Today for the first time in a couple of weeks I did some rowing on my erg.
10000m at ~107W output. I left a big puddle of sweat under the machine. Happy with that. I felt like I could have upped the output to ~110W too.
#rowing #erg #fitness #exercise #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55
Today I tried doing a VO2max test for the first time since I stopped playing rugby. That means I last did the test 30 plus years ago.
VO2max is a good overall indicator of cardiovascular fitness. It measures how quickly your body is able to adsorb oxygen in your lungs and get it to your muscles.
When I played rugby we did the dreaded beep test which involves doing 20m shuttle runs back and forth. The person running the test used to put a cassette tape in a ghetto blaster and pressed play. The tape beeps to tell you when to start your first 20m. You start off at walking pace but the pace slowly picks up with each 20m run. If you are really fit you will be sprinting by the end of the test. The test is over when you collapse into a heap on the floor as you can't take any more. When you have recovered you feed how many runs you completed, your weight etc into a formula and bingo, you have a figure for your VO2max.
By the way it is a law or something that you have to put the word "dreaded" in front of the words "beep test". Its hell.
I didn't fancy doing the dreaded beep test again this time round. A quick search showed me that Concept2 who make my rowing machine have a VO2max calculator. https://www.concept2.com/training/vo2max-calculator You row as fast as you can for 2000m (which handily is also the normal distance for competitions) and enter your time and weight and receive a figure for your VO2max back.
There is one crucial difference between the dreaded beep test and the erg test. You decide when the test is over. Your pace / effort / output is controlled by the beeps. Time is more important than effort. On an erg your pace / output / effort is up to you but you don't get to chose when to stop.
That's fine in general but I hit a snag today. I didn't have a clear idea about what level of output I could sustain for 2000m. I do long rowing sessions of 12000m and also interval sessions. Neither of those helped me to come up with an estimate of how fast I can row for 2000m.
So.... I went for it. Of course I set out far, far too fast at the start and /just/ managed to finish rowing 1500m. Technically I have a VO2max of zero as I didn't finish the test.
Basically I let my ego flatter me into thinking that I am far fitter than I actually am. Reality hit hard and I felt humbled by my failure. However I know I tried as hard as I possibly could.
I am going to take the erg test again this time next week. This time around I have a better idea of the output my body can sustain for 2000m. I won't go crazy at the start so I will finish the test.
#rowing #erg #VO2max #DreadedBeepTest #ego #exercise #fitness #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55
Just finished a 12000m row for my workout today. Completed it at ~110W output / a tad under 1 hour. That is a new personal best for that distance. Made a big puddle of sweat under the erg. Really happy with that
#rowing #erg #cardio #fitness #exercise #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55 #PersonalBest #PB
lifting today to workout. Kettlebells, resistance bands and various bits of heavy scrap metal. Went really well.
Yesterday I worked out on my erg. Rowed 12000m at ~111W output. Really happy with that too.
#workout #kettlebell #erg #rowing #fitness #exercise #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD
Rowing this morning. 12000m at ~108W output. Big puddle of sweat on the floor under the erg. Really pleased with that.
#rowing #erg #fitness #exercise #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55
Rowing this morning. 11000m at ~100W output. Could have been a teeny tiny bit faster but I am happy with it. The ice cold shower afterwards was great too.
#rowing #erg #exercise #fitness #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55
Lifting to workout this morning. Kettlebells, resistance bands and other heavy things like chains and rocks. I am no where near as strong as I was back in 2020 but I can see and feel progress. The progress is the important part not the overall strength.
Its just so good to work out in my back yard too. Just me and the birds singing. Peace and quiet.
#workout #kettlebell #exercise #fitness #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55
Rowing this morning for my workout. 11000m at ~105W output, 25 strokes per minute. Really went for it. Cold shower afterwards. It has set me up for the rest of the day.
Having Phat Planet, Born Slippy.NUXX, Firestarter, Insomnia, Killing in the Name of, Straight out of Compton and Rebel Without a Pause line up perfectly on my shuffled gym music playlist definitely helped. The last 2 minutes of the workout were accompanied by GnR's Lost in the Garden of Eden. Really fucking went for it when that came on.
#rowing #erg #workout #fitness #exercise #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55 #ExerciseMusic #WorkoutMusic
Rowing this morning.
10000m at ~99W output. There was a big puddle of sweat on the floor under the machine when I finished. Really pleased with that.
#rowing #erg #exercise #fitness #FitOver55 #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD
Rowing this. Yay!
10000m at ~98W output. Just over 50 minutes.
I felt that I had more left in the tank when I finished. There was a big puddle of sweat on the floor underneath the erg.
I am getting back into the swing of things after a 3 month lay off caused by hurting my back doing something stupid in a stupid way. It feels really good to move and sweat again. Sweat is fat crying. 😅
Really happy with that. Its put me in a great mood for the rest of the day.
#rowing #erg #concept2 #fitness #exercise #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55
My back has fully recovered thanks to 3 months of doing nothing so I had my first workout in 3 months this morning. 5000m of rowing at ~111W. Really pleased just to get it done.
#rowing #concept2 #EOOD #ExerciseOutOfDepression #exercise #fitness #FitOver55
Rowing this morning for my exercise. 12000m at ~100W output. It took just over an hour. Most importantly no pain at all from my back. The resistance band around my thighs must be helping with my form. It felt good to just work hard and sweat.
#rowing #erg #exercise #fitness #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #MentalHealth
Lifting today for my workout. Kettlebells, sandbags and other heavy things. Good to be doing it after a two week break.
#kettlebell #sandbag #lifting #fitness #exercise #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #MentalHealth
Really glad to be rowing again. 10000m at ~100W output felt good this morning.
#rowing #exercise #fitness #ExerciseOutOfDepression #MentalHealth
Really good workout on my erg this morning
#rowing #erg #fitness #exercise #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55 #DadBodIsHistory
Just had a good upper body workout in the sunshine. Feel sore in a good way now.
Archery next. Its too good to be indoors.
#workout #kettlebells #exercise #fitness #ExerciseOutOfDepression #EOOD #FitOver55
Lifting today. Kettlebells, chains, resistance bands and a rock.
#lifting #kettlebell #fitness #exercise #EOOD #exerciseoutofdepression
Rowing today. 12000m @ ~99W output. Pushed really hard at the end. I think the last stroke was 200W plus. More than that I didn't deviate more than about + or - 10W in output and + or - 2 strokes per minute. The new ADHD meds help with that.
#Rowing #erg #LISS #fitness #Exercise #EOOD #ExerciseOutOfDepression #MightFailADrugsTest
