Physiological limits and psychological limits and the no-mans land in-between: The Erg - Part 1
Ok, apologies for this rather delayed post. The rigours of a full academic life, as well as the not inconsiderate but rather wonderful demands of my two small children make writing tricky. Saying this though I still manage to erg.
Oh yes. It’s time to talk erg. For my non-rowing readers this is the erg:
Which in many ways is a modern version of this:
Am I sellling this to you?
A device of ingenious design, a design made to inflict both bodily and psychological pain. It’s a love- hate relationship you have with this thing (mostly hate for some people I appreciate). For me it keeps me fit, fitter than I have ever been, and it teaches me things. Mostly how to take increasing levels of discomfort and pain and to skirt the border between not-being-sick and being-sick. It’s an essential tool for the rower, ideal for training through the winter when light prohibits water time.
I, being perhaps a little strange, erg all the time. Summer, winter, day, night, inside and outside, in rain, in snow (see 'on the way to erg' picture below). I have to get my erg fix. Of late I have managed 4-5 ergs a week, pretty consistently, for almost a year now. It’s is a perfect way to keep fit and as a psychologist it teaches me things about sport psychology, and about myself, all the time. The reason for this is because of the sheer brutality of it. It’s you and the screen and lots and lots of meters. Whether it is a 10k, a half marathon, a dreaded 2k or a 30 minute piece they all require a level of mental toughness and a high level of motivation. The erg is always pushing you to push yourself.
What I wanted to share with you on this post was a recent change in my erg training and what I think this can tells us about preparation in training, the need for goals and the need to push yourself psychologically.
What I am on about here is the need to set yourself goals when training. It sounds rather obvious I appreciate however how often do you actually do this? Be honest with yourself, what kind of goals do you have? Over the last three years I have improved on the erg, getting quicker, longer distances etc. Initialy in big leaps but as time and the miles have passed me by these improvements have got smaller/non-exsistent. Take the 30 minute erg. I have always wanted to get to 8k in 30 minutes. Don’t ask me why, its like a quest for the holy erg grail for me. I NEED this. I HAVE to find a way to do this. Its been rather elusive. Until now!
How to achieve this though? What I have done is I have started to be much more focused on each 30 minute erg in terms of my goals for that session. What am I trying to achieve? 8k you fool I hear you say. The reality is though that goal doesn’t work for me. I sit down with only that goal and sometimes I get close, more often than not I blow out after 20 minutes and limp to the end. However, of late I am under 100 meters to the target, the prize is in sight.....how have I done this?
Firstly, by setting a goal each time that is an incremental step to the end outcome I want. In my case a .1 second split difference, using a pace boat, and being realistic with what is achievable for that particular session. It’s simple, easy to do and it works. Loads of research has found setting realistic, achievable and challenging goals, that one revisits and changes as one moves toward the ultimate outcome, makes it much more likely you will get closer to your end goal. It works (Weinberg 2010; 2013; SMART goals are one framework worth looking at - https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm).
The other equally important thing is being prepared to challenge yourself. Being comfortable doesn't get you where you want to go. You need to set a goal that is tough. You have to be prepared to suffer (a bit anyway). I knew todays 10k split average I was going for (to give an example) was a little quicker than last time (1.57 vs 1.58 from last week). It felt do-able though but I knew it was going to be hard, a slog, to keep at that pace throughout the piece.
If you would have told me I was going to try this a month ago I would have kicked your cat and made that tutting sound some people make when they are disappointed in you (sorry mum). But by jove it worked. I shaved 20 odd seconds off last weeks time. I have made progress. It felt gooood.
The key point here is what you think you can achieve, tempered with some goal setting principles, makes it achievable. You have to have a plan AND you have to believe you can do it. You have to believe you can take the discomfort, that you can achieve more than last time, that you are going to make it.
Trust me. This works.
The key take home message for you out there who wants to be quicker/faster etc....
- Be bold and brave - you are capable of more than you think
- Don’t just sit there and see what happens each time you train.... prepare yourself, set realistic, achievable and challenging goals
- Feel good when you meet the goal then...
- Set a new goal for the next time, using the same principles and repeat
- Believe in yourself; you can mentally take this...if you believe it your body will follow you
Let me know how you get on...
References
Weinberg, R. S. (2010). Goal setting for coaches: a primer. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, v. 1, p. 57-65.
Weinberg, R. (2013). Goal setting in sport and exercise: research and practical applications. Revista da Educação Física / UEM. 24. 171-179.
Oh yes. It’s time to talk erg. For my non-rowing readers this is the erg:
Which in many ways is a modern version of this:
Am I sellling this to you?
A device of ingenious design, a design made to inflict both bodily and psychological pain. It’s a love- hate relationship you have with this thing (mostly hate for some people I appreciate). For me it keeps me fit, fitter than I have ever been, and it teaches me things. Mostly how to take increasing levels of discomfort and pain and to skirt the border between not-being-sick and being-sick. It’s an essential tool for the rower, ideal for training through the winter when light prohibits water time.
I, being perhaps a little strange, erg all the time. Summer, winter, day, night, inside and outside, in rain, in snow (see 'on the way to erg' picture below). I have to get my erg fix. Of late I have managed 4-5 ergs a week, pretty consistently, for almost a year now. It’s is a perfect way to keep fit and as a psychologist it teaches me things about sport psychology, and about myself, all the time. The reason for this is because of the sheer brutality of it. It’s you and the screen and lots and lots of meters. Whether it is a 10k, a half marathon, a dreaded 2k or a 30 minute piece they all require a level of mental toughness and a high level of motivation. The erg is always pushing you to push yourself.
What I wanted to share with you on this post was a recent change in my erg training and what I think this can tells us about preparation in training, the need for goals and the need to push yourself psychologically.
What I am on about here is the need to set yourself goals when training. It sounds rather obvious I appreciate however how often do you actually do this? Be honest with yourself, what kind of goals do you have? Over the last three years I have improved on the erg, getting quicker, longer distances etc. Initialy in big leaps but as time and the miles have passed me by these improvements have got smaller/non-exsistent. Take the 30 minute erg. I have always wanted to get to 8k in 30 minutes. Don’t ask me why, its like a quest for the holy erg grail for me. I NEED this. I HAVE to find a way to do this. Its been rather elusive. Until now!
How to achieve this though? What I have done is I have started to be much more focused on each 30 minute erg in terms of my goals for that session. What am I trying to achieve? 8k you fool I hear you say. The reality is though that goal doesn’t work for me. I sit down with only that goal and sometimes I get close, more often than not I blow out after 20 minutes and limp to the end. However, of late I am under 100 meters to the target, the prize is in sight.....how have I done this?
Firstly, by setting a goal each time that is an incremental step to the end outcome I want. In my case a .1 second split difference, using a pace boat, and being realistic with what is achievable for that particular session. It’s simple, easy to do and it works. Loads of research has found setting realistic, achievable and challenging goals, that one revisits and changes as one moves toward the ultimate outcome, makes it much more likely you will get closer to your end goal. It works (Weinberg 2010; 2013; SMART goals are one framework worth looking at - https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm).
The other equally important thing is being prepared to challenge yourself. Being comfortable doesn't get you where you want to go. You need to set a goal that is tough. You have to be prepared to suffer (a bit anyway). I knew todays 10k split average I was going for (to give an example) was a little quicker than last time (1.57 vs 1.58 from last week). It felt do-able though but I knew it was going to be hard, a slog, to keep at that pace throughout the piece.
If you would have told me I was going to try this a month ago I would have kicked your cat and made that tutting sound some people make when they are disappointed in you (sorry mum). But by jove it worked. I shaved 20 odd seconds off last weeks time. I have made progress. It felt gooood.
The key point here is what you think you can achieve, tempered with some goal setting principles, makes it achievable. You have to have a plan AND you have to believe you can do it. You have to believe you can take the discomfort, that you can achieve more than last time, that you are going to make it.
Trust me. This works.
The key take home message for you out there who wants to be quicker/faster etc....
- Be bold and brave - you are capable of more than you think
- Don’t just sit there and see what happens each time you train.... prepare yourself, set realistic, achievable and challenging goals
- Feel good when you meet the goal then...
- Set a new goal for the next time, using the same principles and repeat
- Believe in yourself; you can mentally take this...if you believe it your body will follow you
Let me know how you get on...
References
Weinberg, R. S. (2010). Goal setting for coaches: a primer. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, v. 1, p. 57-65.
Weinberg, R. (2013). Goal setting in sport and exercise: research and practical applications. Revista da Educação Física / UEM. 24. 171-179.
'8k in 30 minutes' - I can't imagine this. I do 5k in about 20 which would mean 7.5 in 30, how on earth do I make up 2.5k,or just seems unobtainable. Maybe small increments is the key.
ReplyDeleteSmall increments, LOTs of varied training on the erg, you will get there I have no doubt
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