Is a Concept 2 "good enough" ??

[drjay9051]

I have a Model D sitting in the corner. Purchased a few years ago and used a few times. many reasons. I have had a gym membership locally with a top of the line Nautilus circuit. I get a great workout in 25 minutes , High Intensity training, for those of you familiar with the method.

Anyway just turned 60 and i find it a real PITA to get to the gym for a few reasons i will not discuss.

I'm considering dumping the membership and breaking out the Concept 2 ! It would be nice to train at home for a change.

My concern is if it will give me a good workout. i know it is great for cardio, weight control and "toning."

Is it enough? After watching many rowing videos i do not see how it will target muscle groups like the triceps or pectorals. My goal is not to get big but rather to transform my keg into a 6 pack and build cardio.

I supplement the gym with kayak, surf ski and insane mountain biking.

For those of you who have gone the gym route I'd be interesting in your take on rowing vs gym.

I do have a complete set of Xeno DVD which I imagine would be a motivating factor on the Concept @.

Thanks for your advice

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

My goal is not to get big but rather to transform my keg into a 6 pack and build cardio.

An erg will definitely help you achieve that goal, however, the erg is not going to develop your chest/triceps the way weights would. However, you can easily do any number of body-weight exercises at home to supplement.

The erg, if used properly (including proper technique), can be a great piece of training equipment. Targets more muscles than almost any other athletic activity I can think of, except maybe swimming.

[drjay9051]

Armando:

Appreciate your input.

I used to swim in high school. Now that is a killer workout.

I suppose for pecs and tris either body weight or basic dumbells and bench.

I am pretty stoked about breaking out the erg.

Besodes thats $52.50 a month for the gym that goes into my pocket.

[Bob S.]

Push-ups are an ideal counter balance to rowing. They work both those muscles and there is no investment required. If they are too easy, they can be reined by adding body weights. If too hard, the leverage can be changed by using a thick padded support under the shins.
Bob S.

[brianh]

I dumped my gym membership a couple of years ago and ordered a model D because that was the single piece of equipment the gym had that stood out as more useful and effective than everything else there.

I have mixed feelings on that decision, because I don't have weights at home (space issues). Body weight exercises just don't motivate me the way that hefting iron can, so I tend to fall off the wagon faster than the time it takes me to climb back. My motivation to row and cycle is lower when I'm off the wagon. As a result my overall fitness has been very spiky since getting my rowing machine, ranging from being in objectively the best cardio and endurance shape of my life three times, to feeling like a gelatinous, weak, lazy blob several times (including now unfortunately).

So, by itself I don't think the rowing machine is "enough", it needs to be supplemented with resistance training. Bare minimum resistance training supplement to the rower would be pushups and core work. Full-body would be better though. The amount of force you can put into your rowing strokes (for actual rowing, not "low pull" and other clever ways of getting a spinal ingury) is puny compared to what you'll put into a proper body weight squat, for example. With my lack of iron, my legs atrophied the amount that they could, and my rowing times found a strength-limited wall.

Personally I feel that iron trumps body weight, and you'd be better off having access to free weights, whether it's in the gym or at home. I'm not a fan of the Nautilus stuff, that was my introduction to weight training and it had me feeling strong in the gym, but it didn't give me the coordination, balance, and injury resistance that I got out of my later conversion to free weights.

I still feel the C2 was the best piece of equipment in my gym. I'm moving in a month, and at that point I'm going to use the money I'm saving on a gym membership to get some weights at home. After that I expect I'll never even consider a gym membership again. If you've only done the machines, it might be worth it to get a session or two with a personal trainer to learn the proper form for the major lifts. Then if you've got the space, I think if you take your saved 52.50/mo to acquire a barbell, some plates, and a rack, you'll never miss your gym.

[drjay9051]

Thanks, Brianh

I actually started with free weights; bent rows, incline flys, squats etc.

i found I actually built muscle more efficiently with the Nautilus circuit. RE: coordination, balance etc. I see your point. You do need to use your musculature properly to "balance out" weights in certain exercises such as flys and squats. that being said i have seen lots of folks cheat with free weight.
Example: rather than do a standing curl with less weight and proper form including slow negative they like to impress by grunting as they "curl" massive weight while arching their back. Bad form and prime for injury.

As I mentioned I will go erg and continue with my mountain biking and kayaking (great for core*

Of course I'll continue the Swiss ball for a good core routine.

Thanks again.

[Carl Watts]

I dumped the gym in about 2000 because it was getting so expensive. Now you can buy a brand new Model D over here for about 2 years of gym fees so its the way to go.

The problem with the Concept 2 for most people is that it is not "Godd enough" on its own, you simply loose the motivation in a year or two and hence something like RowPro keeps you going the same as a gym partner keeps you going. Probably the reason that cross fit is exploding over here, the gym is pretty hopeless on your own.

[hjs]

I dumped the gym in about 2000 because it was getting so expensive. Now you can buy a brand new Model D over here for about 2 years of gym fees so its the way to go.

The problem with the Concept 2 for most people is that it is not "Godd enough" on its own, you simply loose the motivation in a year or two and hence something like RowPro keeps you going the same as a gym partner keeps you going. Probably the reason that cross fit is exploding over here, the gym is pretty hopeless on your own.

I would say, speak for yourself, its always your own motivation thst makes you train or not. If you need a drill sergeant to get you going its your own motivation that is lacking. Both the c2 and the gym I find motivating enough. Never use row pro, only makes you race your works outs. But I agree it can be fun with the chst function etc.

C2 will not train your body. It does not much for the shoulders, triceps. Legs, back do the bulk of the work. But it would be easy to some supplementel work at home

[brianh]

I would say, speak for yourself, its always your own motivation thst makes you train or not. If you need a drill sergeant to get you going its your own motivation that is lacking.

Fully agree. I was noting that my personal motivation is higher when I'm lifting, and it's flaky when I'm not. The OP did ask for personal opinions, though.

I've met plenty of other people for whom this is also the case. Someone whose goal is general fitness is allowed to experience occasional or even chronic lower motivation. Obviously the extent to which this can be overcome dictates success, but it's not like it's a taboo condition. Everyone's got their own differing but finite amount of willpower, and other things in life can use it up.

The key is identifying what factors enable lazy behavior, and fixing them. Gym inconvenient? Do it at home. Imbalanced training regimen with too much emphasis on cardio capability and not enough strength training making you feel puny and lazy? Lift weights. Working 90 hours a week and planning a wedding? Erm...

So, I think it's worth calling this out as relevant to the OP, as it may be a factor in success after dumping the gym.

Parting note to OP for mountain biking: Good strength in the bench press plane is pretty important for not going over the bars on rocky downhills, and the amount of force you have to resist is spiky and can be much, much bigger than you can get out of a normal pushup. You're probably pretty good on this aspect right now from the circuit training, and you won't want to lose it. If you go with bodyweight, do plyo pushups instead of normal.

[Carl Watts]

In general long term motivation is a problem.

Yes you may be okay for a year or two but at the end of the day its a static piece of exercise equipment and you only need to look online at second hand ones for sale to see that they have sat arround for years without any use. There is a constant stream of machines for sale by owners that tried them then quit.

My model C got used quite a bit for 2 years then it didn't get used until I discovered RowPro and the social aspect of rowing live with other people just transformed the experience.

The vast majority of users need some form of interaction to keep you going year after year. Just take a look at cyclists, typically they are all riding in a bunch or with others or a group organised training ride.

You will be better placed if the rower is not your only form of exercise, but for me it is and 45 minutes for five days a week would be hell without RowPro.

[jamesg]

My concern is if it will give me a good workout.

No, it's you that gives yourself a good workout. Get on, pull hard, pull long and you can't go wrong. The only precautions are to use low drag, quick pull, slow recovery, full length strokes, sweat plenty and keep HR under control.

This is what it looks like:
http://www.concept2.com/indoor-rowers/t ... que-videos

[Zulien]

I have a similar question:

For health reasons my priority has been cardio, so I had been using an elliptical for a few years. I also wanted to get a muscle workout, but don’t have the motivation to use my dumbbells, so I went and bought a rowing machine (lifeCore R100) that promised me a cardio and muscle workout!

I get motivation to work out regularly from a desire to watch my favorite shows on Netflix since I only allow myself to watch them when working out.

So after 6 months of using the rower, my posture has improved and my weight is about the same. Currently I’m 18% body fat 5’8” 167lb age 35. From other comments here it seems your back and legs are mostly used with a rower, I would also like to reduce my fat to around 14% and increase muscle especially upper body, what simple compound exercise should I add to my routine to achieve that goal? Would say 10x5 pushups once a week help?

[hjs]

I have a similar question:

For health reasons my priority has been cardio, so I had been using an elliptical for a few years. I also wanted to get a muscle workout, but don’t have the motivation to use my dumbbells, so I went and bought a rowing machine (lifeCore R100) that promised me a cardio and muscle workout!

I get motivation to work out regularly from a desire to watch my favorite shows on Netflix since I only allow myself to watch them when working out.

So after 6 months of using the rower, my posture has improved and my weight is about the same. Currently I’m 18% body fat 5’8” 167lb age 35. From other comments here it seems your back and legs are mostly used with a rower, I would also like to reduce my fat to around 14% and increase muscle especially upper body, what simple compound exercise should I add to my routine to achieve that goal? Would say 10x5 pushups once a week help?

Push ups and pull ups would be handy.

Twice a week both. Use the following format:

Can be done alone or with a partner. Do 1 rep, rest 1 breath or partner pauze. Do 2 reps, 3 etc..
When you are close to failure, start over at 1 rep.

Use a fixed time to do this. Say 15 min non stop. Whatever time you have. You could alterate the push and pull ups.

This format will work great without burning you down. Remember, never go to failure, always keep 1 2 reps in reserve and start at 1 again for a next ladder.

[Zulien]

Push ups and pull ups would be handy.

Twice a week both. Use the following format:

Can be done alone or with a partner. Do 1 rep, rest 1 breath or partner pauze. Do 2 reps, 3 etc..
When you are close to failure, start over at 1 rep.

Use a fixed time to do this. Say 15 min non stop. Whatever time you have. You could alterate the push and pull ups.

This format will work great without burning you down. Remember, never go to failure, always keep 1 2 reps in reserve and start at 1 again for a next ladder.

Pushups and pullups certainly sound like a good idea, is the goal of this reps approach to breakdown muscle for rebuilding, also does it have a name?

[heroesfitness]

A Concept 2 is one of the best pieces of equipment to target most of your body for a near complete work out, also getting a gym ball for core fitness plus targeing the chest with some push ups with your toes on the ball.