming it's the bees knees - the only way to fly.

...and then we haven't even touched on the fact that it could be quite dangerous for out of condition people to push their heart rates very high.

Our friend Dr Mercola swears by this system. Have you seen his YouTube video of him going through an HIIT x 8 session and then saying "this is the way to do it"? I think it's asinine.

[tropo]

I found another very interesting article which ties in well with MAF. I'll post the link later.

Here's that article: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_return_of_aerobic_work

[robblok]

Nice read, i'm going to keep MAF in my program. I will see how it goes in the future but so far it looks good.

[tropo]

I was very happy with my MAF session today. I'm becoming more efficient on the bike after not using it for a long while. It's hard to believe I managed to burn just shy of 1400 calories in 90 minutes at a heart rate under 130.

I used to wipe myself out on these numbers a month ago at a much higher heart rate and I'd be f****d all day. My post workout energy has been good today.

[robblok]

Tropo, those are real nice numbers. You must be burning fat like crazy if you burn that much.

[tropo]

I make up for it a bit with what I eat, but I'm definitely leaning up. It's hard to see on a daily basis as the changes are too small to notice. I'm getting some new vascularity, especially on the legs and upper chest.

Just being able to eat a fair bit without worrying about gaining weight is benefit enough on its own.

Go MAF!

[robblok]

Again no rowing in the morning, woke up on time but i have (hopefully) a minor injury below my traps on the right side. It feels all knotted up there. I don't know why or how it happened. Did not row yesterday only did tricpes and chest. Today i am planning to do back and biceps. Just hope it does not bother me too much. I am not in the mood for injuries.

[tropo]

Time for a massage?

[robblok]

I did just that, took a massage and it seems to have helped a bit. I have had injuries in the same area before. So i am always a bit careful there. Thing is i did not do anything crazy or extra heavy last night.

Anyway we will see.

[robblok]

I had a 30 minute row last night and a 45 minute row this morning both not close to my best rows but good for me. I had a break of more than a week and im still not 100% recoverd. I feel however a lot better.

Both rows were MAF, this morning i woke up early took a cafeine tab (maybe the reason why the heartrate was a bit higher) and started the row. I drenched a T shirt (normal for me). Felt good still feel good. Nice rush of energy.

I will try to do the 45 min rows every day. This means tonight after training no 30 min row but i will use the rower for a 10 minute warmup. Recently after some advice i started adding a better warmup routine before weight training. Just want to avoid injuries.

[tropo]

It's good to see you back posting in this motivational thread.

There's no better warmup than the rower. Apart from warming up all the joints, the deep cyclic breathing helps to oxygenate the system and get one in the mood for training.

I've never noticed an increase of heart rate from taking caffeine. I did read that there is no evidence that it does.

I did a 500 calorie row last night. It took 37 minutes and I only averaged a heart rate of 114, well below my MAF. I just didn't have the mood to pull hard. I made up for it with a 1454 calorie 90 minute MAF at the gym this morning. (45 mins Cybex/45 mins Bike). I had a cup of coffee and one caffeine tablet before that. I was getting so bored on the last 15 minutes of the bike that I did some HIIT at the end just to pass the time more quickly.

[robblok]

Again a 45 minute morning row. Still have to see how im going to keep that up. It seems to work for now. My weight dropped quite suddenly over the course of two days with 1.7 kg. I must have been retaining water before and by changing my diet (more fat less carbs) it must have expelled it. I am back at 94 (lets see if it was not a fluke)

[tropo]

I'm trying to figure out why I'm about 1.5kg heavier this morning. I think the extra weight is stuck in the bowels - we'll see. This is the first time this has happened since January. Coincidentally it's just after a week of less cardio training as a result of my my gym being closed.

[robblok]

I guess its frustrating, for me its frustrating too.. i rather go down with small steps knowing there is a real decrease in fat. These big steps are usually shifts int he water ballance.

[tropo]

I guess its frustrating, for me its frustrating too.. i rather go down with small steps knowing there is a real decrease in fat. These big steps are usually shifts int he water ballance.

At some point my muscle gain has got to catch up and overtake my fat loss. I'm training very intensely with the goal to put on muscle. Perhaps I've reached that stage.

[robblok]

You are quite lean as i have seen (hey that rimes). But to put on more then a kg of muscle in a week is a bit of a dream. Might be you holding water and yes you can put on muscle but not at a kg a week. At least not easy or without taking juice.

[tropo]

Yes, that would be a good weekly gain in muscle, but with all this obsession to get the weight down I nearly forgot why I workout so hard in the gym - to gain muscle. It's not like I'm doing maintenance type training - I really go all out. Bear in mind that about 75% of muscle tissue is water so you have to gain water to gain muscle. It's subcutaneous water we want to avoid. Carbs and water make up the bulk of our muscles.

It's easy to hold an extra couple of kilograms of mass in the large intestine. This is probably the cause of my weight increase today as I haven't been evacuating as well as normal. Once I've had a good shit I'm be ok.

[robblok]

Seems i really loose what i have build stamina wise fast. But get it back fast too. Now im equaling my old top rows. How is that with you tropo if you are out of the game for 1,5 week.. Do you go down or up in your rowing.

I went down but now im back and ready for more. Dit feel my upper back (lats) today at first and my legs (but worked on those friday).

Anyway 45 min done before breakfast and suits good in my shedule.