Checking in at week 7. I dropped another 2 pounds to come in at 264. That makes 20 pounds total so far, or about 7% from where I started. Again, no negative side effects observed in terms of GLP-1 side effects, rowing and lifting remain strong. Gains in physical performance are less obvious now, but I also had a really busy week in terms of work and work travel, so I wasn’t able to be as physically active as usual. Still, the weight continues to come off and in the right places.
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Regarding my normal 20 minute warm up, I generally start out slow and easy, 2:20 at 17sr, and build a bit each 5 minutes. Looking at my log, my last was 5@2:19.2 sr17, 5@2:14.7 sr18, 5@2:09.8 sr19, 5@2:05.3sr20, but basically slowly building the whole 20 minutes. It comes out to 4550ish meters. By the last couple of minutes I’m pulling + or- 2:00 splits so the average for the whole 20 minutes is around 2:12-2:10sr18-19. Then I do a few 250s at my goal pace and rate before hitting my big set. Using the force curve display has really helped, smoothing my stroke and emphasizing my leg drive. Think using my method for long rows (1000×20 second rest x12-13), would suit you. Keeping it in the 2:20-2:15 range sr18-20. Work that leg drive. Drag factor for warm up and long rows are around 115, for hard sets 125-130, maybe a bit higher for shorter (250 or under) bits. I’d really recommend using that force curve display, and work on getting a smooth curve. Also recommend rowing with no straps for anything less than 24-25 Sr hard sets, will help with proper leg drive and form.
Congrats on the continuing weight loss success, keep it up. Maintain that 1 gram of protein per lb of weight, helps with everything!
Thanks for the detailed tips. I’ll try your warmup during today’s workout. I’ve been really shortcutting that, which is probably a limiting factor. I have similar settings on drag factor, so that’s a good reality check. I also warmup without straps and will probably incorporate that into my longer pieces. I think I’ll also try your multiple 1k with 20 seconds down at a lower pace, but I don’t know that I have 12-13 sets in me just yet - we’ll see. I’ll also check the force curve display. Honestly, I haven’t really utilized all of the functionality that’s there. Thanks again for being so helpful.
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I know several people who took Ozempic, including a relative of mine. The drug worked flawlessly for all of them, they lost a lot of weight and had no side effects with rare exceptions for some of them in the first week - slight headache and nausea. I think they all started with 0.5 mg. and after about a year of taking it, most of them switched to 1 mg., because they said that 0.5 mg. had stopped working. For my relative, even 1 mg. no longer worked and he started gaining weight again. He didn’t dare to look for other drugs with higher doses of Semaglutide. And if the drug simply suppressed appetite up to that point, then in order to maintain the achieved results he had to limit his eating. Which is already more difficult, because he felt hungry. He regained about 50% of the weight he lost. Yes, he really stopped exercising so actively and that may be the reason, but he told me that the drug no longer suppresses appetite as it used to.
I don’t mean to say that this will happen to everyone who uses it, I’m just sharing my personal impressions. But as far as I know, many people say that the doses they take stop working at some point. You can’t increase them indefinitely, after all.
I also tried 0.5 for a month about two years ago. Absolutely nothing happened to me. I didn’t lose weight from it, nor did my appetite change, which is why I stopped taking it. Last year I just went on a calorie deficit and in six months I lost about 55 pounds. Then I maintained what I had achieved for about 4-5 months and now I’ve started the process again to lose about 20 more pounds. In conclusion, I think that these drugs are good just to give you a head start or to remove more weight faster if you are very obese.
I tried a low stroke rate workout, and it was a good experience. I took a longer warm up, and then did the 1k row with 20 seconds off as you recommended. I only made it to 8 rounds - on the last one, I was starting to feel gassed. Still, I was able to hold 2:07.5 at 17 strokes per minute, no straps. It did take some adjustment, but I see how it helps with leg drive, so that was a great recommendation. I think I will try this again soon. It will take me a while to get up to 12-13 rounds like where you’re at. Anyway, thanks again for the advice.
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Thanks for sharing this. It’s a pretty subjective experience. I was really on the fence about it when I was thinking about starting because there are so many different experiences being reported. Even within the clinic that I go to, I’m having a better experience than most people. From what I understand so far, my advantage was that I was already lifting, rowing, and more or less eating well, too much, but well - I also ate breakfast all the time, took fiber, drank lots of water, etc. According to the doctor, most of the people who are on GLP-1s are only taking the shot and starting from a pretty sedentary place. For many, who don’t do much beyond the shots, the only move is to increase the dosage. Anyway, I thought that I would share my experience because I thought that there may be some other people like me who were doing most of the right things but are still stuck. Everyone will have their own experiences, but in my case, it’s so far so good - it’s working about as well as it could for now.
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At week 8, I’m down another 2 pounds to 262. Again, no changes in the experience. Still all systems are a go and remain positive. According to AI, it expects that my target is like 240 or 235, so I’m about halfway there.
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When I do those long 1000 sets, I keep it slow usually around 2:20-2:17, maybe a bit quicker when I’m in great shape. It may seem too slow/easy to increase your fitness, but it does in the aerobic way, which the 2K is mostly. But I feel refreshed at the end, totally working aerobic threshold but not really stressing my system, I leave that for the hard sets of 500s, 1000s etc… trying to keep 80% of my meters aerobic and relatively easy, the other 20% is the hard stuff that drains you. It’s the recipe the Olympic guys in all endurance sports use, rowing, cycling, xc skiing, running etc… Sounds like the weight loss is going great, keep it up, and keeping the protein high is crucial!
Thanks, that’s helpful advice in terms of programming. When you do the more intense workouts, have you ever tried the 30 seconds on/30 seconds off pre-programmed workout? I tried it on Thursday, and it was pretty interesting. My approach based more of wanted to practice good starts, but also to focus on leg drive at a somewhat higher stroke rate. I did 15 rounds at a 1:46.5/500 split while holding at 28 strokes per minute. The 30 seconds goes by quickly on the workout side, but also on the rest/recovery side. The closest thing I would equate it to would be like doing sets of 14-15 power clean reps with a 30 second break then repeating. I was really wiped out after that. I will definitely try a long aerobic threshold workout next as I need to go longer distances.
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Week 9 check-in. I’m a day early because I will be traveling this weekend. I’m down another pound despite having 6-days of foods that I enjoy, so that’s encouraging. Same dosage as before because there is still ongoing progress. I’ve had good workouts overall, and I’m feeling good - no negative side effects. I did take Mark’s suggestion and tried a lower intensity rowing workout - 16 strokes per minute 1K on, 20 seconds of rest for 10 rounds at 2:17/500. It was an interesting experience as I’m accustomed to having the rowing workouts as a beat down. I wouldn’t quite say that I found it refreshing, but it was relatively low stress, and I was able to add more meters in total.
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