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weight loss for coxswains
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robin_d...@hotmail.com
Apr 14, 2014, 6:22:06 AM4/14/14
to
I should stress that I am not normally an advocate of daft crash diets and people trying to weigh in on prescribed minima. Firstly, our club is not competing at the highest level, and secondly, a happy and confident cox is a lot more use than one who is exhausted, grumpy, and distracted owing to hunger. There are obvious health implications when coaches go to town on the coxswain's weight as well.
In my case, fatherhood has meant nearly 3 years away from regular club gym sessions (I used to do the warmups and ergos with the rowers I was coaching twice a week) and I no longer cycle 2-3000km per year commuting etc owing to the need to drive to nursery and back on the way to work. Nor can I cycle recreationally at the weekends owing to childcare requirements, so essentially my normal exercise levels have plummeted while diet has remained largely the same.
I was horrified, 3 weeks ahead of a sprint regatta this year to find that I weigh 74kg, some 8kg more than my "happy fat cox" weight, and 13kg more than I weighed coxing at our sole attempt to qualify for Henley in 2001.
My normal response if asked this question by a third party would be "eat less and do more exercise".
Can anyone come up with more imaginative suggestions to lose weight quickly and safely (apart from amputation)? I have found myself wondering if there is anything in the rules of racing preventing me from coxing while holding a large bunch of helium balloons, but I suspect my crew might notice.
For instance - Carl - could you market something called CDRS "Lyteners" - that clip onto a cox and reduce their weight by precisely-defined decrements?
cheers!
Carl
Apr 14, 2014, 6:51:28 AM4/14/14
to
it right now - starting with a breakfast cereal which expands by a
controlled % in the stomach for a few hours before it is digested, so
you lack room for lunch.
But I can't support either selective amputation or helium balloons. The
former 'cos it's exactly what in these strange, obsessive times you
certainly don't need to add pressure on already stressed coxes, the
latter due to the wind resistance they'd cause & the squeaky voice you
have if the balloons started to leak. Mind you, if you could hang just
in contact with the shell you'd be contributing useful inertia to damp
out the speed oscillations while reducing displacement to reduce wetted
surface.
So, if you are 13kg "overweight", by how much are the rowers over their
own ideal weights? They might be as slim as greyhounds, but somehow I
suspect they'll be ever so slightly on the comfortable side of
athletically slim. In which case tell 'em to relax, to stop worrying
about weight issues (which often causes additional eating) & agree to a
whole-crew weight reduction program with a whole crew weight target.
Then go out & find yourself a surreptitious tasty pie, or 3!
Cheers -
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
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Email: ca...@carldouglasrowing.com Tel: +44(0)1932-570946 Fax: -563682
URLs: carldouglasrowing.com & now on Facebook @ CarlDouglasRacingShells
Brian Chapman
Apr 14, 2014, 7:02:30 AM4/14/14
to
Enjoy!
James HS
Apr 14, 2014, 8:55:48 AM4/14/14
to
Well it is not going to happen in 3 weeks!
The key is to look at sustainable weight loss and look at the two ends of the problem - so the suggestion of UT2s is a good one - but intervals and HITT have also been shown to encourage weight loss through fat use during recovery.
Walking, cycling, swimming & rowing
So then there are the calories in - and this is not as straightforward as pure reduction - or something stupid like carb exclusion, but calorie deficit and how to cope with it.
The current trend for 'fasting' is actually a fairly effective technique - forget all the waffle, it is just calorie reduction (you do not eat enough to make up the loss on the 'feed days' - that is how it works) and men tend to respond to the fasting as a manly way of 'dieting'.
You can also coordinate the fast days for the regatta as there is a free kilo right there :)
on non fast days make sure that you have a higer ratio of fat/protein/veggies than carbs. Carbs are the wick that burns the fat - so their exclusion is not helpful, but we eat to large an amount of readily available carbs at the moment and there is no doubt that swapping slower release and smaller proportion of carbs really assists a 'diet'.
The iresistable combination of sugar/fat is the one to avoid as there is NO satiation signal.
Whereas protein/fat combination satiate fairly quickly - oily fish, cheese, meats are all good for this, and then veggies for all the good stuff and to keep everything moving.
If you do a sensible 5:2 you could probably drop 2 kilos in 3 weeks, and hydration (lack of) drop another 1Kg. Over the next month possibly another 1.5 kilos and then a slowing down from there on in.
BUT - you will not be a happy person - hunger is an obvious side effect and this always makes me ansty. Plus you do need to be controlling in your habits which do not always link with a family life.
Personally I am for a steady 250g per week (1Kg/month) and this does make me slightly on edge :( - If I was doing more I think I would be fairly horrible to live with.
Wear support underwear and they will think you are thin and that will make them go faster :)
James
The key is to look at sustainable weight loss and look at the two ends of the problem - so the suggestion of UT2s is a good one - but intervals and HITT have also been shown to encourage weight loss through fat use during recovery.
Walking, cycling, swimming & rowing
So then there are the calories in - and this is not as straightforward as pure reduction - or something stupid like carb exclusion, but calorie deficit and how to cope with it.
The current trend for 'fasting' is actually a fairly effective technique - forget all the waffle, it is just calorie reduction (you do not eat enough to make up the loss on the 'feed days' - that is how it works) and men tend to respond to the fasting as a manly way of 'dieting'.
You can also coordinate the fast days for the regatta as there is a free kilo right there :)
on non fast days make sure that you have a higer ratio of fat/protein/veggies than carbs. Carbs are the wick that burns the fat - so their exclusion is not helpful, but we eat to large an amount of readily available carbs at the moment and there is no doubt that swapping slower release and smaller proportion of carbs really assists a 'diet'.
The iresistable combination of sugar/fat is the one to avoid as there is NO satiation signal.
Whereas protein/fat combination satiate fairly quickly - oily fish, cheese, meats are all good for this, and then veggies for all the good stuff and to keep everything moving.
If you do a sensible 5:2 you could probably drop 2 kilos in 3 weeks, and hydration (lack of) drop another 1Kg. Over the next month possibly another 1.5 kilos and then a slowing down from there on in.
BUT - you will not be a happy person - hunger is an obvious side effect and this always makes me ansty. Plus you do need to be controlling in your habits which do not always link with a family life.
Personally I am for a steady 250g per week (1Kg/month) and this does make me slightly on edge :( - If I was doing more I think I would be fairly horrible to live with.
Wear support underwear and they will think you are thin and that will make them go faster :)
James
John Mulholland
Apr 14, 2014, 5:40:08 PM4/14/14
to
On Monday, April 14, 2014 11:22:06 AM UTC+1, robin_d...@hotmail.com wrote:
> <snip>
> <snip>
>
> Can anyone come up with more imaginative suggestions to lose weight quickly and safely (apart from amputation)? I have found myself wondering if there is anything in the rules of racing preventing me from coxing while holding a large bunch of helium balloons, but I suspect my crew might notice.
>
>
>
> For instance - Carl - could you market something called CDRS "Lyteners" - that clip onto a cox and reduce their weight by precisely-defined decrements?
>
>
>
> cheers!
I've not seen this recommended before but here goes. Wear less clothes; your metabolism will have to work harder to maintain your core temperature. Caution, some clothes are usually required in public places!
> Can anyone come up with more imaginative suggestions to lose weight quickly and safely (apart from amputation)? I have found myself wondering if there is anything in the rules of racing preventing me from coxing while holding a large bunch of helium balloons, but I suspect my crew might notice.
>
>
>
> For instance - Carl - could you market something called CDRS "Lyteners" - that clip onto a cox and reduce their weight by precisely-defined decrements?
>
>
>
> cheers!
stew...@gmail.com
Apr 15, 2014, 8:03:36 AM4/15/14
to
On Monday, 14 April 2014 11:22:06 UTC+1, robin_d...@hotmail.com wrote:
As for weight loss, you could do what I'm currently doing - nursing a toothache so bad that you can't eat properly, and which helpfully also kills your appetite.
Carl
Apr 15, 2014, 9:50:14 AM4/15/14
to
On 15/04/2014 13:03, stew...@gmail.com wrote:
> The OURCs April Fools' Day email contained a mention of standardising cox weight by giving either deadweight or helium balloons. To our mind the joke was that either solution actually only made your inertial mass greater, even if it made your "scales weight" lower. Of course, the helium balloons would have to be the size of weather balloons, and you'd need a dozen of them.
>
And that's what some of our classicist friends struggle to grasp - the
> The OURCs April Fools' Day email contained a mention of standardising cox weight by giving either deadweight or helium balloons. To our mind the joke was that either solution actually only made your inertial mass greater, even if it made your "scales weight" lower. Of course, the helium balloons would have to be the size of weather balloons, and you'd need a dozen of them.
>
difference between weight & mass. But let that sit on the balance awhile ;)
> As for weight loss, you could do what I'm currently doing - nursing a toothache so bad that you can't eat properly, and which helpfully also kills your appetite.
you out some more.
But is the crew down to weight, or are they carrying the odd pound or 6
of lard per man?
rubc...@googlemail.com
Apr 15, 2014, 3:48:48 PM4/15/14
to
Carl makes a good point, and one that is valid at all levels of the sport. A good friend of mine was in the Brookes crew that won the Temple in 2006. They had a great cox who I believe was the best part of 10kg overweight. As such, between May and Henley each crew member lost a kilo, with a couple losing two, to make up the weight. If you're coxing a four that might be somewhat of a strain on the other guys but as Carl says, maybe a crew weight target could be agreed with all of you working towards it.
There's been some good advice above on weight loss, as a rower turned cyclist I have found the turbo trainer to be a great tool for fitting in workouts and helping shed the pounds. Having it in your house means you can jump on for an hour and get an hour's benefit, as opposed to having to travel to a gym and factor in changing/showering time etc.
There's been some good advice above on weight loss, as a rower turned cyclist I have found the turbo trainer to be a great tool for fitting in workouts and helping shed the pounds. Having it in your house means you can jump on for an hour and get an hour's benefit, as opposed to having to travel to a gym and factor in changing/showering time etc.
John Greenly
Apr 15, 2014, 8:27:38 PM4/15/14
to
On Tuesday, April 15, 2014 8:03:36 AM UTC-4, stew...@gmail.com wrote:
> The OURCs April Fools' Day email contained a mention of standardising cox weight by giving either deadweight or helium balloons. To our mind the joke was that either solution actually only made your inertial mass greater, even if it made your "scales weight" lower. Of course, the helium balloons would have to be the size of weather balloons, and you'd need a dozen of them.
Speaking of inertia and mass, the cox's inertia could be put to better use if he were caused to move fore-and-aft in the boat so as to slightly reduce the extremes of hull speed during the stroke cycle- maybe put the cox on slides, with some arrangement of bungees and dampers to catapult him back and forth in the right phase to react against the boat accelerations?? Then he would probably get seasick, and that- if he leant suitably overside at the critical moment- would reduce the mass as well....
> The OURCs April Fools' Day email contained a mention of standardising cox weight by giving either deadweight or helium balloons. To our mind the joke was that either solution actually only made your inertial mass greater, even if it made your "scales weight" lower. Of course, the helium balloons would have to be the size of weather balloons, and you'd need a dozen of them.
Cheers,
John
Kit Davies
Apr 16, 2014, 4:20:06 AM4/16/14
to
http://www.row2k.com/news/1-28-2003/Kaschper-BioRig-8-Adds-Coxswain-Bio-Slide/7311/#.U049AFf_l8E
I don't know how it worked out.
Kit
Chris A
Apr 16, 2014, 7:04:02 PM4/16/14
to
On Tuesday, April 15, 2014 8:48:48 PM UTC+1, rubc...@googlemail.com wrote:
> Carl makes a good point, and one that is valid at all levels of the sport. A good friend of mine was in the Brookes crew that won the Temple in 2006. They had a great cox who I believe was the best part of 10kg overweight. As such, between May and Henley each crew member lost a kilo, with a couple losing two, to make up the weight. If you're coxing a four that might be somewhat of a strain on the other guys but as Carl says, maybe a crew weight target could be agreed with all of you working towards it.
>
>
>
> The Almanack lists him as 7kg overweight. But I wouldn't too much about the weight if you can steer straight or motivate the crew.
> Carl makes a good point, and one that is valid at all levels of the sport. A good friend of mine was in the Brookes crew that won the Temple in 2006. They had a great cox who I believe was the best part of 10kg overweight. As such, between May and Henley each crew member lost a kilo, with a couple losing two, to make up the weight. If you're coxing a four that might be somewhat of a strain on the other guys but as Carl says, maybe a crew weight target could be agreed with all of you working towards it.
>
>
>
Alistair
Apr 17, 2014, 8:07:56 AM4/17/14
to
robin_d...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> Bla bla fatty dad
Just stop eating for a bit. Really, you don't need to. You absolutely have to keep drinking though, but just water. Or one of those energy-free drinks. No breakfast. No lunch. And for dinner, an apple or something so your stomach's got something to do. It's not completely necessary, but if you don't you're stomach will make awful gurgling noises for the first few days. If you start to feel sorry for yourself, google images of people who live with real hunger every day and then look at the flabby bits still on yourself.
And that's it. If you use more energy than you're putting in your mouth, you must lose weight.
So, weigh yourself every morning. You'll probably lose about 1/2 kg / day. If you don't, do some exercise for 15 minutes, but not more, because unless you're used to exercising without an immediate source of energy you might faint. Next morning, you'll definitely hit your target. (As time goes on your body will get used to using your energy reserves for instant energy and you'll feel much better all round.)
Start on a Monday. On Sunday, you'll probably have lost about 3kg. You can have a treat! Eat some decent chocolate, you'll feel full right away (for about 20 minutes). Then repeat.
Do this for three weeks. Three weeks is really not very long. You'll have lost 8kg. Everyone will say how slim you look. You'll be able to fit into clothes that you haven't tried on for ages. You'll feel good, because (here's the clincher) you require less energy to do stuff. Seriously, go and pick up 8kg of bottled water, it's quite a lot - right now part of what you're eating is just to generate energy to carry around your own fat.
Then eat sensibly. Weigh yourself every day when you get of of bed, and if you're over your target weight - no breakfast, no lunch, no dinner. And no picking at any food your children haven't eaten too, this is the downfall of all parents.
Most animals eat lots very irregularly. We only eat regularly because it's nicer. "Nicer" isn't a good enough excuse for putting on the pounds.
Disclaimer: I am a doctor, but not a medical one. Someone sensible will be along to say "this might kill you" but I'm presuming you're a healthy man on a western diet: you have amounts of good stuff in your body unimaginable to previous generations.
PS If you need motivation, post your weight on here every morning.
>
> Bla bla fatty dad
Just stop eating for a bit. Really, you don't need to. You absolutely have to keep drinking though, but just water. Or one of those energy-free drinks. No breakfast. No lunch. And for dinner, an apple or something so your stomach's got something to do. It's not completely necessary, but if you don't you're stomach will make awful gurgling noises for the first few days. If you start to feel sorry for yourself, google images of people who live with real hunger every day and then look at the flabby bits still on yourself.
And that's it. If you use more energy than you're putting in your mouth, you must lose weight.
So, weigh yourself every morning. You'll probably lose about 1/2 kg / day. If you don't, do some exercise for 15 minutes, but not more, because unless you're used to exercising without an immediate source of energy you might faint. Next morning, you'll definitely hit your target. (As time goes on your body will get used to using your energy reserves for instant energy and you'll feel much better all round.)
Start on a Monday. On Sunday, you'll probably have lost about 3kg. You can have a treat! Eat some decent chocolate, you'll feel full right away (for about 20 minutes). Then repeat.
Do this for three weeks. Three weeks is really not very long. You'll have lost 8kg. Everyone will say how slim you look. You'll be able to fit into clothes that you haven't tried on for ages. You'll feel good, because (here's the clincher) you require less energy to do stuff. Seriously, go and pick up 8kg of bottled water, it's quite a lot - right now part of what you're eating is just to generate energy to carry around your own fat.
Then eat sensibly. Weigh yourself every day when you get of of bed, and if you're over your target weight - no breakfast, no lunch, no dinner. And no picking at any food your children haven't eaten too, this is the downfall of all parents.
Most animals eat lots very irregularly. We only eat regularly because it's nicer. "Nicer" isn't a good enough excuse for putting on the pounds.
Disclaimer: I am a doctor, but not a medical one. Someone sensible will be along to say "this might kill you" but I'm presuming you're a healthy man on a western diet: you have amounts of good stuff in your body unimaginable to previous generations.
PS If you need motivation, post your weight on here every morning.
robin_d...@hotmail.com
May 1, 2014, 7:39:40 AM5/1/14
to
On Thursday, April 17, 2014 1:07:56 PM UTC+1, Alistair wrote:
>
>
> > Bla bla fatty dad
>
>
>
> > Bla bla fatty dad
>
> PS If you need motivation, post your weight on here every morning.
First of all, many thanks for the sympathetic and / or humorous replies here. Couple of things worth noting following the original post.
I managed to weigh in 2kg heavier than the 74kg I thought I was when I posted the first message - I can attribute some of that to differences in the scales used, and wearing my winter coxing gear (Strathclyde Park regatta wasn't the warmest this year!). It didn't make much difference to the results..
However, owing to my partner having passed her driving test since the original post, I have been able to return to the bicycle this week for the first time in over 2 years. Every day 14 miles round trip commute equating to 50-60 minutes exercise at a middling heart rate. I used to be able to average 20-21mph when cycling on these roads until my enforced exile from the bike (according to the computer), so I'm a wee bit down on my former fitness levels. However, this should equate to probably 200 miles per month bearing in mind some days I'm going to have to drive.
As suggested, every so often I will post the weight versus miles cycled in a partially scientific attempt to answer my own question - namely, without any significant change in diet but with quantified levels of exercise in terms of 14 mile chunks, can I return to a more reasonable coxing weight?
James HS
May 1, 2014, 3:47:34 PM5/1/14
to
I am sure you will be aware that you will be hungrier - and there is a temptation to reward this and GAIN weight!
IMHO if you don't feel hungry you are not going to 'lose' weight.
Just worth bearing in mind :)
James
IMHO if you don't feel hungry you are not going to 'lose' weight.
Just worth bearing in mind :)
James
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