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Original poster

Exercise machines for home

52 replies

ChampagneTastes · 09/04/2021 06:56

I used to run quite a bit, happily doing 10k a couple of times a week and was reasonably fit and healthy. Then I got Covid and now I have chest pains on occasion which make me nervous about going too far from home. So now I'm fat and unfit and fed up so my FABULOUS DH has built me a shed in the garden in which I can put up to two exercise machines. I am currently moving towards a spin bike and a cross-trainer. I'm not someone who is overly concerned about anything beyond burning calories and working up a sweat and I've always enjoyed those when I've gone to the gym. I need to find something that I can use daily, that doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart, that is comfy and is not synced up to some expensive subscription tat. I would really like to avoid spending more than £1000 in total BUT for the perfect machines I would consider it. Recommendations please!

OP posts:
TinkerPony · 19/04/2021 15:49

Friend used to work in gym now moved on new career advised me when i asked if i was buy 1 gym equipment which best and it was the Rower for overall fitness.

TinkerPony · 19/04/2021 15:49
  • Rower - rowing machine
AmandaHugenkiss · 19/04/2021 15:53

Love love love my rowing machine. Have a turbo trainer for my bike but would much rather be out in the fresh air on it.

OP posts:
Original poster
ChampagneTastes · 19/04/2021 16:38

Also, if anyone has a rower recommendation I'd be grateful!

OP posts:
CardiCorgi · 19/04/2021 19:22

Rowing machines depend a bit on budget and noise tolerance. I’ve been a rower (on water as well is gym) for years and Concept2 would be my first choice. You can often find second hand ones and parts are available for any repairs.
WaterRowers are quieter and with the wooden frame look nicer if they are in a room that is being used for other things.
The limited experience I have had of more budget machines was that they didn’t feel as solid or ergonomic.

PenfoldPenny · 19/04/2021 19:34

I so wish I had the space for a concept 2 rower. Awesome bit of kit. Alas........ no space!

PenfoldPenny · 19/04/2021 19:54

Ooooh I wonder if I could have a concept 2 in our carpeted loft? That might work

CardiCorgi · 19/04/2021 20:46

Why not? Ours is in the basement and tucks in next to the wall when we are drying laundry.

wombatgoeswild · 19/04/2021 20:49

C2 tower. Fantastic bit of kit. I'm a fat bird, love it. 😁

wombatgoeswild · 19/04/2021 20:51

Rower...

The Ski Erg is also good.

Not tried the Bike Erg but assume it's equally bulletproof.

wombatgoeswild · 19/04/2021 20:51

Plus they keep their value. I could have sold mine for more than rrp last year. Chose to keep it.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 19/04/2021 20:54

Concept2 rower. No question. I have a 10yr old c2 (still immaculate despite regular use), a good quality spin bike and a good quality motorised treadmill with multiple settings and incline options. All are good but the rower gives the best all round workout and is low impact for joints and what not, allowing you to avoid injury but get a really good level of at home fitness. It is very long though, about 10ft (without the extra of you on it and sitting back on the ‘pull’ stroke), so think about that when you are considering it for your space.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 19/04/2021 20:59

I don’t find the c2 noisy, it sort of makes a whooshing sound. Ours is in an outbuilding now but we’ve had it in the house and it wasn’t a problem (the treadmill was though!). Make sure you keep the seat rollers and the rail clean to reduce clunking and keep things smooth.

CardiCorgi · 20/04/2021 06:41

@wombatgoeswild do you have a SkiErg? I’m going to try to persuade the gym at work to get one when (if) they reopen.
I agree on them selling well, a friend advertised one six months ago and could have sold it ten times over within a day.
Thinking about it, it might be the music I play which is more of a noise problem, I have a model C which I think was also a bit louder than later models although nothing like the model Bs which were in our boathouse.

@ChampagneTastes British Rowing and Concept2 both have lots of tips and some good training plans to get you going. They could be used with other machines too.

I just thought of something else, will you have room for a mirror? Useful for checking technique in all sports.

Cormoran · 20/04/2021 06:47

A warning to those thinking about Peloton treadmill, it has caused the death of a child and injured 40.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/17/peloton-treadmill-us-regulators-child-death

A treadmill should stop when nobody is on the belt.

boniobiscuit · 20/04/2021 07:07

I have a Nordic track elliptical (cross)trainer and I'm in the best shape I've ever been.
However, the reason for that is because of iFit which is the subscription service that's compatible with NordicTrack gear. Its addictive.
Seriously, don't discount subscription services, using them to work out with will make you work out harder and with better form, ultimately getting better results in the long term. (IMO)

wombatgoeswild · 20/04/2021 10:47

@cardicorgi

Yes, I like the Ski Erg. I'd tried one a couple of times whilst watching competitions & didn't think much of one. Then they got one at my gym & I did a proper workout. Much harder, as it's a vertical pull, so different muscles to the rower & bike.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 20/04/2021 11:35

That peloton video with the toddler is shocking. WTF were the parents or carers doing allowing such young children access to it and leaving it in a way that the young girl could switch it on and use it?

Most treadmills have the emergency cord clip thing that cuts out power in the event of an accident but lots of treadmill belts don’t just stop automatically when there isn’t someone on the belt. You need to be wearing the clip and for it to have disconnected from the treadmill for the belt to cut out. That wouldn’t have helped in this situation. Whoever owns that treadmill and allowed those small children access to it needs to take a lot of the responsibility for that accident, large heavy exercise equipment isn’t preschooler play equipment.

Cormoran · 20/04/2021 19:19

Expensive treadmill in the range of the Peloton one DO stop on their own. I have a Technogym one and it stops.
It isn't something you can put out of reach of children and close in a cupboard, so it needs to be safe. Unless you have a room dedicated to a gym that you can lock, these machines will always be around children who know how to turn it on.

wombatgoeswild · 20/04/2021 19:39

The C2 rower would be ok around kids, I would think. The only thing they could really do is jam their fingers in somewhere but it would take a bit of doing.

I was once spat off the back of a treadmill, leaving grooves in my knees, not recommended. Think I was still in school at the time but it was the 80's, so no-one cared...

Original poster
ChampagneTastes · 21/04/2021 11:11

The Peleton videos are awful BUT I can't bring myself to blame the manufacturers - why on earth would you let small children play with them in the first place? Anyway, too expensive for me (and the same for the Concept 2 rower - I'm thinking more around the under £500 mark). I've committed to the crosstrainer/bike combo and have found a possible rower. I may look for some online workouts to use with them so any recommendations there will be gratefully received.

OP posts:
wombatgoeswild · 21/04/2021 11:22

The thing with the C2 stuff is that it doesn't lose its value.

If you want a crosstrainer, look on Facebook or Gumtree as they're pointless buying new.

Do try to balance workouts in all three planes and add resistance work in, bodyweight is fine. Much better for long-term health.

CardiCorgi · 21/04/2021 13:21

Well I let the dc use the Concept2 under supervision and on the lowest setting, one day I will get them in a boat too. In theory they could trap their fingers on the slide but they would actually have to be trying to do this.
I would say generally it’s a case of common sense, the same as with kitchen equipment, DIY stuff etc.
@ChampagneTastes have you checked eBay? Occasionally you get a bargain because the buyer has to collect. Mine was an ex-gym machine which I got refurbished by Concept2; they would have sold me the parts to do it myself, but I was pregnant and decided that it would get done quicker if I paid someone else to do it.

On a similar subject, can anyone recommend Bluetooth headphones to use when exercising? I’m thinking of doing some exercise in the garden but don’t want to subject the neighbours to my music.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 21/04/2021 13:22

@wombatgoeswild

The thing with the C2 stuff is that it doesn't lose its value.

If you want a crosstrainer, look on Facebook or Gumtree as they're pointless buying new.

Do try to balance workouts in all three planes and add resistance work in, bodyweight is fine. Much better for long-term health.

I would agree re c2 stuff but you have to have the capital to buy it in the first place. If you can’t afford it in the first place, it doesn’t matter whether it will hold its value in the long term. It does mean that that they aren’t cheap second hand buys though, maybe I’ve misunderstood your post and that was the point.

We did have a cheaper (about £450) rower before buying the c2 (it’s a model D so years and years old now but still absolutely perfect) and it was crap. The resistance just wasn’t there. Changing the settings made zero difference to the resistance and the rail wasn’t long enough for the pull back stroke. I would say that a rower is where you should buy a good piece of kit because it really makes a difference. I know you aren’t looking for a rower, OP but just in case anyone else is reading this thread and thinking of buying a cheap rower. I would absolutely not bother. They are a false economy in my experience.

I agree with PP re checking your local FB sites for cross trainers and other fitness equipment. There’s always loads available on mine, either people losing motivation or moving house and no longer having the space. Some of it is cheap junk, some of it is good quality stuff. The good stuff will be very heavy to move so think about that when you are planning to transport it.