Weight loss

Dear Reader,

I wanted to go down to the Rowing Club tonight. I did. After all, I have paid my full year membership dues which buys me the right to attend club training. But I was too sick.

This is an unfortunate set back in my training and weight loss program. You see, competitive rowing favors those with tall, lanky body types, but the powers that be have taken pity on the height challenged rowing wannabes and created a competitive light-weight class for rowing competitions. To qualify, the competitor can weigh no more than 130 lbs.

Yesterday's weight? 135.6

My scale has apparently known for some time that my usual 135-140 weight range was unacceptable for my rowing ambitions. It's been telling me for months that I am "overfat". It didn't used to. In my early ownership days, the scale considered me "healthy". But I can only assume that while I am at work, it gossips with the appliances in my kitchen who are giving it an unfavorable report on my eating habits. Whatever the reason for the scale's "overfat" label, it is correct that I weigh too much to row competitively.

I am also too out of shape and weak to row competitively. For this reason, I bought athletic clothes and running shoes. And since I've paid good money for the Club membership and sporty clothing, now I feel obliged to make an effort to attend club training nights twice a week as well as actually going out on the water rowing over the weekend.

Last week was my first week of training. I was forced to run* on both nights. On the first night, I lifted a barbell (more than once!!). On the second night, I did two sessions on the rowing machines (called ergs or ergos, short for ergometers). My split times (average time to travel 500 meters) were 3 min 7 sec and 3 min 17 sec. This is really slow. Not only is it really slow, but apparently I wasn't working anywhere near as hard as I ought to have been. Common practice is to do your erg sessions with other people so you can match each others strokes. The two men I paced were gasping for air by the time we finished, while I just stood up, stretched a bit and walked away. There is obviously something wrong with my technique. (For reference, I provide a link to a video which demonstrates correct rowing technique. It's all in the legs, not the arms.)

So it's a pity that I couldn't go to training last night. My scale will scold me again in the morning, but perhaps I will be able to placate it with the fact that tonight I was too sick to eat**.

There's more than one way to weight loss.

Yours,
LeAn

*In conversation with coworkers, I once declared that "I don't run, unless perhaps I am being chased by a polar bear." Last week therefore represents significant personal growth.

** No need to worry. I'm hungry now, evidence that I'm feeling better.