Concept2 Forum

Like WillyB I to am a middle aged fat man.

Mid thirties 6ft 1" 320 pounds!!

Bought the concept mainly coz it was one of the few rowers that could take my weight!
Hoping to drop a hundred pounds. I weight trained for many years, once I stopped my weight ballooned!

What’s the best way to combine the rower with weight training?
I want to use the rower to burn cals, but I want to tone at the same time.
At my present weight should I concentrate mainly on the rower and just do a little weight training, or should I concentrate on the weight training and use the rower just for warm up?

bigchris wrote:Like WillyB I to am a middle aged fat man.

Mid thirties 6ft 1" 320 pounds!!

Bought the concept mainly coz it was one of the few rowers that could take my weight!
Hoping to drop a hundred pounds. I weight trained for many years, once I stopped my weight ballooned!

What’s the best way to combine the rower with weight training?
I want to use the rower to burn cals, but I want to tone at the same time.
At my present weight should I concentrate mainly on the rower and just do a little weight training, or should I concentrate on the weight training and use the rower just for warm up?

The Rower can provide as much resistance training as most wold ever require. Get in a 40-60 minutes a day of nice steady work on the rower (I wouldn't suggest more than about 30 continuous minutes at a time, YMMV) And defnitely put some focus on getting the technique correct from the outset, it's hard to break bad habits later.

Welcome to the fray.

thanx PaulS I appreciate the advise

What Paul says, but ...

... when I first started, a year ago, I thought I was about to die after just 3 minutes on the ergo. I did 5 minutes x2 at about 2:20/500m (with a 5 minute) break for a week or so. Then I extended to 10min x2 @ 2:15. It took a 2-3 weeks to be able to row for 20min non-stop; a couple of months for a 30 minute row; and achieved 30 minutes after about 3 months training.

Now, I usually row for about 60minutes at about 2:02 - 2:05.

It's the long steady rows that burn the cals. Without even specifically intending it you will also tone up, especially your abdo. I've not only lost my beer-belly, but also have quite tight abdo tone without even trying to hold my stomach in. It makes me feel great about myself.

I turned 50 this year, but feel in better shape than I was 20 years ago! I can run after my children (age 3 to 13) without getting breathless on minimal exertion, as I used to. My new-found interest in exercise has lead to me stopping drinking alcohol altogether, so not only has my waist size reduced but my wallet has grown fatter!

Go for it.
It will make you feel brilliant about yourself, and your friends and family will comment favourably about the new you.

Cheers
Dave

@ Snail Space

Thanx for your reply bud. I know if I could knock the alcohol on the head then I'd lose pounds without even exercising. But 1 step at a time I guess

bigchris wrote:I know if I could knock the alcohol on the head then I'd lose pounds without even exercising. But 1 step at a time I guess

Yeh, I was just mentioning that in passing really; I wasn't advocating it. I had been drinking too much booze (about £30 per week), but didn't want to let the kids see their dad drunk, so I decided to knock it on the head before it started to influence my life.

Most people, quite sensibly, enjoy alcohol in moderation. I drank sensibly 99% of the time, but occasionally lost sight of the off switch!

For me, life has been fantastic since being abstemious, but I'm not going to become a booze-prude.

Enjoy the drinks, but erg plenty to burn it off.

Cheers
Dave

I think you have one of the best pieces of cardio equipment out on the market, the Concept II Rower. If you put in the work, you are going to see an amazing change in your body weight.

bigchris wrote:Like WillyB I to am a middle aged fat man.

Mid thirties 6ft 1" 320 pounds!!

Hello, Chris. I just got my rower too. Just signed on the forum tonight . I've got 100K on the rower over the past 1.5 weeks.

I'm 5'11" 330lbs 35years old. I do the big three regularly, bench(more fly's than bench anymore and push ups) deads(absolute must!) and squats(ya got ta squat). Been lifting all my life and will never stop, but I have switched to all high rep work, no more maxing. I have a 5ft Olympic bar with bumper plates just a few feet from the rower.

My "fighting weight" is around 240, but work programming at a desk these days and 24 on-call rotations and poor decision making to continue them for 3 years killed my shape. Just switched jobs two years ago and started more intense higher rep routines this year and just recently acquired the rower. I would never have believed how HUGE an impact rowing has made and how FAST. It's like a fat burning engine for me personally.

Anyway. Most days I will start on the Stairmaster for 20 minutes varying levels from 1 to 4. Then break. Stretch then dead or squat. No particular order or space in the days or whatever, just get them in sometime during each week, mix it up keep the body guessing. Then hit 5K on the rower, I use a damper setting of 7.5, hitting at a bare minimum 25 minutes or better. By the time I pass the tenth minute on the rower maintaining good form I feel like body fat is pouring into my stomach for fuel! I still want to find a chemical lifecycle of body fat from fat cell to bloodstream to excretion, this should seem simple to find documentation but I haven't been able to Google it.

1st, Google crossfit.
2nd, Google weightlossforall

@Entwise

Hi bud,

So far haven't got back into the weights. Have still got some of my old weights. Fortunatly I kept my weightbench!
Been using the rower about three times aweek which I no isn't enough. Need to get it upto five times a week. If I can do that and just do light weight training three times per week I know the weight will just fall off. Its just that old chesnut motivation!!

Good stuff !

Just like rowing is a full body movement, other full body movements even at only bodyweight or calisthenic weight level are also neuro-endocrine stimulators. squats and deadlifts especially. I like to think of them as movements which program the brain by saying over and over again, "hey the body IS supposed to move around!" .

Just remember it's about doing it and doing it proper. Everything else is secondary . As long as you are going at it, and keeping proper forms you won't get hurt you'll get results and it'll get easier.

bigchris wrote:Like WillyB I to am a middle aged fat man.

Mid thirties 6ft 1" 320 pounds!!

Bought the concept mainly coz it was one of the few rowers that could take my weight!
Hoping to drop a hundred pounds. I weight trained for many years, once I stopped my weight ballooned!

What’s the best way to combine the rower with weight training?
I want to use the rower to burn cals, but I want to tone at the same time.
At my present weight should I concentrate mainly on the rower and just do a little weight training, or should I concentrate on the weight training and use the rower just for warm up?

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm Middle aged at mid thirties!!!!.... I dont think so. You may be if you dont get on the erge and get rid of the weight...fair chance you will be dead by mid sixties.

I have led a full an active life to date, although the last 18 months saw my weight increase to 260 lbs. I was travelling through India, Far East, Australia and finally here in NZ for a while..to many delicious meals with rice and local beers!!!!

Having been a Royal Marine for 30 years, I have always been fit and played Rugby, Soccer, and took part in long distance canoe marathons(125 Miles).....knees are knackered one has been replaced.

I will be 60 next July and recognised that I am NOW middle aged. I bought a C2E, (no gyms available locally to me).....I downloaded a C2 weight loss program... and started on 28th August this year. I have erged before but never for more than 5k and only used that as a warm up for crosstrainer and weights program.

The results for me have been superb so far. To date i have lost 30 pounds and my times and distances are good and improving. I joined the Free Spirits Online Rowing Club and get great motivation and support from some rowers posting very quick times.

My training goes hand in hand with diet, here in NZ there is a wide variety of fresh fish and lean meat with great salad veg and other veggies. Out has gone all booze for the duration of the program. No bread and no rice. Guts and determination is all a part of C2 erging, just transfer some of that to diet. The results are worth it.

I do no weights at present, may use some later...but for now the erge only is working for me.

So Big Chris drop the middle age crap......forget weights for now, erge erge and erge some more and get the diet right...only eat fresh food prepared by you that way you know whats gone into it no added salts, fats, corn syrups etc.

Good Luck

Chris NZ

@duckrunner

lol thanks for saying i'm not middle age. Its true I probably feel older than I am coz of all the excess weight I'm carrying. My uncle was a royal marine and I always admired the self discipline he had\has.
I think you're right I'm gonna stick solely to the rowing for a while, to be honest I'm just not fit enough to do the both. I've been 50 pounds overweight in my twenties and lost it, the thought of having to lose 100-120 pounds is very daunting but I know I've GOT to do it!

Bigchris...think of it like this ...if you do not look after your body where you going to live.....my brother was in asimilar position to you at a similar age.... he has gone fron 25 stone to 17 stone.....mostly erging..... Stick at it my friend...all you have to lose is yourself!!!!..LOL

Bon Chance
Chris

duckrunner wrote: only eat fresh food prepared by you that way you know whats gone into it no added salts, fats, corn syrups etc.

Good Luck

Chris NZ

Absolutely!!! This alone will start to rapidly change your body configuration. And it will greatly increase energy levels!

Also agree with the middle-age nonsense. as you think so shall you be ! Drop the daunting thoughts as well. Just do.

I still cannot recommend enough at the very least incorporating light-weight deadlifts once or twice a week. Or at least sticking to something like a law of 7s, don't pick up anything you cannot lift easily freely and strictly slowly to form seven times. Neuro-endocrine Neuro-endocrine Neuro-endocrine

I agree with duck, that erging is a massively beneficial exercise that alone will give you a huge return on investment. Let's face it, it's impossible to out pull the thing no matter how strong you are, I now understand why its a love-hate relationship for some. I've just found so far that incorporation as I wrote about before has me springing on my toes again, even though I'm only down to 315ish at the moment.

Ok enough of my babbling. Can you tell I really like the erg? I think I'm going to go have a talk with it again...

Absolutely!!! This alone will start to rapidly change your body configuration. And it will greatly increase energy levels!

5 weeks ago I weighed 121kg's (I'm 6'4" tall) , and was smoking 20 benson and Hedges per day - my mother in law decided enough was enough and bought me a book called "7lbs in 7days Juice Diet" by Jason 'juicemaster' Vale . My life has literally been turned upside down!

I lost 7kgs (not lbs!) in the first week alone and my energy levels due to the juiced nutrition going into my body have gone through the roof. The smoking has ceased, and I thoroughly enjoy what I eat and juice everyday! Simple rules and enlightening thoughts as to why we think certain foods are good for us when they actually aren't keep me keen and more importantly active and thus, Healthy!!!

I have just done my 5th day of rowing in a row and have so far completed 54km towards the concept2 Holiday challenge which runs untill dec24th. If I can do it, so can you all - keep rowing and YOU will feel amazing not only in yourself but to your partner too!!

I have just turned 35 years old and I plan on using the concept2 rower / Juice as my platform for a long and happy life.

So far so GOOD!

Big Chris - one week at a time my friend, each time you feel a lapse in diet or exercise get on your ergo and row for 5 minutes - once you're on it you'll stay longer, and longer.............etc. YOU CAN DO IT!