What to eat after rowing practice?

Half Second · 05-10-2007, 01:13 AM

I'm on my school's rowing team, and there are some days when our erg (indoor rowing machine) practices are brutal, like to the point where guys are throwing up, laying on the ground for 10 minutes recuperating, and then literally hobbling out of the erg room unable to walk properly. What I'm unsure of is what to eat after these kinds of practices. I try to keep my BF as low as possible so I eat complex carbs all day except pwo. After these erg practices, should I continue eating complex carbs or should I be taking in simple carbs just as I would after lifting? They are insanely hard practices that train us anaerobically and build lactic tolerance, but muscle isn't broken down the way it is when weight training, which is why I'm unsure of what to eat afterwards. Any help is greatly appreciated!

**Thomas_Rivera** · 05-10-2007, 04:41 AM

Simple carbs just as lifting. Rowing is also a strenuous form of excercise. Whether lactic acid is actually pain causing is another debate.

Muscle will be broken down if you go into an energy deficit, that is the nutrients from you preW meal are used, along with all your glycogen.

**cook82** · 05-10-2007, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas_Rivera

Simple carbs just as lifting. Rowing is also a strenuous form of excercise. Whether lactic acid is actually pain causing is another debate.

Muscle will be broken down if you go into an energy deficit, that is the nutrients from you preW meal are used, along with all your glycogen.

exactly what thomas said.....also you want a good source of protein after your rowing...also if you are on the rowing team I'm sure you are doing a VERY large amount of cardio daily. It isnt going to hurt you to put some extra carbs in your diet..simple or complex.

Half Second · 05-10-2007, 04:10 PM

Yeah the lactic acid just feels like shit, it's the volume coupled with intensity that'll hurt, especially after a 2k test (anyone that has done one knows what I'm talking about). I've never done anything so excruciating, but for some reason I absolutely love it. Thanks for the help guys!

**Thomas_Rivera** · 05-10-2007, 04:58 PM

Here is a post that I had up before

Lactic Acid...your friend?!?!

Might want to give it a read.

COmbined with other stuff i've read about lactic acid this is the basic message some scientists are sending through. The build up of lactic acid isn't nessecarilly what makes you stop, the build up is a sign of you nearing your limit.

And it would make sense. When you get stronger you'r muscles need to use less energy to perform the same amount of work in ratio. For example, you start being able to benchpress 100 pounds for ten reps, then get strong enough to rep 150 pounds ten times, your energy ratio for using 150 pounds is the same as when you could only do 100 for ten reps.

Personally I never really went with the idea that you could become resistant to lactic acid. And i'm not a scientist with a degree or anything but, how can you become resistant to an acid? The lactic acid isn't weakening, and if anything the muscle is just becoming more highly bundled.

wrestlingstalion · 05-10-2007, 05:17 PM

i know alot of people like to keep theyre fat a little bit higher during high intense things like rowing team. im not really sure why but they seem to think it helps.

**Thomas_Rivera** · 05-10-2007, 06:36 PM

They might think that their body will use fat from their body as a source of primary energy instead of carbs.

Half Second · 05-10-2007, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas_Rivera

Personally I never really went with the idea that you could become resistant to lactic acid. And i'm not a scientist with a degree or anything but, how can you become resistant to an acid? The lactic acid isn't weakening, and if anything the muscle is just becoming more highly bundled.

Good article. With lactic acid training, particularly for rowing, it's not necessarily a matter a resistance, which I agree with your stance on that, but a matter of building lactic tolerance. In a typical race (2000 meters) an insane amount of lactic acid is produced, particularly in the legs, in a very short period of time. To be able to complete a race using full pressure (all of your power) on every stroke, which is absolutely essential, a rower must be able to do so despite what is happening to their muscles. This is why 2 or 3 months out from the first race there are multiple practices each week consisting of lactic tolerance training. It is really amazing, due to this kind of training, how dramatic a change athletes see in their conditioning from when they come into the sport compared to just 1 season later.

Half Second · 05-10-2007, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrestlingstalion

i know alot of people like to keep theyre fat a little bit higher during high intense things like rowing team. im not really sure why but they seem to think it helps.

Ya that's strange because in rowing you want to have as little unnecessary weight as possible. I do know that because of the very nature of the sport rowers burn a great amount of calories, so it's almost impossible not to eat everything in sight when you get the chance. After a while you don't even think about it, you just eat and eat and eat. That could be why the people you're talking about keep their fat high, it's just going to get burned anyways, so they can afford to loosen up on the diet a little bit. Can you tell I love to talk about this stuff?