Pondering the Beginner Pete Plan

[grahamf]

Grahamf I am slightly concerned about the HR. If your RHR is 50. Ok, idk what your max HR is. If it’s 175 then your 152 is still over 80% of your heart rate reserve which is past UT1. I suggest getting a fan. Don’t go any faster for the next 6 weeks - wait for the fitness to improve. 6000m is not that bad for UT1 but there are recovery issues with UT1 rather than UT2 even if the UT1 effect is greater

My exercise heartrate is always a little odd. Just sitting on the rower (or my bike) my HR will go over a 100. A few years back I got tested out by a cardiologist. My heartrate rocketed up on the exercise bike and then stayed there. Eventually he decided that he wanted to go home for the night and that I could stop - I was set for the night, no problem. (His nurse, holding the defibrillator, seemed a bit disappointed... )

I do have a fan, which I run at gale force. I get hot and sweaty very quickly, even with the fan. My last house had air conditioning, and even that made little difference.

[grahamf]

I've a high hr for the physiological responses associated with the various training zones used in rowing circles; in this 15k row I was breathing once per stroke for the first 50mins (starting to switch to a 2:3 breathing:stroke ratio after that) , sweating (for me) was minimal on a warm evening; rate, form & posture were consistent throughout - and I had enough in the tank to crank it up to 290W (1:46 pace) for a ego driven strapless sprint into AN at the end - hit my max Hr in the process.

Hats off to you, Peter. I can only dream of doing a 15k piece at that rate.

[iain]

Grahamf I am slightly concerned about the HR. If your RHR is 50. Ok, idk what your max HR is. If it’s 175 then your 152 is still over 80% of your heart rate reserve which is past UT1. I suggest getting a fan. Don’t go any faster for the next 6 weeks - wait for the fitness to improve. 6000m is not that bad for UT1 but there are recovery issues with UT1 rather than UT2 even if the UT1 effect is greater

My exercise heartrate is always a little odd. Just sitting on the rower (or my bike) my HR will go over a 100. A few years back I got tested out by a cardiologist. My heartrate rocketed up on the exercise bike and then stayed there. Eventually he decided that he wanted to go home for the night and that I could stop - I was set for the night, no problem. (His nurse, holding the defibrillator, seemed a bit disappointed... )

I do have a fan, which I run at gale force. I get hot and sweaty very quickly, even with the fan. My last house had air conditioning, and even that made little difference.

There is huge variation in the %ages of either HGRR or HRMax at which our systems undergo changes and so the impact of any same proportion will be radically different between people. SOme research has shown that some4 will be in UT2 while others are in TR at the same % HRR or HRMAx! SO we cannot generalise!

[PleaseLockIn]

Grahamf I am slightly concerned about the HR. If your RHR is 50. Ok, idk what your max HR is. If it’s 175 then your 152 is still over 80% of your heart rate reserve which is past UT1. I suggest getting a fan. Don’t go any faster for the next 6 weeks - wait for the fitness to improve. 6000m is not that bad for UT1 but there are recovery issues with UT1 rather than UT2 even if the UT1 effect is greater

My exercise heartrate is always a little odd. Just sitting on the rower (or my bike) my HR will go over a 100. A few years back I got tested out by a cardiologist. My heartrate rocketed up on the exercise bike and then stayed there. Eventually he decided that he wanted to go home for the night and that I could stop - I was set for the night, no problem. (His nurse, holding the defibrillator, seemed a bit disappointed... )

I do have a fan, which I run at gale force. I get hot and sweaty very quickly, even with the fan. My last house had air conditioning, and even that made little difference.

There is huge variation in the %ages of either HGRR or HRMax at which our systems undergo changes and so the impact of any same proportion will be radically different between people. SOme research has shown that some4 will be in UT2 while others are in TR at the same % HRR or HRMAx! SO we cannot generalise!

That is true, however I see many national teams use HR zones that are so similar.

I wonder which research… how some are in UT2 and others at TR? It’s quite amazing if someone’s UT2 is 80% HRR, which… is high but I can see it

I know some were outliers. I was a bit worried if Grahamf was going too hard on the steady state. Most university and above rowers I know do their steady state well clear of 80% HRR most of the time for recovery purposes and the lactate is usually too high at that level

2:00 r20, 2:00 r20, 2:00 r20, 2:04 r22, 2:01 r21. Made the BPP more challenging - 5*1000m 1R. Average barely at r20 (I overrated a bit on the r20 but it rounded down). I have done similar things overrating on 30r20 but was fortunate the PM5 rounded down

Still a bit stressed but things are getting a bit better. Counselors are good. Sleep was OK but not ideal. Hydration OK. Felt on a pretty decent day I might have managed sub 2:00 r20 5*1000m 1R but oh well. 2:01 average. Often the ego presumes you are doing a TT in ideal conditions when you are far from it. at least i finished but the suffering was a lot more than it had to be.

To grahamf: if so then I’m not sure as RPE seems OK (pleasantly tired, Lydiard style) but your HR is quite high

Have you done lactate testing before?

What did your university coach said about steady state?

Some people’s lactate zones are quite far from usual - maybe you could go to an exercise lab and see your LT1 LT2?

[p_b82]

Hats off to you, Peter. I can only dream of doing a 15k piece at that rate.

With a bit of consistency dreams can become reality - if you enjoy erging at any rate!

29/06/22 10:04 2,013m 2:30.0 <-- my first row that left me a gasping wreck at the end

I only row 3x a week typically, but below shows the progress I've personally made just through the consistency of getting on, and just trying a little progressive overload (just completed 2.5M meters since that first erg this month)

27/10/22 1:24:00 15,094m 2:46.9 <-- first 15k I attempted - with an artificially low Hr until I started to ignore the "rules"
02/12/22 15000m 1:17:30.7 2:35.0
06/11/23 15000m 1:08:32.7 2:17.0 <-- this was at r20 as I spent '23 really working on my stroke efficiency & set myself some "silly" r20 challenges.
22/03/24 15000m 1:06:59.8 2:13.9 <-- this was just before I completed my FM
24/25 season highest distance was:
15/03/25 1:04:00 14,016m 2:17.0 <-- FM burnt me out mentally from the longer stuff so a year's break from anything over 50mins.
04/07/25 1:06:30 15,029m 2:12.7 <-- the row I linked.

[iain]

...I see many national teams use HR zones that are so similar.

That surprises me, are they actually regulating their training by these zones or merely recording it on standardised Apps? There is a large range even amongst fit individuals although much less than in the population at large.

I wonder which research…

eg running at https://runningwritings.com/2025/02/lt1 ... ation.html

2:00 r20, 2:00 r20, 2:00 r20, 2:04 r22, 2:01 r21. Made the BPP more challenging - 5*1000m 1R. Average barely at r20 (I overrated a bit on the r20 but it rounded down). I have done similar things overrating on 30r20 but was fortunate the PM5 rounded down

Still a bit stressed but things are getting a bit better. Counselors are good. Sleep was OK but not ideal. Hydration OK. Felt on a pretty decent day I might have managed sub 2:00 r20 5*1000m 1R but oh well. 2:01 average. Often the ego presumes you are doing a TT in ideal conditions when you are far from it. at least i finished but the suffering was a lot more than it had to be.

You could have been 1 higher in one of the intervals and still been rounded down! Glad things are improving. Pete used 6 x 1k r1' as a 5k predictor, no idea what effect the lower rating has on this or the difference between 5 & 6, but I would rate that well ahead of your recent 30R20 and really encouraging.

[PleaseLockIn]

...I see many national teams use HR zones that are so similar.

That surprises me, are they actually regulating their training by these zones or merely recording it on standardised Apps? There is a large range even amongst fit individuals although much less than in the population at large.

I wonder which research…

eg running at https://runningwritings.com/2025/02/lt1 ... ation.html

2:00 r20, 2:00 r20, 2:00 r20, 2:04 r22, 2:01 r21. Made the BPP more challenging - 5*1000m 1R. Average barely at r20 (I overrated a bit on the r20 but it rounded down). I have done similar things overrating on 30r20 but was fortunate the PM5 rounded down

Still a bit stressed but things are getting a bit better. Counselors are good. Sleep was OK but not ideal. Hydration OK. Felt on a pretty decent day I might have managed sub 2:00 r20 5*1000m 1R but oh well. 2:01 average. Often the ego presumes you are doing a TT in ideal conditions when you are far from it. at least i finished but the suffering was a lot more than it had to be.

You could have been 1 higher in one of the intervals and still been rounded down! Glad things are improving. Pete used 6 x 1k r1' as a 5k predictor, no idea what effect the lower rating has on this or the difference between 5 & 6, but I would rate that well ahead of your recent 30R20 and really encouraging.

Yes. Some team members had ego problems of doing steady state too hard so they were forced to regulate their speed.

https://plus.britishrowing.org/wp-conte ... Matrix.pdf says below 75% max HR. This will put my limit at low 150s which is very low. At 2:27-2:29 after 1 hour I almost hit 160.

https://www.phrc.org.au/news/heart-rate-training-zones “Base fitness” (UT2) as 60-70% what are they smoking? Is it possible to have these sessions be productive at such a low exertion? Surely they can’t be doing 3h of steady in one go!

https://rowingcanada.org/uploads/2021/0 ... ensity.pdf And this is a bit something.

https://rowingcanada.org/uploads/2019/0 ... iew-en.pdf Dang

But I tried a 45’ UT3 session. Splits were in the 2:30s. I was also not rested and had little sleep so didn’t have enough in the tank for UT2

But I wonder whether I should still cap at 160 or be even more conservative and cap at 150-155?

Bodes well but the issue is that I am significantly better at sprinting than continuous rows. My 30R20 is 172W yet my true UT2 is probably not higher than 110W

Should I insist on 30R20 + 20 (2:26-2:27) and just row even if HR goes up? I honestly don’t know

[Nomark]

With a bit of consistency dreams can become reality - if you enjoy erging at any rate!

This is the most accurate statement I think I have seen. Rowing is so appealing because it gives almost instant feedback, especially as a beginner and you continually shock yourself with what becomes an achievable target. Anyone can and will improve with dedication and consistency.

2:00 r20, 2:00 r20, 2:00 r20, 2:04 r22, 2:01 r21. Made the BPP more challenging - 5*1000m 1R. Average barely at r20 (I overrated a bit on the r20 but it rounded down). I have done similar things overrating on 30r20 but was fortunate the PM5 rounded down

That is a great performance PLI, glad to see you have stuck with it and are reaping the benefits. Especially as I know the weather at this time if the year is not conducive to optimal performance for you. How long till the trials?

Should I insist on 30R20 + 20 (2:26-2:27) and just row even if HR goes up? I honestly don’t know

This is where it comes down to personal preference and how much recovery time you have. I'm sure all those links you quoted are the correct approach for semi-pros (and maybe for you considering the volume you do) but I often only row 3-4 times a week so having a SS that is recoverable daily is not as necessary.

So for you it depends what you are trying to get out of it and when your next session is scheduled. If you need fast recovery keep the HR limited. If you want to see what you are capable of and can take a day off then go for it!

I'm going to do a 2k time trial to get a pre-Pete baseline (I'd speculate 7:45 +/- 0.15) this week.

Any advice for a noob like me starting Pete's?

It sounds slightly flippant but the main advice I have is just get going and keep at it. The main thing is to try and get atuned to your body and your recovery time and then try and stick consistently with the plan, adjusting your sessions as needed based on your body. The plan is great because it's constantly pushing you to go just a fraction further and a fraction faster each week, with the philosophy of "you just did 5k last week, surely you can do 5,500m today?".

It's not even necessary to have a 2k time although it's nice to see what kind of progress you will make. But in short, don't psych yourself out of it. Get started and you will be shocked with the improvement as the weeks go by. But you already sound very fit so it should be a breeze for you.

[rdraheim]

It sounds slightly flippant but the main advice I have is just get going and keep at it. The main thing is to try and get atuned to your body and your recovery time and then try and stick consistently with the plan, adjusting your sessions as needed based on your body. The plan is great because it's constantly pushing you to go just a fraction further and a fraction faster each week, with the philosophy of "you just did 5k last week, surely you can do 5,500m today?".

It's not even necessary to have a 2k time although it's nice to see what kind of progress you will make. But in short, don't psych yourself out of it. Get started and you will be shocked with the improvement as the weeks go by. But you already sound very fit so it should be a breeze for you.

I will start next week. I've been logging some beginning rows while working on form. It;'s still not quite there yet but it gets better every session.

Last week (5 days of 5k to 6k rows with some form work)
This week (a 500m test with warm-up/cooldown, and 3 days of 6k rows with a HRM at 140.)

I'll try to start the Pete next Monday and see where it takes me.

Also, you don't sound flippant. I just wanted to get some days of rowing in and I'm quite pleased that the body recovers better than running at my age!

[iain]

Bodes well but the issue is that I am significantly better at sprinting than continuous rows. My 30R20 is 172W yet my true UT2 is probably not higher than 110W

Should I insist on 30R20 + 20 (2:26-2:27) and just row even if HR goes up? I honestly don’t know

There are no prizes for going faster on recovery rows, so don't stress it. Only an issue if you are taking a day off or more after. I can honestly never remember NOT being able to do a UT2, (not motivated - plenty of times) to the extent that I once did a UT1 while in the latter (recovery) stages of a migraine, 10k at what was then 2k best + 14S (This was when being trained by Pete, so 6 sessions a week 3 hard and 3 UT1 in my late 30s). But we are all different and you need to respond to your body. My point was NOT that we can all row at higher HR, it is that there are different appropriate %HRs for different people and it may be that your thresholds are relatively lower than your TT capacity, but are you sure that it was the rowing that is the issue and you don't have the start of an infection?

A big part of improving times is establishing what you can endure and then delivering this for what seems an eternity. I personally favour a sequential approach to this:

1) get comfortable churning out long rows when fatigued at low pace so that 30 min becomes an encouraging time left ("only another half hour!)
2) get used to rowing at a faster pace (and rate)than required for 1k+ so I know that I can hold TT pace and rate "for a while", ie "only 2k pace" mind set. Then I can get into a "I can maintain TT pace for an extra ...min so don't need to slow now" mindset when it gets tough.
3) row >50% of intended TT at TT pace to establish that I can maintain that pace during the "psychological" phase of the TT where physically I am way off my limit but I may be influenced by doubts over the distance I have to go. Then in real thing I can dismiss doubts prior to that point.

Finally I fix in my head the times that I have "had to" slow down but then have gone significantly faster in the end. Most noticeably a 5k pace where I slowed to target +6S with a few strokes +9S at beginning of last 1k but finished last 500 under target hitting 3S under target. Also a 4 x 1k interval session where I H/D on the final interval but immediately picked up the handle and did remaining 850 at faster than both target and the other 3 intervals. SO I know that when I think I have reached my limits there is always more for me to use.

Bit of a diversion, but by doing much slower SS, you need to remain strong on the ability to perform for a significant time (1 above) and not let the lower pace of this compromise 3.

Re HR%ages interesting approach by Canada clearly way out for those with lower than normal HR (although it does say "say 180 - 200"). They need to put something and these may apply to the majority of the fit rowers they are aimed at. They will be well aware that most will have a coach to adjust these for those it doesn't work for! My point was that they probably don't use %ages for the national level athletes!