UKC

Hi folks,
My wife is away a lot with the Navy so a bit buggered trying to get out on my bike as I am a full time stay at home parent.

Anyway, I do a fair amount of phys in the evenings on my exercise bike to compensate but I'm reallllllllyyyy bored of it am thinking of changing to a rowing machine.

Will it have the same benefits as the bike IE, will I still lose weight and get a decent workout and toned? Coming to the end of my winter hibernation so need to get my backside in gear again!

With a rower in mind, any suggestions or recommendations up to about £300?
Thanks in advance, Den

In reply to Denni:

No idea really about whether it will deliver the same benefits with regard to weight loss, but if you get bored on an exercise bike, you'll get monumentally bored on a rowing machine. At least with a bike you can set up a laptop/tablet/whatever to watch movies/workout videos. You'll also get a very different type of workout, since you'll be using a lot more muscle groups - lots more arm, upper body and core. I like using a rowing machine for short sessions mixed with other things, but I can't imagine it being my only exercise.

In reply to Denni:

Received wisdom is that the only rowing machine worthy of the name is Concept 2. You can pick them up on ebay for around £500, which is over your budget admittedly. It will at least have a resale value should you come to sell it, However, they're not exactly 'fold away' objects.

Like all of these things, if you put the effort in there will be results. More watts out, fewer calories in and all that. I've always found that the weight loss trigger point is going beyond the point where you think it all might go badly wrong, and persisting until that point is a it further away each time, but you get there at a faster rate. And repeat. Once a week is not enough.

Plenty of scope for that on a Concept 2

In reply to Denni:

PS - what Tony said - 10-15 minutes on one of them is more than enough for me - seriously mind-numbing. I'd struggle to lose much weight on one

You might be better off with a turbo trainer and Zwift

In reply to Denni:

Hard work and not easy to do anything to distract you, like watch tv, because they are so noisy.
Twenty minutes is the maximum for me.

I vote turbo trainer with a proper bike.

In reply to Denni:

When training for www.greatriverrace.co.uk I regularly do 1 hour sessions on a CII. Its do-able, though I agree the boredom can be an issue. I tend to listen to podcasts on my phone.

As for weight loss I would say that its fine. After all its just calories out-calories in. As the old saying goes "eat less, move more" simples.

Rob

In reply to Denni:

Don't go near them if you ever get lower back pain. I can't stand up straight after a few minutes on a rower (I sit on to tie my laces, then get off again)

In reply to tony:


Agree.

I find the rowing machine seriously boring.

10 minutes feels like an hour.

I've done about 30 minutes in 5 years.

Turbo/exercise bike all the way.

In reply to nniff:


Correct. All others just aren't as good.

In reply to Denni:

Sign up for POF. That will keep you busy whilst the missus is away at sea!!

In reply to Denni:

Concept II all the way.

As others have said it is a tough workout... but there are many targets out there.

Personally I find that a half marathon is about my limit (21.1k) but equally 10*250m sprints are a vomit educing way to get very fit efficiently.

Cheers
LD

In reply to Denni:

2000m in 8 mins or 5000 in 22 on a C2 gives me a pretty damn good workout (I'm a Lwt vet - I think you're a big guy, Denni, so you should aim higher), and it hurts too much to be boring.

The concept2.com rankings offer the incentive to put some effort in.

In reply to Denni:

I use a Nordic Trak ski machine, 30 minutes (4 'kilometres') per day, 5 times a week if I'm not doing something outdoors or in a gym on one of those days. You can't buy them new any more but they're cheap to buy 2nd hand, they're made of wood and metal, not plastic and they fold flat. This website won't let me post a link to the EBay page for an example I found, but there's two on there right now for £100 and £110 respectively.

I've never personally come across anything better but I also use an old bench stool (regular furniture) from the 1970s, some barbells and dumbels and a Beastmaker and with these, I can stay fit no matter what the weather does.

In reply to Denni:

If you want to go down the 'cardio' route (and I use that phrase lightly), then buy a decent skipping rope. There are loads of drills you can do with one and it can be entertaining.

If you want to get lean, chiselled and 'look good nekkid' get yourself a barbell and 150kg in plates, then cycle through phases of 5x5, Wendler 521 and RPT training using exercises like the deadlift and squats.

You WON'T get big (unless you are in the genetic elite), and if working with sufficient intensity (you should be training hard, not watching TV), will be done and dusted in 30 minutes two or three times a week.

However if you want somewhere on which to hang clothing then get an exercise bike/X trainer/rower.