The Sub-7 Experiment

Tag: Progress

  • Stop Treating Me Like Glass

    It’s been a while since I’ve written anything.

    Not because nothing has been going on, but because the things to write have largely been the same:

    “Nice workout. Got the job done. Nothing much to report.”

    And it has all been a bit samey.

    That has got me asking questions. Why does it feel the same? Where is the push coming from? Am I still properly engaged in the Sub-7 Experiment?

    So I’ve been trying to make sense of it, and here are a few thoughts that might explain it.

    Firstly, let’s look at the process.

    For ages, the process has been the same. Take screenshots from WHOOP, put them into ChatGPT, ask for a workout, ChatGPT gives me the workout, I do it, then I report back.

    That process worked for a while, but I’ve decided to ditch WHOOP.

    I have cancelled my WHOOP subscription and no longer wear the device. It has done its job, and I am grateful for it. It gave me the impetus I needed when I started training three years ago, and it helped me get back into the idea of looking after myself. At that point, it was the best tool for the job.

    When I started focusing on the rowing, I would set the app going to record the session and then work until I hit the suggested strain in the app itself. That suggested strain feature was brilliant because it stopped me bursting myself every time I got on the machine, wildly going for it until I collapsed.

    No pain, no gain, right?

    Well, not strictly true.

    Too much pain becomes “give up and never go back,” at least that’s what my head was telling me. But with the WHOOP strain monitor giving me a suggested amount of work to aim for, it gave me structure without stupidity. Brilliant.

    But now there is so much data in there that I have become swamped by it, and I’m not really using most of it. Yes, I would check recovery and sleep, but to be honest I am well used to my body showing signs of fatigue after a workout now. I don’t need an app to tell me every morning.

    Recovery is also quite subjective, based on WHOOP’s algorithms. Sleep quality is the same. I was there. I know how the sleep went.

    As for the rest of it, there is so much data now that I don’t know what to do with it, other than remove it from my life and make things simpler.

    So no more checking WHOOP first thing in the morning. No more screenshots of WHOOP, ErgData and Strava into ChatGPT after every workout just to capture all the details.

    I’ve gone back to using my old Polar chest strap and heart rate monitor, connecting that directly to the Concept2 rowing monitor and letting ErgData capture the session and feed it into Strava. When I’m in the gym, the same strap sends heart rate directly into my phone and the Strava app.

    I am still asking ChatGPT to give me the workout each time, and I am still uploading the results from ErgData afterwards. Occasionally I’ll upload Strava too if ChatGPT asks for it. So the coaching process is still there, but the data sources are simpler and there is a lot less noise around it.

    Good.

    Data sources simplified. App integrations simplified.

    Let’s go.

    Except nothing really happened.

    The workouts were fine, but they were also a bit easy.

    So I had a chat with ChatGPT itself.

    One of the things about ChatGPT is that it has a memory feature. Depending on the subscription you have, it can remember things from your conversations across different chats. That can be a good thing, but it turns out it can also be a bit of a problem.

    It’s good because, as a user, you don’t have to keep reminding it about everything that has happened. I have a persistent conversation inside ChatGPT that is all about Sub-7 coaching, along with many other subjects.

    I had some surgery on my leg last October, and at the time I asked ChatGPT, within the Sub-7 coaching conversation, for a recovery plan to get me back up to speed. It remembered that.

    I also tweaked my back in the gym a short while ago, using bad form to lift some plates off a machine I was using. Again, I told ChatGPT about it and asked for recovery steps. It remembered that too.

    So when I asked it to remind me what the Sub-7 Experiment was about, it told me the long-term plan: to build a training programme that will enable me to row 2,000 metres in under 7 minutes.

    That was the right answer.

    But then I challenged it. I asked why I felt as though there was no real progress at the moment and why everything felt very samey. It came back and said I was still recovering from the tweaked back and the leg surgery.

    And immediately, there it was.

    It had remembered that I’d had those issues, but it had not properly remembered that I had also told it I was back in one piece and able to continue with the full-on progress towards Sub-7.

    It seems the memory function in ChatGPT remembers what it thinks is important, not necessarily what the user thinks is important, unless the user specifically says: “Remember this.”

    So I told it to remember that I am back on form and back into the full Sub-7 programme, and that it should stop treating me like a piece of glass.

    And since then, starting last Sunday, the workouts have been much more on plan.

    Sunday’s workout was a 10-minute warm-up, then 8 × 250m sprints with 90 seconds rest between each one, designed to simulate 2,000 metres at or around Sub-7 pace.

    And my goodness, it was a strong session.

    Properly controlled pacing. Good technique. No mad thrashing around. And most importantly, there were signs of real progress.

    Yes, there were rest periods between each 250m sprint, but if I add up the actual times of those 250m sections, it comes out as a 7 minute 7 second 2,000m.

    All I need to do now is join those 250m sections together.

    That is definitely going to need extra strength work in the gym and more power runs on the rower, but I am making progress.

    And it feels great.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.

  • Back to the Row After the Ride

    Today I’m back rowing, and what a lovely thing it is.

    After the big ride on Sunday (104km), I took it easy for a couple of days, just walking. Then today, thursday, I got back on the rower and it felt good.

    The session was simple. Ten-minute warm-up, then three 2,000-metre intervals. Nothing overly hectic, but what’s interesting is the pace. Looking back at older sessions, I’m now cruising at speeds that used to feel unattainable.

    It all felt in control. Smooth. The kind of rowing where you’re working, but you’re not fighting it.

    I sped up for the last 250 metres on the final rep just to see if I could. I could. And it felt great.

    Short and sweet check-in. All good.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.

  • Back After a Week Off

    Just back from a week off.

    It’s been almost exactly a week since I did anything strenuous. But it was a lovely week with the family. Getting outside, looking at things, doing normal life, and just being together.

    Back at it today. Not in the gym, but out in the shed on the rower.

    Nothing hectic. Just a fairly cruisy 7,000 metres in 30 minutes.

    It’s funny how I’m now calling that “cruisy,” because it used to be the max. That’s probably the simplest sign that progress is happening. I’ve come a long way, and I’ve still got further to go, but I’m pleased with it.

    Right. Time to go to work.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.

  • Friday Strength, Blue Sky Head

    That was a good strength session.

    A couple of things helped. First off, it’s Friday, which is always a good day. Secondly, it’s one of those proper winter days: cold enough that there was ice on the car this morning, but the sky is blue and the sun is out. That kind of day always lifts the spirits.

    I had a solid hour going around the weights and really enjoyed it. I even upped the weight on a couple of things, which felt good — progress without drama.

    One thing I’m noticing more and more is how much having a rowing machine at home changes what the gym is for. I’m genuinely privileged to have the RowErg in the shed. It means that when I do go to the gym, I can use the rower there just as a warm-up and then focus properly on strength training. No juggling my hour between rowing and weights. Just warm up, lift, leave.

    Grateful for that.

    Right. Time to go and start the rest of the day.

    This is The Sub-7 Experiment.

  • A Tough Day Out, but I’m Glad I Did It

    Just back from a tough but rewarding ride; 75km out and back, with 1,220 meters of climbing. No loops, no shortcuts, just there and back, with a headwind all the way home. It was tougher than I remembered: the kind of ride that demands your full attention, your legs, and most of your patience.

    What made a real difference this time was the fueling. I spent yesterday making banana flapjacks and cheesy eggy rice cakes (shout-out to ChatGPT for the recipes and fuelling strategy). They worked. I didn’t feel nearly as wrecked as I normally do on a ride like this. I still had something left at the end. I probably could’ve used more water, but I stopped about two-thirds through yo top up my bottles and to see me home.

    The legs are well and truly cooked now, but in that good, earned way. Possibly not helped by Thursday’s 135kg leg presses, probably not the smartest prep, but lesson learned.

    This was my longest ride of the year, and while it wasn’t easy, I’m pleased with it. There’s satisfaction in pushing through, seeing that distance logged, and knowing you got it done.

    So that’s today’s entry in the Sub-7 Experiment—which, as I keep discovering, is about far more than rowing. It’s about effort. Growth. Trying. Failing. Learning. And showing up again tomorrow.

  • Keys in the Box

    Another session done. A good one, structured, focused on weight and power. Felt great. There is a different buzz after a weights session. Not the same as after a long row, maybe it’s different feel good chemicals in the brain, but it’s definitely a different kind of energy. I walked out feeling invigorated.

    A couple of small but important wins today.

    First, the gym was empty. No waiting, no worrying, just me and the weights. It felt like I had my own private setup.

    Second, and this might sound silly, I hung my car keys up.

    There’s a little box with hooks by the gym door. All the big lads hang their keys there as they walk in. I’ve always noticed it. Today, my long-sleeve shirt didn’t have pockets, so I had nowhere else to put my keys. But instead of clinging to them or finding a workaround, I put them in the box. It felt weirdly significant, a quiet statement: I belong here too.

    Who knows, maybe those other guys are just as insecure as I sometimes feel, only better at hiding it behind bravado. But for once, that wasn’t my concern.

    Another shift I’ve noticed lately: I’m prepping with Coach GPT the night before. Not just turning up and winging it, but actively thinking about what I want to do, how I want to feel, what works and what doesn’t. I’ll swap out exercises if needed, so by the time I wake up, I’ve already mentally walked into the gym. It’s a big change, and it feels like progress.

    There’s still plenty going on, year end looming and all that, but today’s win was quiet and personal. Keys in the box. That’ll do.

    This is the Sub-7 Experiment.