Rowing machines

Went over a mates house this afternoon, and he had a rowing machine.
So I had to give it a go.
Seemed to be good for my knees, kind of got them bending but without any weight on them, so I found it quite easy to do.

Anyone with experience of these things?
Which ones are best etc.
Not wanting to break the bank, so probably under 300.

 

Think @ARMANDII nailed that one !

Though it really depends on your age and physical condition and like most other things it down to what suits you..

Have tried a few such machines over the years and as you say at the beginning they seem easy, but when used regularly you find these devices are limiting it what they can do for you and some seem to soon find your weak joints etc.

For us, it was the basic electric treadmill that gave a good cardio workout and more balanced joint workout.

Always found you can pick up some really good secondhand bargains rather than buying expensive new, though in the current climate with many folk being at home expect they will have been bought up long since.

If like us you are older and possible suffering early joint problems, your knees ? then consider a more restrained and importantly, balanced exercise routines like Stretching with some Cardio, Thia Chi, even some of Rosemary Conleys exercises, loads free on the web.
You may think they are girly, but you will be surprised how hard they can be and you need to steadily build up to them !

 

The reason I tried rowing is it exercises the leg muscles and moves the knee joints without any real weight on them.
I'd rather go for a walk than use a treadmill, 14st shifting from one knee to the other soon starts the knees hurting.

 

Well not saying you will not find a rowing machine of help, as said each to their own in this area.

Looking on Gumtree there are 182 secondhand ones, more that I expected to see, and a vast array of prices / machine types; new ones from £90 upwards though if you felt good on your friends machine that might be he one to go for.

Would suggest you also consider taking a few minutes for the daily Knee Strengthening exercises, a long term plan which builds up the muscles that will give better support to the worn joint.

Also a proper Cardio routine gives massive benefits, the simplest way is a regular walk, but not a gentle stoll as you see so many folk doing.
You need to add pace to your strides and ideally use one of the not too expensive chest or wrist heart rate monitors to ensure you achive the desired heart rate for a period of time.

hth

 

I'd agree with the idea of buying second-hand. You'll get a better quality machine for the money than buying new on a budget. Got a pre-owned cross-trainer and compared to the feeble, tinny things available new, it was an absolute bargain.

 

Ok, my mates one was second hand, need to find one locally though.