I know that I was tired, and I did try ... but still, I knew that if I wanted to achieve that sub-2 min row, then I'd have to practice.
So, this morning I got up, finished the bit of work that I had to do, and headed to the gym.
I had boxing scheduled for the evening so I didn't want to overdo it. I decided to practice 2 skills - jump rope and rowing.
My workout in the morning was:
200 jump rope skips followed by a 500 m row.
I repeated that 5 times.
My fastest 500 m row was completed in 2 min 5 sec.
So bloody close!
I'm amazed at how exhausting rowing is. The first 300 meters is fine, and then the fatigue starts to set it. All of a sudden you're looking at the bar in front of you thinking, pulling it shouldn't be hard - and then you go to pull it and think - why is the bar so heavy?!
Getting the coordination and technique right is essential. I don't think I'm rowing efficiently. I'm sure that if I work on that I'll be able to shave those extra seconds off.
In the late afternoon I headed to boxing class. We had a really good session. I'm enjoying the mini sparring bouts that we're doing. I'd actually like to focus on that more because I think it'll help me improve my reflexes and actually think more about what I have to do. There was one point during the sparring session that the coach was punching (lightly tapping) at my gloves which were guarding my face and all I kept thinking was - what the hell should I do? He's punching at me ... and that's when he told me to focus on what areas of his body were open (his abdominal region) and go for that. Once he said that, it clicked and I was able to work on reading my opponent more instead of just focusing on defending myself.
It was a good lesson.
I love bag work/pad work, but I think it's only sparring that will really prepare you for thinking on your feet and landing good punches.
My legs are incredibly sore from today's rowing. Who would have thought that just under 13 minutes of rowing would leave me so sore. I felt a bit wobbly in my high heels in the evening ... but that sore feeling is so satisfying!
Hi! Do you refocus each minute you are rowing? When I did my best rowing, I rowed a one minute race, and then started a new race the next minute. Also, I did a certain amount of strokes with arm emphasis, then a certain amount of strokes with leg emphasis, and then a few really long strokes, and then did that pattern all over again, to give different body parts a little break. I think that improving in rowing is more mental work than it is getting physically better. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteBut also, if you were tired, then you were. That's okay. You have been exercising a LOT lately! I personally would be exhausted(!) with your exercise schedule. One day of exercise might be making you too tired to do your best for the next day of exercise.
:-) Marion