Rower involves a lot of legs (think leg press) combined with arms and back. Very full body and high intensity.
I like paloff presses for abs, obliques and shoulders/back. Try it with a 5 second pause at full extension. intense
The rower is an excellent exercise because it has a stand where you can hook your iPad up to.
Well there are 2 reasons for my recommendation of the rower :
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OP would like to improve his core : the rower is excellent for that.
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Serious jogging tends to be better cardio than the rower, but the OP does not do serious jogging. All in all I don’t see what “slow jogging on the treadmill” brings that the rower does not bring.
Have you ever rowed? Elliptical is an exercise you can do in your sleep compared to rowing. I find the elliptical as one of the least effective cardio workouts I’ve tried. Maybe it’s just me though.
^^OP doesn’t do serious jogging because (A) he hates it, and (B) it’s bad for your joints in the long run. (When 300+ pounds comes crashing down on the knees and ankles, something bad’s gonna happen.)
And yes–the elliptical sucks. I’d try the rower, but AFAIK, my gym doesn’t have it.
I’m not so much trying to get stronger and faster, as much as I’m just trying to lose weight. I’m plenty physically fit enough to do everything I want to do. (That is, sit in the recliner and watch the Cowboys win the Super Bowl.) But I also want to live to see my kids graduate from high school.
There’s no research proving that doing what your body was intended to do will hurt your joints. In most cases, even some light jogging on a trail like surface (not blacktop / concrete) is beneficial to the overall joints by strengthening supporting muscles and bone density.
Although if you actually way 300+ pounds that would be a different scenario (are you actually 300+?).
If that’s your goal im sure you could accomplish it just by cleaning up your diet.
As for cardio, try running on sand. Sprints on the beach/grass of the track does wonders for you
True, but I like the elliptical better for cardio/calorie burning. It’s low impact so I can do it for 45-60 minutes while reading a book on my iPhone 6+. By the end, I’ve burned 500-600 calories, drenched in sweat, and raised my wisdom by +5.
I also really enjoy our rowing machine. That I take a little more seriously because there’s a built in video game and I’ll be damned if that shark is going to catch and eat my crew.
I’ve found, for me, there’s a big benefit to simply changing up your routine regularly. I see benefits even if I move to a less intense workout for a couple weeks. Gotta keep your body on its toes.
stairmaster
I bet if you would have listened to that doctor a couple of years ago you wouldn’t be in this situation now. I don’t mean to be a dick, but if you truly are 300lbs I recommend you get some willpower to stay on the boring treadmill for more than 20min. Or do the elliptical even though you think it sucks. Seriously, some things aren’t that much fun but you do them because you want the result. If you can’t convince yourself to walk for 45min for the sake of your health and future then I say enjoy what short time you likely have left.
I think you are trying to overcomplicate something here. You don’t need to split days, have ten different weight exercises, you need to get your ass moving and burn some calories if you want to lose weight. End of story, no magic formula. Who cares if its treadmill, elliptical, or rowing, turn your brain off from overthinking it and get after it. Maybe once things start to melt off it makes sense to introduce some things, maybe running will be possible when you don’t have so much weight pressure, etc…but for now get on the stupid treadmill. End rant.
^Actually, I’m quite certain that the bigger problem is not activity, but diet. There’s already another thread on that, though.
Maybe it’s just my gym but the rower intensity goes from 1 to 10 (highest.) I can do level 10 for 30 minutes. On the other hand the elliptical intensity goes 1 to 20 (IIRC) and doing level 15 kills my thighs and calves.
I have no freakish upper body or core strength that would make me better on the rower than on the elliptical. Maybe at ~25 cycles/minute I am doing it too slowly on the rower?
I assume you guys ARE talking about a machine where you sit close to the ground as if on a bike and pull the handlebar as the front wheel spins. FWIW my wife likes to stand on the side of the wheel for the strong cool breeze. (Greenie if you are picturing sultry seductress with hair gently blowing in the wind, forget it. It’s ratty T-shirt, bunched up hair and pit stains time. Even I wouldn’t do her as much as I like her.)
Any of you ever use the stationary bike with a fan up front for upperbody? Thats a pretty awesome warmup device
Oh diet, well hey can’t give up big gulp coke cuz that would probably suck, so I guess its just destiny. Veggies don’t taste as good as pizza either so F them too…kudos for writing and seeking advice on ways to do it, but keyboard strokes are easy. maybe its time to push yourself a little, find a little discomfort. good luck with whatever you focus on whether diet or fitness or both,
WHAT. I don’t think my gym has rowers I’ve never seen it anyway. This sounds like so much fun.
Do any other machines have video games too? I only go swimming at the gym haha I thought it would help balance me out because all my strength is in legs due to biking, but progress is very slow.
Are you talking about that thing where you cycle with your arms ? That shit is insane. Everytime at the gym I add a couple hundred meters total distance. Works the abs too.
Ha I also do 30 mn at level 10. My goal is to increase total distance everytime keeping time constant. In my experience I also have to go nuts on it to feel like I’m really getting tired. But then the device makes little jumps and i land in the middle of the gym lol.
Also, Frank Underwood uses the rower. So you get dat instant BSD effect.
Frank Underwood is a punk bitch. Everyone knows it was Claire who made him who he is.