Rowing machine recommendations

Over complicating it mate, when i struggle to undo the straps on the shoes, fall off - feel sick/faint then i know i have done well lol
 
Over complicating it mate, when i struggle to undo the straps on the shoes, fall off - feel sick/faint then i know i have done well lol
Lol, then you are working anaerobic and not aerobic, which is the point I believe Crocodile is making of having a monitor, so you can tell the difference. :)

If your main goal is to burn fat, you want to be exercising in the aerobic heart rate range. If your getting lactic acid build up and out of breath quickly, you are in the anaerobic range and burning glycogen not fat.

This short explanation of the difference should help?

Aerobic and Anaerobic exercise: What is the Difference? | Fitness 19 Gyms
 
Last night i did 4 x 250m with 1 min break, which is as you state is anaerobic, which killed me lol

Tonight i will do aerobic, steady pace for 3000m, might push for 5000, bum hurts at 2800 lol
 
which is the point I believe Crocodile is making of having a monitor
It was indeed & it seems my reply to that effect didn't get posted due to me not hitting "post"! According to most of the science, working hard (anaerobic) is far less effective & potentially dangerous.
 
Nearly killed the wife last night who has bad asthma. Will put her intensity a little higher tonight lol
 
Anaerobic is not bad, as that site says it helps build endurance and fitness.

What you really want to do is a mixture of both aerobic and anaerobic, hence I like the PetePlan.

Again from the link I posted, but to save you clicking it again:
Consider using intervals, aerobic with some bursts of anaerobic exercise mixed in periodically to improve weight loss and overall fitness.

In other words.... the PetePlan! ;)
 
Blew the cobwebs and added 2 new batteries to my heart monitor tonight & from a quick google, i found my ideal heart rate for burning fat was under 130 (220 - age Ă· 60%). Anything over 130 was cardio.

I did 400m then 100 where i hit 170+ then dropped back down to the lower rate.

I did 5000m in 30.07 mins with average of 127 heart rate, burning 300+ calories.

It certainly helped.
 
Point to note. I had a bud and it was 117 calories!! That was 10mins of rowing :(. Makes you think how easy it is to get fat!
 
Point to note. I had a bud and it was 117 calories!! That was 10mins of rowing :(. Makes you think how easy it is to get fat!
While this is very true, to put it into perspective your body will also burn c.2000 calories, just by going about your day, breathing, walking and sitting watching TV.
If you may of had a bud anyway yesterday evening, by rowing before you are still 300+ calories less consumed for the day. :clap:
 
Maths is not my strongest point but, I worked out the following lol

I burnt 600 calories in 1 hour or 10 calories a minute, there are (about) 3500 calories in 1 pound
and I need to lose 9 kg which is 19.84 pounds;

19.84 x 3500 = 69440 calories. So;

69440 / 600 calories = 115 hours worth of rowing to get to my ideal weight!
 
Man rowing for a time is boring. Even with music, targets it gets tough at 30 mins.
 
Maths is not my strongest point but, I worked out the following lol

I burnt 600 calories in 1 hour or 10 calories a minute, there are (about) 3500 calories in 1 pound
and I need to lose 9 kg which is 19.84 pounds;

19.84 x 3500 = 69440 calories. So;

69440 / 600 calories = 115 hours worth of rowing to get to my ideal weight!
It doesn't work like that. Multiple factors determine weight loss. Just be consistent and don't get disheartened if weight loss slows, it won't be linear.
 
It doesn't work like that. Multiple factors determine weight loss. Just be consistent and don't get disheartened if weight loss slows, it won't be linear.
I figured as much, some how put 2.7kg on over Christmas hahahha
 
Was about to buy a bean to cup coffee machine for ÂŁ500 but quickly decided that was madness and should spend the money on being fitter instead. I looked at the Concept 2 rower a few years ago because it seemed like the best all round piece of equipment out there. We had an elliptical 'laundry airer' trainer some years back but lost interest in that so hoping this will be a better option.

How are people here getting on with it? Is the interest still there? I'm hoping a rowing machine and my MTB will help vary my fitness regime (which is currently non existent) to keep it interesting.
 
Man rowing for a time is boring. Even with music, targets it gets tough at 30 mins.

lol :), yes, this is why I can't do swimming for long. Until there's a great VR experience for rowing, having a telly in front of me is the next best thing.
 
Mine went back as it was turning into a clothes hanger. I found 30 minutes was my max, even with the music on, TV on, it was a tiresome act, and oh my bum was agony.

Flip side was i was knackered getting off it, great workout!
 
Mine went back as it was turning into a clothes hanger. I found 30 minutes was my max, even with the music on, TV on, it was a tiresome act, and oh my bum was agony.

Flip side was i was knackered getting off it, great workout!

This is my concern. I've never enjoyed going to the gym and my last venture into home fitness was an elliptical trainer which ended like your rower.
 
Spooky this should get bumped as I was going to post anyway.

Re-started my attempts on Sunday having finally recovered fully from the kidney stone. I've decided to ignore any plans for now & just concentrate on building some basic fitness. I intend to row for 20 mins a day while trying to keep a steady pace & keep the heart rate in check. My theory is that as fitness improves, the distance covered in 20 mins should increase.

It's a real bummer being an old git as that reduces the so-called fat burning heart rate zone to something I could probably hit walking to the kitchen to make a cup of tea! :(

Sorry to hear you gave up @BB3Lions.
 
I decided to cut down on alcohol intake and have not had a kebab since December, which mixed with more walking etc is saving me about ÂŁ80 a month, plus the rental so about ÂŁ120 give or take.

A change in lifestyle and attitude has helped a great deal, still not losing weight lol So hard being over 45! it doesn't disappear.
 
How are people here getting on with it? Is the interest still there? I'm hoping a rowing machine and my MTB will help vary my fitness regime (which is currently non existent) to keep it interesting.
Like any single piece of equipment,a rower is fairly one dimensional. You can sit on it & row. So the only variation available is rowing at different pace, doing short sprints or various mixtures. But at the end of the day, you're still sat going backwards & forwards.

You can use various targets to keep focus, as I said, I'm using heart rate. Only you can decide if there's enough variety there to keep you motivated. As soon as it becomes a chore it's likely to start gathering dust. Best bet would be to either buy used or try the rent-to-buy scheme before committing.
 
Like any single piece of equipment,a rower is fairly one dimensional. You can sit on it & row. So the only variation available is rowing at different pace, doing short sprints or various mixtures. But at the end of the day, you're still sat going backwards & forwards.

You can use various targets to keep focus, as I said, I'm using heart rate. Only you can decide if there's enough variety there to keep you motivated. As soon as it becomes a chore it's likely to start gathering dust. Best bet would be to either buy used or try the rent-to-buy scheme before committing.

Did you end up buying new? Which heart rate monitor do you use? I found the elliptical trainer to strange, but used to enjoy the rowing machine when I did venture to a gym as it seems more natural. I'm looking for used at the moment but there's not a great deal of difference unless I go for an older model.
 
I bought new. I get a bit of discount from Argos & there was a decent Top Cashback offer as well. I got fed up with trawling EBay/Gumtree as anything worth having was either at the other end of the country or overpriced. I’d be wary of monitor failure on an older monitor as a fair few seem to be listed with faults.

I use a Garmin ant+ chest belt.
 
I managed to get a used one for ÂŁ450 in lightly used condition.

Def agree with the boredom of using it but I've countered that by having something to watch whilst I row.

Currently doing about 20mins non stop 3 times a week but am interested in getting a heart monitor to try and get fat burning

Any other ones people recommend apart from the Garmin listed above [emoji121]️
 
I bought new. I get a bit of discount from Argos & there was a decent Top Cashback offer as well. I got fed up with trawling EBay/Gumtree as anything worth having was either at the other end of the country or overpriced. I’d be wary of monitor failure on an older monitor as a fair few seem to be listed with faults.

I use a Garmin ant+ chest belt.

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for any Argos card offers and hope for a 15% off or something similar
 
I've been using the rower (concept 2) at the gym as a warm up recently and I'm really enjoying it! As it's a warm up I just do 15mins and try to keep my heart rate at 120 BPM.
Its a struggle because I want to go faster and pull harder and 120bpm feels like I'm purposely going slowly with little effort. It is also an average of 29 strokes per minute.
I also really enjoy doing sprints like HIIT training.
I have it always set to 10 on the dial, but I don't know what it means... Can anyone explain it?
 

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