looking for an alternative to the turbo and for something that will give the top half a bit of a workout.
So any opinions on using one and what type I should get if I were to commit to it.
Could probably budget for a few hundred bit will probably look for a second hand one.

ta.

Yay! Concept II or WaterRower, but they might be out of your budget!

As above – the cheap ones I’ve used have all been rubbish.

Concept II gives you an excellent workout though.

for something that will give the top half a bit of a workout.

Yoga? Home-made circuits?

concept 2, but get taught how to row properly. bad back otherwise.

the gym won’t have a clue

looking 800 + – concept 2 have a forum with people selling them on there. gyms occassionally get rid of them, but i think they are mostly aware that they still haev a decent resale value

I used to have one (c.£150) and used it fairly regularly. It was a fan one and was incredibly noisy, plus it creaked and squeaked a lot.

for something that will give the top half a bit of a workout

Do you mean for beach muscles or for more strength on the bike? Rowing machines won’t give you big muscles unless you use them on the hardest setting all the time (which many numpties do admittedly).

They’re brilliant for strength-endurance training though which can be useful for mtbing.

As above Concept or WaterRower – both are good but expensive though they do hold their value well. Or you could ask your local rowing club if they’re selling any off (anything model C and upwards is decent – model B is fine too but very noisy in a house).

Better off swimming, 40 – 60 lengths of breast stroke 2 -3 times a week.

That’ll do it.

+2 for an expensive one, get one 2nd hand off ebay, if they can survive years in a gym without a service they’ll last in private use indefinately, just hoover out the fan unit once in a while.

Cheep ones are just horrible.

They’re just as dull as a turbo though.

Is there not a council run gym near you? I used to pay £18 a month for gym + pool access 7 days a week, if its nearby it probably works out cheeper, I’m now paying £65 a month after moving house but that’s my closest gym and it has a hydrotherapy pool 🙂

yes, breast stroke closely mimics the upper body dynamics of cycling 😯

yes, breast stroke closely mimics the upper body dynamics of cycling

Pftf, who gives a **** about dynamics.

They’re just as dull as a turbo though

Not quite because there’s a readout with speed/rate and on the new ones all sorts of other things (like racing a virtual boat) and if you’re serious about it there’s more technique to think about but I’d admit that it’s marginal 😉

They’re just as dull as a turbo though

I was also going to suggest getting down to a local rowing club to get them to show you the correct technique and see if you get on with it before handing over your hard earned. Lots of people hate them, personally I love them and could regularly sit for 4X 5,000m sessions!!

Yawn! (And that’s coming from someone who has spent a stupid amount of time on them…)

😆

Is rowing not mainly pushing with your legs? Although you could just use your upper body I guess.

tails, have a look here to see muscle groups used.

Good to see positive and negative input for a balanced view.
The concept is a lot more than I was intending but if they have a decent resale value then I guess it might be worth it.Strangely or not I can sit on a turbo for an hour so I don’t see a rower being boring (as long as it gets me out of the house).
I do the odd set of homemade circuits but can’t seem to get that interested and I’m not looking for “beach muscles”, just find my upper body tends to fatigue on longer rides.
ps can’t stand swimming (unfortunately)
Think it could be the way forward for me so time to check out the second hand market.

Just hit me that the wifes company has got a gym so I’ll see if I can check theirs out.

Is rowing not mainly pushing with your legs? Although you could just use your upper body I guess.

Yes, that’s certainly the main provider of power but there’s a lot of core and back strength used too. Arms less so.

Hmm, when I row I lean back more than the bloke on that link above, and pull the bar right up to my chin.

Is that wrong?

If you’re looking for an alternative to a turbo trainer for working out at home, my advice would be to get a punch bag and some kettle bells. If you devise a good circuit/interval training plan using these and do it properly you’ll turn yourself into a beast. Plus after a busy day in the office, the punch bag is a good way to let off steam!

But then I’ve never liked rowing machines…don’t know why, I just don’t enjoy it.

molgrips – Member
Hmm, when I row I lean back more than the bloke on that link above, and pull the bar right up to my chin.

Is that wrong?

Yes, very…

15 degree lean back, bar should be meeting (not hitting) your stomach somewhere just above your belly button.

Is that wrong?

Only if you’re not good friends with a physiotherapist/chiropractor/osteopath. 😉

My friend is renting one from here to see how she gets on.
She’s only had it a week or so but is so far quite impressed with teh machine and the service.
Maybe worth considering before actually buying one?

I lean back about as much as the hippy in the diagrams, but more than the chap in the animation appears to do.

The bloke in the animation is correct, the diagram looks a bit exaggerated (although the diagram is of a sculling action as well and I always used to lean back a bit more when sculling to).

I always used to lean back a bit more when sculling to).

I always used to fall in more when sculling. 😆

We’ve got a Concept 2 in the gym at work. I use it regularly as it’s definitely improved my upper body endurance for 24 hour racing.

sounds like the yay’s have it
and the pop up adds have now changed on my screen to reflect this

I have a Concept II rower that I was lucky enough to buy for a relative song.

I would say that rowing is very complimentary to cycling and is a much more rounded workout.

Getting one 2nd hand would be a good idea as these things are pretty bomb proof although it might be worth avoiding those that have had several years abuse in a public gym. They are expensive but as already been said the resale value is high so if its not for you then you won’t end up too much out of pocket.

To keep the interest up there are a number of training plans on the C2 website and improving your times can get quite addictive.

And has already been said learning how to row properly will make quite a difference to your times, also you will need to learn about the drag factor ( no this is not something with Simon Cowell and a load of blokes in dresses). The C2 website will have all you need, plus there are plenty of you tube vids for the perfect stroke.

Had one of these for 10 years, needed to replace the bungy cord after 5 years and just contacted the supplier, very hard wearing for the money. Handles a 15 stone bloke doing 40+ strokes a minute no problem.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/V-Fit-AR1-Artemis-Rowing-Machine/dp/B000TQK6YK

I don’t know if rowing is complimentary to cycling. I’d have said the ideal for complimentary upper body would be something like boxing – using your core, sides, lats and triceps in an impact sort of way.. no?