Strenght Training ... With No Weights ...

[[old] cforce]

Hello All,<br /><br /> I am in need of a strength/weight training program. Here;s the<br />rundown, I am a lightweight but I would really like to put on some lean<br />muscle and drop my bodyfat over the winter to have maximum performance<br />next spring. I have been rowing high-school for 2 years and I am still<br />working on mastering my stroke. My last few years have been rough and<br />dissapointing, I've always been at the back of the pack, sort of the<br />runt of the team, and one thing that I think will really help me this<br />year is to have more leverage and power to send the boat and erg. That<br />and I want to look more muscular .... who doesn't?<br /><br /> Here is sort of a dilemma. I have a membership at the local YMCA,<br />but with school starting soon, fall rowing beginning and work I don't<br />think I'll be able to commit three 90 minute workouts into my schedule.<br /> And if I did it would be impossible to be consistent, and chances are<br />I would miss workouts. There is a weight room at our school, but it is<br />horribly out of date, and usually locked up.<br /><br /> I own a C2 Model-D, and we erg at school 6 times a week. I have a<br />swill ball, and about 50 pounds in free weights at my house, no pullup<br />bar. I was wondering if a bodyweight program would work, except I have<br />no real way to work my back, unless I use the C2 as a strengthening<br />tool.<br /><br /> I'm pretty much asking if there is a way to create a good programme with the tools I have available<br /><br /> If anyone can help me out i would be very greatful, as this will be<br />my last year of highschool and I want to make it a good one.<br /><br />Thank you

[[old] gibbo1969]

Ok.<br />1. If you want to put on weight of any sort you must consume more calories than you burn.........period. If you dont do this you may actually lose weight from the increased exercise.Building muscle is a balance of qulaity exercise and quality nutrition. Do you know how many calories you consume/burn per day? What is your proteins/carbs/fat mix? At your age your metabolism will be going at a million miles an hour and you will need to be eating six times a day with the right kind of meal size and nutrition to build lean muscle.<br />2. There are loads of excellent exercises you can do that you can do with little or no weight. Have a look at<br />www.ptonthenet.com<br />www.nasm.org<br />Combat conditioning by Matt Furey contains some great bodyweight exercises.<br />Both these sites focus more on functional strength and use lots of core training techniques which I think are great for rowers.<br />3. Bottom line is though if you want to build power and strength you will need to work with heavier weights. One good quality legs and back session per week will increase your strength. You would need to be working in the 6-8 rep range, 4-5 sets per exercise at 70-100% of your one rep max.<br />Before you do any of this for gods sake see someone who is qualified and can guide you the right way and show good technique.<br /><br />Good luck but be aware you will have to work extremely hard to make a real difference.

[[old] JimR]

You might find the training guide on the Concept2 British site useful, there are sections about weight training specific to rowing that might be of use. I'm not sure that general weight training with improve your rowing ... even the rowing specific exercises may not.<br /><br />If you want to row faster you should mostly row, or erg if you can't row. Maybe the erging/rowing you do 6 days a week is the issue.<br /><br />JimR

[[old] tditmar]

This site is very helpful with strenght training using the C2<br /><br /><br /><a href='http://home.hia.no/~stephens/rowstre.htm' target='_blank'>http://home.hia.no/~stephens/rowstre.htm</a>

[[old] Chris-lbc]

Here is a weightless circuit set that i was given it will work the quads mostly which won't make you look more muscular but it will make you row faster. Beware it is brutal the 10 minute warm up and cool down are absolutely neccessary. I hope this is helpful. <br /><br /><br />Format: Four (4) sets of repetitions for each exercise; no more than 30 seconds rest between sets unless otherwise noted. The focus of these weights is power and endurance; when done correctly, these will hurt. <br /><br />It is imperative that you warm up for at least 10 minutes before the session, it is also important to run as a cool-down for 10 minutes after (to buffer out the lactate from the muscles).<br /><br />Core exercises:<br /><br />1) Jump Squats 4 x 40 with full compression<br />2) Lunges 4x 40 (20 each leg per set)<br />3) Sit-ups 4 x 40<br />4) Push-ups 4x 20<br />5) Burpees 4X 40 *<br />6) Wall stands 4 x 1 minute with thighs // to floor *<br />7) Low-walks 4x 60 steps <br />8) Mullers 30 per leg x 4<br />9) Pull-ups (if possible) 4x10*<br />*if you have access to weights, substitute high rep squats, and back work for starred items.<br /><br /><br /><br />P.S Mullers involve placing one foot on a chair and lifting yourslef by straightening that leg and repeating, surprisingly hard.<br /><br />Go fast

[[old] akit110]

I think a regimen (and diet) that would help you pack on muscle mass is probably different from a weight-training regimen (and diet) designed to complement your rowing, which again, is probably different from one that relies on no weights and only your bodyweight. <br /><br />Obviously, there is some overlap in terms of the benefits, but I think it would be most effective to focus on what goal is most important to you (for the time being), find someone who can guide you in developing the appropriate training program for your goal, and then give 100% to it.<br /><br /><br /><br />