walk the walk

We can talk the talk all day long about what types of workouts we SHOULD be doing, but I choose to lead by example. Here is what I did this week (now keep in mind that I am training for a sprint triathlon, so there is slightly less longer steady state that what was previously recommended).

Monday: Return from OKC, passed out
Tuesday: Ran for 45 minutes, swam 3x250m
Wednesday: Bad weather, did nothing
Thursday: Biked 12 miles, later biked 8 miles, then swam 2x250m before my body shut down and my legs were cramped up so bad I couldn't do a 3rd set. Apparently after not running, biking, and swimming for a few months, my body wasn't quite used to it.
Friday: Ran 45mins
Saturday: Biked 12miles
Sunday (tomorrow): Swim 20 laps, directly followed by running 4 miles. Timed, triathlon testing.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer, and I look forward to seeing the results of all of this training from you guys in the fall. It should be a fun ride.

Long and Slow

As I read through everybody's posts its cool to see that yall are working so hard. Some words of wisdom/caution: According to Richard Laurence, Cameron Fraser, and every other coach we have had(which has been a lot), if you want to maximize your potential for next year, build your base now. The summer is the best time to do this because hey, what else is there to do. You can do high intensity workouts all you want, but when you move up to the varsity next year, I guarantee that you will be behind. Anaerobic work is work that should be done in the weeks leading up to racing, and ideally you should hit your peak performance right at the end of the season. In the fall and for a majority of winter training next year, I promise you one thing... the shortest workout you will do will be 60 min long. On the other hand, the longest we do will be around 90 min. Whether you run, bike, erg, or swim, coach Laurence likes us to use specific heart rates for any given workout. If you are working out for 60 min, your target heart rate should be about 150 bpm(if you don't have a heart rate monitor, get out a watch, and time yourself for 10 seconds... you should get about 25 beats). If you are working out for 90 min, you should hit about 130 bpm. Ideally, as you get in better shape, you are able to go more miles, faster, etc and hold the same heart rate. Long slow workouts do not make for slow rowers. These workouts build up your aerobic base, which is what rowers need for the middle 1500 meters of the race. The bigger your base, the faster you can go during these middle 1500 without reaching that anaerobic threshold! Anaerobic threshold can only be maintained for about 40 seconds or so, which is your start and your sprint. Next year, in order to make the V8, you will probably have to pull something below a 6:30 2k. Build your base now, reap the benefits next year. Its boring, but try to stay motivated. Get some good music. Mix up the workouts. Plus, for those of you trying to lose weight, these are the best workouts for that!

Stay classy,
Dane

My old XC coach used to say that long, slow running makes for long slow runners. We also started off with 3-4 miles at the beginning of the summer and moved up to 10-12 miles near the end of the summer (20 miles/week up to 50+ miles/week). It's important to start at low mileage so you can build up to run those 6,7+ mile runs at a decent pace. At least, that's what he always said.

Anyone gonna be in CH Sunday?

Difficulties

Hey guys, are any of you doing more than 60 min of cardio when you workout? I find it very hard to do like 90.

For example, yesterday I did a 10k at 1:59-2:00, and then after I got on the bike, but felt tired after 15 or 20 minutes...

Am I just being a wuss, or should I really be doing 90 min?

Any thoughts?

Ok, so just an update....

On Sunday I did a 45 minute bike, I think I did around 15 miles. Then I swam for 20 min, just laps, mainly freestyle. I also lifted some, but not a lot.

Yesterday I went hiking around some gorge with my dad and his girlfriend, and I climbed like a million steps...

Today I think I'm gunna do another erg, maybe something on the elliptical.

Hope you guys are enjoying your summer, maybe I'll see you this weekend?

Tay

Catch-up on my workouts

Saturday 5/17 - Erg Rm - 1 on, 1 off x 10 at < 1:40 avg., Ab workout, Push-ups.

Sunday 5/18 - Watched a lot of "Deadliest Catch" on T.V. and imagined how awesome it would be to do that, watched Indiana Jones "Temple of Doom" in prep for the new movie release, watched the news and found out there are forest fires in CA already and I'm not there to fight them so now helpless people and small kittens may die all because they didn't offer me a job.

Monday 5/19 - worked, ran around Reservoir Park (2.5 miles) twice.

Tuesday 5/20 - worked, then it was really stormy and marble-sized hail attacked me.

Wednesday 5/21 - worked, was lazy.

Thursday 5/22 - woke up with huge headache, then went to Indiana Jones with some friends only to be completely disappointed, worked, ran around Reservoir Park (2.5 miles) twice.

Friday 5/23 - worked, played several hours of Ultimate Frisbee.

Saturday 5/24 - lazed around for most of day, was on my way to work when an old man in a cadillac decided I should fly, and subsequently wrecked my motorcycle (so I guess the flying part was my workout, and it sure was exhilarating).

Sunday 5/25 - mowed lawn, borrowed a friend's truck to go get some groceries (and a strap so my motorcycle would not slide out the back of the truck), but hey, I ate healthy thanks to the $5 footlong deal at Subway in Wally World.

Monday 5/26 - Memorial Day makes no stores open, No repair shops open keeps motorcycle broken, no motorcycle makes Adam a lazy boy, perhaps I'll go for a run.

So, hopefully this coming weekend people will be getting together in CH and I'll have a way to get there, until then, DOMINATE!

Jeep Adventure Race Series

I found another thing that could be a fun, competitive, cross-training event over the summer, particularly for those of you in Charlotte.

It is an "adventure race" which is approximately a 4-hour race including mountain biking, trek/running, orienteering, climbing and paddling and it takes place on July 19th at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte.

Here are some details:
"Grab a friend and explore all 307 acres of the US National Whitewater Center and the rugged corners of the Charlotte metro. Teams of 1-4 will mountain bike, trek/run, orienteer, climb and paddle. Each event is designed for you to succeed and all you need are sneakers, a bike and a smile. Come meet people and have fun!

Jeep ARS #3 activities include whitewater rafting, flatwater canoeing, mountain biking, orienteering and special challenges.

4hr: $60 per person
7hr: $70 per person

Entry cap: 300. Pre-registration required. For more information on adventure racing or to sign up for the race, visit http://www.action-learning.com/adventure"

All of the info can be found on the US National Whitewater Center website at http://www.usnwc.org/component/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,125/extmode,view/extid,117/

Let me know if you are interested and we can possibly add you to our team, or you can create your own.

Also, you have less than a month to register for the Miles Into Smiles Triathlon, the really short sprint tri that I mentioned before. details are at www.milesintosmiles.com.

And more from OKC:

Another workout today, just thought I would show you pussies how a real man gets his swell on...

45 min. erg: steady state, between 2:00 and 2:10

45 min. bike: I have no idea how to measure work on a bike, but it freaking hurts, only my sweet tunes can take the edge off from the pain...

And does anybody know what happened with the newsletter? I wanted to see my article....

Tay

"The Sweeper"

I think Jacob asked for a new workout a couple of days ago, and leave it to me the "meathead" to come up with a new ab exercise. Remember when Cottrel made us do those "scullers" during our circuit lifts? Well I thought why not come up with an ab exercise that simulates sweep rowing? This exercise will work your whole core (lower and upper abs, obliques, lower back) as well as your shoulders

So here it is:


Starting position: Feet and shoulders off the floor, arms raised and extended towards feet

Step 1) Bring knees and chest towards each other, while extending your arms, "inside arm" goes between the legs (just like rowing, i'm doing starboard side in the pic)


Step 2) Rotate upper body and extend outside arm to the "catch" and hold that position for one second, then go through the motions of a regular stroke: extend your legs straight, move your body back and return to the starting position (there's no need to bring the arms in)

Step 3) Repeat on the opposite side and continue to alternate (Starboard-port-starboard-port, etc.)

The total exercise should be done as follows, 3 seconds on the way up, hold 1 sec, rest one sec. Your feet and shoulder blades should never touch the ground.

Train Hard Guys

Smorgasbord

Ok, so a few things...

I love the blog idea. bravo. y'all are definitely on track. keep on the cardio over the summer, that is the most beneficial thing you can do. don't spend all of your time lifting (though we all like to look good), as the cardio is really what will make you faster when you come back in August.

Anyone wanting to run in a triathlon June 29th? So far, Dane and myself are planning on doing it. It is short and shouldn't take much longer than an hour to complete (unless you really screw up). If so, let me know, and i will send you the details. it should be a lot of fun. I can also guarantee you a place to stay and at least a couple of free meals while you're here.

And, as we have now been in Oklahoma City for 2 full days and have yet to race, we have had to keep ourselves entertained in other ways. Here are a few pics from our journey. See facebook for the full album. I'll update it again in a couple of days.

OKC

Whats up guys, its day number two out here and so far all I can say is the wind is insane. Practicing this morning was frustrating. The wind is a constant, strong, quartering head.... all the time. It never dies down. Starts should be interesting. But we're all really excited to throw down some pieces. We have really come together in the past two weeks and posted some fast times at practice. I would like nothing more than to ruin someone's weekend out in lovely OKC.

On another note, I'm glad to see y'all are so pumped about getting faster for next year. Work hard, stay motivated, and don't forget to enjoy your summer/time off from rowing. Looks like you guys are posting your workouts, so I thought I would let you know what I'm up to this summer. This September I will run a marathon in VA, so I'm training for that all summer. I would love some company so if anyone is interested let me know. My training plan is 16 weeks of running, biking, and weights. The mileage starts out lower and builds up as the weeks go on. If anyone wants a copy of the workout plan let me know. Wong and Josh, I know yall are from Charlotte, so company on some of my runs would be pretty cool. Also I have free weights in my garage, and a big mirror so you can admire yourself while lifting.

-Dane

It only gets easier from here. It only gets easier from here..

Phew. Just finished my first real workout since I got home. I did 12.5k on the erg in a pyramid (18-20-22-20-18) per 2500m. Pretty long and boring. I averaged about 2:10 with the water breaks added in (not as good as I was hoping, but ya gotta start somewhere). I plan on doing Marshall's ab workout and some lower back exercises (Supermans, stabilizers, etc) before going to bed.

Jake, Dane, and Mike will be filling us in on what's going on out in Oklahoma City. Looking forward to that! Good luck guys.

Gotta go eat dinner now, but I miss you boys and I hope some of you actually make the road trip down here to hang out - though it's a Mark plan, and we all know how those go... haha. Peace yall.

Sweet Running Site

For everyone who doesn't have access to an erg... doesn't want to know if they have access to an erg... or just likes running, there's this bad ass feature on the website posted below that lets you type in your location: city, zip code, state (if you're from Connecticut thats all you need to put because they can fit the whole state on one screen)... and you can zoom in on your specific neighborhood or area and trace out running routes. The website will tell you the mileage as you click your route.

http://www.usatf.org/routes/

ps. taylor its good to see that you're watching your figure

- papa

This morning I did another erg...

Couple of 1' on 1' off, then got bored and decided to do some of Trent's pyramids, 10 strokes on, 10 off, cadence as follows:

24-26-28-26-24
26-28-30-28-26
28-30-32-30-28

I got on the elliptical for a while but it felt weird so I got off.

This summer, I'm mainly looking to get leaner and improve my cardio. I'm not doing that much lifting, but I'm biking, erging, swimming, and running.

Trent said one day at Vails that he biked across America (literally) during one of his vacations, and improved his 6k by 2 minutes! Cardio is virtually everything it seems.

ACRA

Actually, I kind of wish we were there right now. We got re-ranked 7th and I wanted to show some scrubs from bucknell and grand valley what's what.

Hey fellas. It's good to see that everyone really wants to stay in shape this summer, and that everyone has their own plan to work on the areas that they need to train (kingberg's favorite is the 5 by 16 year old workout).

I've been doing my own workouts with aerobics consisting of running, spinning, erging, and hopefully some hardcore miles on a moutain and road bike. I've also been lifting like alot of you (or y'all, as tucker would put it), and I'm trying to find the best kind of workout. I've been doing a power lift sans legs, and it seems to be working okay. I was thinking about maybe doing a different kind of weight work out if anyone had any ideas, the exact workout I'm doing is getting kind of old to me.

Even though this is a women's team, this seemed pretty interesting, at least in terms of cardio workouts and an idea of planning what's right for you:
http://www.umich.edu/~rowblue/team/summertraining07.html

So are we eating at lenoir or ram's head tonight? We should get together, and hang, i miss you guys...tear

Workout Schedule

So here's the workout schedule I drew up for myself on our way back from Philly. It's been really hard to stick to doing everything, mostly the running because my legs are sore from lifting. The workout should be executed along with adequate sleep (7-8hours), water (6-8 glasses a day), and enough protein (1 gram per lb. of body weight). After each lift, a significant amount of protein should be consumed within 1 hour


Sunday: Rest
Monday: Upper Body Lift (Strength), 60 min cardio
Tuesday: Lower Body Lift (Strength)
Wednesday: 60min cardio
Thursday: Circuit Lift
Friday: 60 min cardio
Saturday: Full body (Endurance) Lift, 45 min cardio

Endurance lifts are the same exercises and sets but with 15-20 reps each

Power/Strength Lifts involve 8-12 reps

Circuit- 45 seconds on, 10 off, 3 rounds

You're right, it is pretty hard to get motivated. I have been trying to work out every day, but doing serious cardio every other day.

The other day I did 30 min on the bike and burned around 500 calories.

Yesterday I was on the erg...yes, the erg. I did a 10k at 1:57-2:02 split, cadence at a 20-22.

Also, I was watching "a day in the life of" on USRowing.com and I saw this weight exercise that some of the national team guys were doing...you hold two dumbbells so that it looks like you're resting them on your shoulder...then you do a squat. At the bottom of the squat, stand up rapidly as if you were exploding off the catch, and simultaneously push the dumbbells into the air over your head. Lower them near your shoulders and repeat. It's a good workout.

Today I plan on returning to the erg...I am feeling the pain from yesterdays workout and it hurts SOOOO GOOOD :)

Hey guys, hope your summers are going great. I hope we get on these road trips soon I want to see you boys. Charleston and Tampa sound like great ideas and I think Chu and I are going to go down to Atlantic Beach and stay at Thomas's house for a couple of days if any of you guys want to go with.
As far as working out I've been erging for about 30 minutes everyday, running for about 3 or 4 miles, running hills, calf raises, push ups, pull ups, tricep workouts, and marshall's crunch workout with various weight lifts like bench pressing, declines, inclines, dead lifts, and leg raises. Don't want to seem like an overachiever or anything I'm mainly doing all that crap so I don't get my ass kicked at OCS. What have you guys been up to?

A little taste of what we do on the water

Just testing mobile blogging..

Just testing mobile blogging.. Mark and Taylor have been invited to write on the blog. Welcome guys.

Welcome Yall!

Hey yall. This is an idea I had to help keep us motivated to stay in shape this summer. I will start by posting the workouts I'm doing, along with my results (splits, times, sets, etc.). If you have (or make in the future) a Google account, I can add you to be an author for this blog and you can fill us in on what you've been doing to get fast this summer. Just shoot me an email at tarheelcrew@gmail.com and I'll add you to the list! The idea is to establish the kind of competition amongst each other Cottrell said was missing this year... So rock out with your cock out and start kickin' some ass on the erg or in the weight room.

Also, I thought this might be a good way to show recruits what it is that we do. If you can, take pictures during some of your workouts, or if you get to hit the water this summer, have someone take pictures (I thought Jordan would be especially excited about this - don't forget Jordan, you need more than just beach muscles!). Also, add any thoughts you had about how the workout went, if you feel it's effective training, etc. Accessibility will hopefully get more people interested in rowing in the next few years.

So, let's try it and see how fast we can make each other - even when we're all in different places.

DOMINATE!