2000m row 7 minutes

[wilburshaw]

Hello, I’m pretty new to working out. Started in August and trying to just get my body healthy, but all I’ve really done is lost 30lbs (300lbs->270lbs).

I was recently offered a dream job, but I have to complete a 2000m row in around 7 minutes for my weight.

I’ve never rowed before, but my first attempt this morning was 2000m in 13:30minutes.

I have 10 days to get my time down with the possibility of a retry on an unknown date.

I know that it will be very very hard to get to 7 minutes, but I have saved enough vacation time at my current job to take off until the test date.

I don’t have anyone I know that works out and I can’t afford a personal trainer at the moment.
Is there any strategy I could use to try and get to this goal? I’m really not sure what I’m doing but I’ll do whatever it takes to get to this time.

TDLR: I need to cut my time in half in 10 days to get a job and I’m not sure how often or what I should do to get there.

 

[willfullyignorant]

@wilburshaw You have got to learn the technique very well. It will make it tremendously easier.
You can do it by watching YouTube and then film yourself and upload here on Reddit.
I'd do at least 2 workouts a day and keep high calorie diet. Make sure to rest 3 4 days before the test.

 

[wilburshaw]

@willfullyignorant Thank you!

 

[annamarie6991]

@wilburshaw

Thank you!

You're welcome!

 

[dawn16]

@wilburshaw I hate to say it, but this one is probably out of reach. 10 days is not enough to improve performance by any significant margin. Maybe you'll get lucky and the retest will be a few months from now and allow you more time to train.

 

[wilburshaw]

@dawn16 Thank you for your honesty. I’m assuming the retest will be sometime before Oct 30. I’ve shaved off 3 minutes, still not good enough lol, but I’m hoping a month of going at it hard will decrease my time while also decreasing my weight so I have more time to complete the test.

 

[dawn16]

@wilburshaw A month of hard work is much more plausible! Personally, I'd put all of my focus into rowing until the retest. There are some really great training programs out there, so I'd highly suggest you find one and train hard. Best of luck!

 

[wilburshaw]

@dawn16 Thank you! Money is tight unfortunately. Do you think just busting out 2k twice a day is the best way?

 

[dawn16]

@wilburshaw No. I'm not an experienced rower by any means, but when I'm trying to improve speed in an endurance event I mix up speed/threshold training and endurance work. I'd probably do something like this

Monday:

Morning- 6 rounds of 500 meter row sprints. You should be trying to finish each round in 1:45 seconds and keep rest between rounds to under 2 minutes.

Evening- 5000 meter slow row. I wouldn't be worried about speed at all for this one. Just slow and easy

Tuesday:

Morning: easy 2000 meters

Evening: 4 rounds as fast as you can and 1-2 minutes of rest between rounds

Round 1: 1000 meters
Round 2: 750 meters
Round 3: 500 meters
Round 4: 250 meters

Wednesday: do some sort of cardio other than rowing. Walk, run, jog, elliptical, bike, etc. Shoot for at least 30 minutes

Thursday: 10 rounds 500 meter row sprints

Friday:

Morning: 5000 meters easy

Evening: some form of cardio. walk, run, jog, elliptical, swim, bike, etc for at least 30 minutes

Saturday: rest and stretch

Sunday:

Morning: 2000 meter row test. Push as hard as you can and see where you're at

Evening: rest

 

[wilburshaw]

@dawn16 Awesome. Thank you so much for you help! I’ll get there