I had inquired privately of one of my superhero canoe types here on QJ as to his workouts which sound quite grueling. He informed me that part of his workout includes a rowing machine. Naturally I had to get one (of course I did). As I tell my wife....."Well baby cakes we don't have a retirement but we have a nice rowing machine" .

What struck me immediately, and should of been overtly obvious, was how much it mimicked paddling. I mean, DUH, it is called a R-O-W-I-N-G machine after all isn't it? But yea, you sit and pull resistance toward your body. Perfect!

Anyway......I'm pretty high on it. My knee is loving it and has reacted quite positively. I am hoping to use it to strengthen my core to help protect my lower back which did poorly at Isle Royale last summer. It is a low impact full body type machine however and seems to help back, arms and legs as well. The low impact aspect is good for those of us who are approaching old geezerdom (or those who have already arrived )

Look around and perhaps you could find a used one. If you want to get a new one do what I did and say your getting it for "her". My wife is not typically into workout machines and instead relies upon good genes but I have convinced her that if she wants to stay lookin good she needs to have one of these. Worked like a charm!! 

This is great full-body exercise.  It is not uncommon for me to average burning 20-25 calories per minute on a machine like the Concept 2.  That becomes quite a lot of calories over a half-hour or hour span.  You'll never burn them at that rate on an elliptical machine.  A Cybex machine (a cross between an elliptical & a stair-stepper but having variable incline grade & resistance) will come a little closer but it's a rare occasion when I can hit even 21-22 calories per minute on those (again, over an hour's duration).  The rower is also a much more complete upper & lower body exercise.  The muscle groups impacted DO align much better with those you will use while paddling (or at least the ones I use!).

You can "over-do it" on a rower if you are not careful... especially as our bodies deteriorate with age.  I wouldn't do it everyday.  Rather, I've found it works better if it is part of a broader muscle-building and cardio regimen.

There should be LOTS of used ones on the market (e-bay, craig's list, etc.).  Plenty of folks with grand ambitions buy them brand new but they end up gathering dust in their basements or attics.

By the way, anyone interested in "rowing" as a sport or exercise should pick up a book entitled, "The Amateurs" by David Halberstam.  It details the grueling workouts & challenges faced by ambitious, would-be Olympic athletes (a few decades back).  It's a great book if you want to get pumped up about super-conditioning.  What those guys go through is incredible... and inspired me to buy my first rowing machine long, long ago.

Jimbo    

Well I guess I'll find out. I have a disc problem in my lower back that acts up from time to time. My thinking is to advance the muscle groups in my core and strengthen my back muscles which should help to support the disc. Not sure that thinking is right but I'm going to try it.

I know I have to be careful not to overdo it. My knee started feeling good and I blew it up from way to much biking. 5 days of 6-10 miles and then 3 days in a row of over 20 miles per day really set me back. Ya, I know, I was a big dope. So I'll ease into this........so far (just like the initial biking) my knee seems to love the rowing. Tennis by Thanksgiving? Uh, no 

If you're trying rowing machines, check out the water rower too.

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There's no harsh snap as you load-up the resistance, and the sound of water swishing as you workout is pleasing. I got one, and have used many others in gyms before. This one is really different. I like it. But I'd rather workout outdoors if possible.

Wow, tight hammys bad for the back eh? Who knew. That was worth the price of admission. I was getting into the yoga last year but noticed when my legs were stretched out my knee felt unstable.

I'll give it another go this year. Almost caught up on work.....YEAH! Hopefully the knee is actually fixed like the doc said it was. So far you couldn't prove it by me. Ok with the rower but not the stepper.......

Maybe this Yoga will do me some good as far as therapy goes. If not I might have to send my boys over to the docs place and ask him what gives.