Rowing machine recommendations

BB3Lions

Man rowing for a time is boring.  Even with music, targets it gets tough at 30 mins.

Wardy257

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.

BB3Lions

I figured as much, some how put 2.7kg on over Christmas hahahha

Krank

Was about to buy a bean to cup coffee machine for £500 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.

richardb70

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.

BB3Lions

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!

Krank

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.

RBZ5416

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.

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 £80 a month, plus the rental so about £120 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.

RBZ5416

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.