A short excursion of the web appears to show me that I’ve misplaced the focus of my meager exercise regimen. I should be giving all my love to my Concept2 Model D Indoor Rowing Machine.
I love riding my road bike (downhill), but am beginning to question if it gives me enough love back. Everyday I struggle with the thought of going out for a ride for a lot of reasons. First of all, it’s a pain to get ready to go on a ride. You have to buy your cycling clothes (bib, jersey, shoes, helmet, gloves, etc) or “kit” which are not cheap. (Forget any apprehension you may have about being seen in public with your naked body being wrapped in skintight Lycra.) In no time at all, I’ve already spent several hundreds of dollars on bike clothing, gear, and accessories–more than I spent on my used road bike itself. Before you hit the road, you also have a time-consuming ritual to complete:
- Fill your bottles with water and/or sports drink,
- Fill your tires with air
- Reset your biking computer – needed to track your stats for bragging rights and to monitor (feel bad about) your relative lack of progress
- Put on your heart monitor so you can track how close your heart comes to exploding when you climb hills
- Inspect the bike to make sure quick-release components are tight and not likely to come apart when you hit a pothole
- Choose the right time of day. There’s nothing like biking when the weather’s just just the way I like it–sunny, a little breezy, 70s. But, in order to have the best experience, you need to get out on the road when the cars aren’t there en masse which in my neighborhood means the pre-dawn hours or 5-7 a.m.
- Be safe: watch out for cars, pedestrians, and your own attempts to bring harm to yourself. With 4 or 5 unassisted crashes with one resulting in a shoulder AC joint separation and countless scrapes and bruises from low speed crashes, I’ve found that I’m my own worst enemy on the bike.
Meanwhile, my rowing machine remains unused upstairs. I can’t even remember when I last used it. All I know is that I never really gave it a chance. I barely have a relationship with cycling, but enough of one to at least get me on the bike 2-3/week (when the weather is acceptable…which for me means several weeks/months a year when I don’t ride much at all.)
I’m reading now that a rowing machine will actually allow me to burn off a comparable amount, if not more, calories in the same amount of time as cycling and provide a better total body workout. What?! Did I not already know this, but for some reason stuck with the choice I made to be an accessorized cycler?
Sure, a rowing machine is a little boring to use for more than a few minutes, but now I have Netflix. I have podcasts. Surely, I can pass the time. The health benefit of rowing plus not having to wear my extensive kit, helmet, or risk bodily harm will get me through somehow.
I may be about to make the neglected rowing machine “my main exercise machine.” It appeals to me on so many levels, but we’ll see. After all, for my effort, would I rather have a body toned like a pro cycler (legs of steel but upper body of gimp) or that of a Nordic viking?
Tough choice.
-Ken
Facts Are Your Friends 