Anyone got a treadmill or rower?

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 elliot.baker 15 Apr 2021

I've been pondering treadmills recently, or rowing machines... anyone got one, any recommendations? pro's / con's?

I mainly run because I love the outdoors, so have always found treadmills like a chocolate fireguard... but with family commitments, work, home chores etc. nowadays, and the need to actually sleep, I do wonder if a treadmill might allow me to run more and improve my fitness. I want to try running the Welsh 3000s later this year so not sure if they're really for me. I mainly run 10ks. 

My wife might use it as well for just general health / fitness going for a quick jog.

I've seen they go up to like £3k I wouldn't spend that, it seems the more expensive just have bigger screens and more incline etc.

Or a rower? I never row in any context but just wondered if I could row whilst watching TV or something I dunno...! Just musing!

 yorkshireman 15 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

I've got one - had it a few years - it's a Nordic Trak but I forget the exact model - can check. I run a lot, mostly outdoors but live in the Alps and so got it for when weather was too bad to get out for a meaningful session, my wife started to get into running too so was useful for her. I find it's useful to do a 30 minute recovery after a hard session (the day after) as the cushioning is soft and it's easy to set the pace that you would easily outrun if doing it outside.

Was handy during lockdown too - and now in France we're in a curfew, I'm really busy at work and often not getting to run until after the curfew starts so handy for that. That said, I'll do anything I can to avoid it but its better than nothing.

> I've seen they go up to like £3k I wouldn't spend that, it seems the more expensive just have bigger screens and more incline etc.

Sort of. I did a lot of research though and there's a sweet spot which I think we hit - it was around 1,500€ if I remember correctly. You want something big and strong enough to not fall apart after two minutes. Ours wouldn't look out of place in a proper gym, but there are some quite flimsy ones at the budget end. With iPads and phones though there's no need to worry about screens and other fluff.

The downside is that it weighs about 100kg so its hard to move once you've built it. It can fold up when not in use but if you're space limited it will be a problem.

We still have a rowing machine which my wife bought years ago - I've been on it about twice and she probably not much more - if running on a treadmill is dull, I think rowing is purgatory. At least treadmill running gets you fitter for running - not quite sure of the point of rowing for non-rowers.

EDIT: Nordic Track C1650 1,299€

Post edited at 13:24
 nniff 15 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

We've got a mid-range Decathlon one - I don't use it (knees) but when I did there's not much difference between it and a solid gym one. It's not one of their current models, but it was about £500.  If space is an issue, the treadmill bit folds up,  leaving an overall footprint of about 1m square.  I'd struggle to justify spending £1000 more, but then again I've always loathed treadmills and would far rather run outside (not that I do anymore, but the same holds true for a turbo-trainer and a bike)

 streapadair 15 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

I've turned a spare room into a mini home gym, with an earlier version of

https://www.jtxfitness.com/jtx-sprint5-home-treadmill

and a barely used Concept2 rower off ebay. 

 lboutside 15 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

Rowing is a great full body workout, I made the expensive decision to shell out on a concept2 a couple years back and as others have said here, after a while it doesn't half get dull, on the plus side they seem to hold their value pretty well and after selling it off I only lost about £100 on it. As someone more interested in cycling I used that money to get a turbo trainer instead and haven't looked back.

If you're looking to train in something specific such as running I really would err more towards the treadmill. Hell if you wanted to make it more interesting too you can always link the treadmill up with Zwift so you aren't just staring at a wall, Zwift legitimately changed the way I train over the winter (even if you don't get an all singing and dancing treadmill that can link directly to Zwift you can get something like https://www.zwift.com/uk/shop/product/runn or a footpod to get on there instead)

 Suncream 15 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

> Or a rower? I never row in any context but just wondered if I could row whilst watching TV or something I dunno...! Just musing!

Don't underestimate the noise a Concept2 makes (and don't go for any of the other options, they're all crap except the RowPerfect which is really overkill if you're not actually a rower). And watching TV as you slide up and down is very uncomfortable unless you have the TV quite far away. Podcasts work great though with headphones.

If you're set on watching TV, a bike would work much better I reckon.

 profitofdoom 15 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

We've got a treadmill. I was dead against buying it and hate the thing, why, 1. it never gets used, 2. it was expensive, 3. it takes up a huge amount of space, 4. it's noisy, 5. it can't go upstairs because it takes 4 people to shift it and when it's up there it thunders on the room below it, 6. I don't get the point, why not go out for a nice walk/ climb/ bike ride instead, 7. using it is very boring compared to e.g. a nice walk anywhere outside, 8. it's an unnatural running motion and not so good for legs/ ankles/ knees IMO

 mullermn 16 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

A counter perspective to the last post. I bought a treadmill about Christmas time and I wish I'd done it years ago.

I enjoy running as a fairly meditative activity, I zone out and listen to music and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I like being outside but for me, running outside is a hassle. Adapt to the weather, adapt to the season, find a route that fits with the time/distance you want to run, deal with people obstacles and hazards. It's all faff and overhead that isn't getting me any fitter.

With the treadmill I can decide which slot of my day is convenient for running and knock out the run I want to do, exactly as I want to do it with zero prep and complete reproducibility.

Basically me and profit are doing two different activities, they just both happen to involve running shoes.

Roadrunner6 16 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

I have a treadmill and a spin bike.

I picked the treadmill up for $100 (I hear they are now rarer than rocking horse shit) and the bike was $300 amazon spin bike thing.

I've a basement with a concrete floor so with a rubber mat you cant hear them and with kids we use them enough to justify them. But we so have the space in the basement. I'm not sure I'd get them if I didn't have a place out the way like that for space and sound issues. 

I've a turbo trainer but it was too loud so wasn't used.

Post edited at 21:00
 Dax H 16 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

If you get a rower don't get one with  hydraulic arms. My brother used to buy the York ones from Argos but as he got Fitter they didn't last. After returning 3 or 4 under warranty he gave up. The last one only lasted a couple of hours. Rowing hard the oil gets hot and it was destroying the seals. 

 Dave B 16 Apr 2021
In reply to Dax H:

Oil or blubber?  

 hokkyokusei 17 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

I used to run for fitness, which I now can't do because of of bones in my spine. So after a year of no running and a year of comfort eating my way through lockdown, I'm a fat knacker.

Anyway, yesterday I took delivery of a concept2 rower. I chose it because I'd used one a few times at the local gym, and everybody I know who rows said it was the one to get. Rowing on it is very comfortable. It has a great display, can link to your phone or usb stick to transfer your work outs to Strava ( a big motivational plus for me) or wherever. You can even network it to other concept2 rowers to simulate a real boat, not that I'll ever use that feature.

I gave myself an utter beasting yesterday by rowing just 2k! This morning I ache like a b*stard, but can't wait to get back on it!

 Axel Smeets 17 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

You could consider an incline treadmill. I have a Nordictrack x22i in my home set up. My main cardio these days is sticking it on 25% incline and knocking out 2500ft of incline in 45 mins, walking at just under 3mph. Great hill fitness training and low impact. Unbelievable fat burn too. I hardly ever run on it but I'm in better shape than I have been for a while. They're pricey but I got a manufacturer refurbed one which knocked 1k off the RRP. Been a really good investment. 

If you've got room, have a look at air bikes too. I have a Schwinn AirDyne bike and that provides a really good low impact cardio workout. 

 mountainbagger 17 Apr 2021
In reply to streapadair:

> an earlier version of

+1 for the JTX Sprint 5. Got mine for lockdown and still use it for intervals. Use Kinomap on a tablet (big TV would be better!) for a video of scenery whilst running, and it also controls the elevation and records the run/syncs with Strava.

I don't use it for normal runs as, even with Kinomap, it's quite boring, but if you watch Netflix or listen to podcasts etc., possibly it's ok.

Also, I can see it being useful for short recovery runs or if you want to try barefoot running or even trying out new running shoes without getting them dirty so you can send them back.

 Jon Greengrass 17 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

If you don’t have time to run outdoors how will you have time to run on your new treadmill?

 George Ormerod 18 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

I’ve had dread mills and a rower. I’d say it’s easier to buy a good rower for a the money  than a treadmill. Even though I run a lot I find a rower much more tolerable. Though I wouldn’t buy a treadmill specially for it, as mentioned above, when I’m in a hotel gym a good workout is to ramp it up to the max gradient and walk as fast as you can. 6k in an hour at 15% is 900m and pretty hard. 

 Chris Murray 18 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

I was an oarsman at school and uni before I saw the light and started climbing. There's a fair degree of crossover in terms of the muscle groups used, plus rowing is lower impact than running, so a bit easier on the joints.

If you go for a rowing machine, the only one worth considering is one from Concept II. Everything else is crap.

 IanNicBit 18 Apr 2021
In reply to streapadair:

We had one of these and thought it was excellent. Very sturdy and a great price. 
 

We originally bought a lighter one, which broke due to heavy usage, but JTX could not have been more helpful and replaced it with the Sprint 5. 
 

A great purchase. 

 David Riley 18 Apr 2021
In reply to Dax H:

> If you get a rower don't get one with  hydraulic arms. My brother used to buy the York ones from Argos but as he got Fitter they didn't last. After returning 3 or 4 under warranty he gave up. The last one only lasted a couple of hours. Rowing hard the oil gets hot and it was destroying the seals. 

One of my customers wanted me to connect one of these to a computer by using a pressure sensor in the oil.  That was 1990.  I felt bad that he spent a fair bit of money on it, and I looked and said no thank you, because of the pressures and stresses involved.  I'm sure I was well out of that one.  I wish I'd kept out of parking sensors too.

 nufkin 18 Apr 2021
In reply to Chris Murray:

>  If you go for a rowing machine, the only one worth considering is one from Concept II

Do they do a version with adjustable incline?

 Chris Murray 18 Apr 2021
In reply to nufkin:

Unfortunately not which, on reflection, is probably why I gave up rowing for climbing.

 Street 19 Apr 2021
In reply to elliot.baker:

I bought a C2 a few years ago after injuring my ankle and found I got a bit addicted to it. The community around it is fantastic and it's kept me motivated. However, although my cardio fitness is great, for running the Welsh 3000s a treadmill would be much better.

On Saturday, I thought I'd ease myself back into trail running with a 7 mile run having not been out for a few months over lockdown. Despite doing about 50k a week on the rower and having good cardio fitness, it was a struggle getting round as my legs weren't used to running and they were destroyed on Sunday. I felt like an old man!

Post edited at 10:21
OP elliot.baker 19 Apr 2021
In reply to Jon Greengrass:

I'd save about 17 seconds on closing and locking the front door and zipping my key in my pocket and reversing that when I got back. 

That could add up over a year!

Oh, also I could run with the baby monitor while toddler slept upstairs (two floors up), if my wife was out, whereas otherwise that would have to be a non-running evening. Wouldn't have to spend time picking an outfit because it could always be just shorts regardless of weather. Sure there must be other benefits.

Roadrunner6 19 Apr 2021
In reply to Jon Greengrass:

> If you don’t have time to run outdoors how will you have time to run on your new treadmill?

Because you just plug the baby monitor in and run whilst babies nap. As a dad of one year old twins and a 5 year old I've done that a lot. My wife works weekends, nights and long shifts as an MD so I can't easily leave the house. I suspect many parents have similar experiences.

Post edited at 16:42
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