Concept2 Forum

Well I'm seriously thinking about getting with the program and start rowing for it seems to work the whole body. I have owned so many different name brand pieces of exercise equipment back during the 70's-80's. The only one that has stood the test of time has been my Nordictrack Pro Skier. I've had 3 other Nordictrack skiers as I always seem to think I need one. Why not since it does give me a good workout and it's the only piece of equipment that I seem to stick with. I bought the wife a Nordictrack treadmill which she uses but has been lately saying her knees are starting to bother her. She doesn't like the skier, say's she not coordinated enough to use it. I also have a Total Gym that I only seem to use when I want to work on my upper body. I use it the least as I just thought it was going to be a better investment than what it was...wrong...(sorry Chuck). Wish I never sold my Soloflex but my main concern is cardio since I'm not as young when I 1st bought one. So that wouldn't see much use either if I still had it. Elliptical machines seem to do a decent job but the are so bulky and take up so much space, plus after several months they all seem to develop so sort of noise or squeak that never goes away.
Well I would like to know out of all the C2 owners do you still use it as your main piece of equipment and what did you use primarily before buying your C2? I just turned 60 so I'm looking forward in buying the Model E but I need to hear from other owners who still feel like they made the best investment in their life as they are not cheap. Also has anyone took a look at the Sole SR500 as these look pretty nice although I did try their previous model the SR400 as it felt so cheap. I just don't want to have any regrets after I buy one plus I need something that will help me loose weight and feel better. It looks cool, well built and from the reviews all seem pretty positive. Seems like the C2 has also stood the test of time but with all the hype about the newer stuff out there and with all of the fancy electronic gadgetry will the C2 still keep me smiling several months down the road or should I look elsewhere. All opinions and advice on helping me make this big decision will greatly be appreciated.

Well, gosh, where to start...

I guess, first, the Sole equipment. I am the very proud owner of a Sole F80 treadmill. After owning a lot of cheap treadmills over the years, this (what I would call) "prosumer" treadmill is the finest I've ever owned. I've done 3-5 miles daily on mine for almost 3 years now and never grow tired of using it. I also would have no hesitation in putting it up against anything far more expensive and "commercial" and would be pretty confident that, given it's price, folks would invariably choose it over more expensive units. So with that said, I too (tentatively) looked at the SR500, but I felt like I'd probably want to "compete" and knew I couldn't do that unless I was using what everyone else was using. And that meant buying into a C2. For me, the erg is my secondary piece of equipment after my treadmill, but that may not be the same for the next guy or gal.

Were any of the Nordictrac skiers you had the downhill/slalom type? I always fancied one of those, but they didn't seem to be on the market for very long. I've always loved downhill skiing, though I don't do it anymore because my wife is afraid of me (actually both of us) breaking bones in our "old age".

As a new erg'er, I have to say that I don't personally think it's the easiest piece of equipment to use or become proficient on IF your intention is to use it properly. Of course, you can always row away using whatever technique you feel comfortable with (see YouTube for "rowing fails", showing various examples of "doing it wrong") and nobody will criticize you for it, but if your wife doesn't like a skier I very much doubt she'll like an erg. I could be wrong though, so don't take that as gospel.

One thing I can confirm is that is does indeed work the whole body, and it's helped me loose 10lbs in the last 8 weeks doing nothing much in the way of diet modification (though the amount of exercise I take has increased by approximately 50% and is far more varied now).