Fat loss from rowing

[Kiwi_Rower]

Just curious on what other womens experience has been for weight loss and areas where fat drops off first. Obviously there is some weight gain from muscle building (the two places I have noticed first are biceps and calves) but just wondered how long it took to notice problem areas like tummy and thighs to start to recede. I am sure the length of time rowed in a single session impacts how long it takes to notice improvement, are there any good strategies for what you should work up to in a training session if this is one of your main goals?

[MomofJBN]

Last winter when I was rowing more, I noticed my thighs bulking up a bit (not necessarily what I wanted). My shoulders, too, but less so. As for whittling away, my tummy didn't disappear, but I was noticing the beginnings of 6-pack abs. Now I'm starting over.

I'm curious, too. What's everyone's experience on this?

[Afterburner]

How fast and where fat loss happens depends entirely on the person, it can be affected by diet, amount of time spent exercising, and genetics.
No one can tell you how long it will take you to see results. All that you can do is the right things and wait.
As for the right things here are a few tips:
1. Lift weights. Yes, you will probly see some muscle gain with this too, but it will mostly just lead to you looking leaner. It will also greatly accellerate the rate at which you lose the fat.
2. Do lots of long steady state rows. My personal favorites are the 60min piece, 2x6k, 10k, and 2x30min. Make sure when you do these that you are using good technique or else you are asking for injuries.
3. Run. Honestly, lots of lightweights out there have discovered this, the body seems to be more willing to lose weight if you're running than if you're just erging. No guarantees with this one, but if you can it's worth a try.
4. Diet. This is probly the most important one. You can work out like a demon and if you aren't eating right you'll just continue to gain fat. Figure out how many calories you need per day and approx how many you burn through exercise and eat about 500 less than that.
Hope this helps,
Heather

[grams]

I lost 35 pounds when I started rowing, but the weight didn't start going down till I had worked my way up to 45 minute or longer sessions. Before that, (15-30 minutes sessions) was the muscle-building part. I don't erg every day.

Diet-fruit juice, coffee with milk & sugar, juices, hard candy to get me through the day, and a big salad with lots of protein for dinner. A beer at night-maybe some dried fruit or veggie sticks. I don't skimp on protein. It takes me 3 weeks on this regime to get my metabolism ramped up and my cravings for cals and fats to go away.

Weight came off first in my boobs, however my shoulders and pecs got more defined at the same time, so the overall effect was good.

Next, legs. Erging develops long muscles, so I started wearing my 505 straight-legs jeans again.

Lastly, overall body fat and belly fat. This is where the 50 min- 1 hour sessions can really remove fat. I lost at the rate of about 2 pounds a week after I had been erging for a couple of months. Had to buy a whole new wardrobe!

Due to injuries, I'm carrying around an extra 15 pounds, so I'm going throught the drill again. I'm at 3 weeks and feeling better.

Its back to the erg this morning, with my tv and my stereo to make the time go by faster. Iwould spend the time on the couch watching the news anyway, so I simply do it on the erg.

grams, 64 yo, at 150 lbs, headed for 135 and lightweight

[stargazertechie]

I was on the water August-November and then just moved indoors

I've lost 25lbs so far, and the majority has been since I started erging every day... A lot of weight in my hips is GONE and my shoulders are slimmer

[christinabellag]

Hello,

I've noticed that if I erg before a meal I will be more likely to eat well, and eat less, with the benefit of burning off those calories not yet used from the last meal. I prefer to erg on as empty a stomach as possible...

How do you keep from going crazy erging 1 hour? I can do 30 minutes... but an hour... wow. I'm impressed.

[kit44]

Something else to kep in mind when trying to get rid of the belly fat - first, of course, is to be aware of your abs while rowing - keep them taut (engage the core!) while rowing - this works the transverse abdominus whose main function is to hold everything in - the six pack muscles are pretty but it's the T.A. that gives you the flat tummy! (also helps for protecting those back muslces!)
Also, when looking at diet - get rid of trans-fats wherever you can - that's the proven culprit for weight gain in the belly. Read labels, watch for all that hydrogenated stuff, do your own baking whenever you can, switch from butter and regular margarine to canola and olive oil- thank heavens the North American food industry is finally starting to switch over - but they'll be slow unless we help by not buying the bad stuff. And eat oats - the slow cooking stuff is the best, but even instant oatmeal or Cheerios will do in a pinch - it helps to regulate your blood sugar all day so you're not reaching for a donut at 10am, and it helps to keep your arteries clean. And yes indeed - fit and fat is better than not fit and fat or thin - every day we get on the erg (or go for a walk, lift weights etc) is better than nothing. You didn't gain it in a month, you won't lose it in a month, no matter what all those diet plans say. Slow and steady is the way to go, no matter how frustrating it may be!
Kit

[Kiwi_Rower]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm aiming for early April to notice some decent improvement. The biggest thing for me is cutting out the soda, haven't gone cold turkey but I am definately consuming a whole lot less. Yesterday I did a flat-out sprint on 500m to see what kind of time I could clock, 2:06.7 so nothing fantastic for a 36yr old but hey its still a personal best since it was my first shot at that distance and I noticed that it worked my Infraspinatus/Teres major muscle area, woo!

[Ducatista]

Also, when looking at diet - get rid of trans-fats wherever you can - that's the proven culprit for weight gain in the belly.

"The proven culprit" is a little strong for a single study of 51 Rhesus monkeys—thought the results were pretty amazing. Not only did trans-fats add more new fat, they moved fat from other areas of the body to the belly. Next up: ads from the Trans-Fats Promotional Council saying "Want slimmer hips? Eat trans-fats!"

One contributor to belly fat with a little more data to back it up: genetics. Unfortunately, you can't cut that from your diet, so you may as well axe the TFs. They're nasty on a lot of levels.

[margaret]

Personally, I see loss first around the ribs, then more slowly in the chest/bust, belly & hips. Arms & thighs change very slowly for me. That is, I look like a smaller fat person . But I'm not done yet.

[kit44]

Also, when looking at diet - get rid of trans-fats wherever you can - that's the proven culprit for weight gain in the belly.

"The proven culprit" is a little strong for a single study of 51 Rhesus monkeys—thought the results were pretty amazing. Not only did trans-fats add more new fat, they moved fat from other areas of the body to the belly. Next up: ads from the Trans-Fats Promotional Council saying "Want slimmer hips? Eat trans-fats!"

One contributor to belly fat with a little more data to back it up: genetics. Unfortunately, you can't cut that from your diet, so you may as well axe the TFs. They're nasty on a lot of levels.

Ok - I'll modify "proven" to "suspected" - though I still believe it to be true! And since they are nasty on a lot of levels - why not get rid of those you can and see if that helps.
And genetics, while proven, really can't account for the vast numbers of adults and children without waists (at least visible waists) these days. Again many factors at work, but a generally sluggish lifestyle used to lead to more women with big hips than big bellies, - so again, I tend to believe those monkeys! The "TF promotional council" seems to have won!