Who knows Rowing Machines??

[Bazza1234]

I am just about to go on a cruiseship for 2 weeks - and they have a HUGE gym . I have never really used ship gyms much - but this time I am intending to use it. I don't really like to use treadmills , stationary bicycles, spinners , etc for cardio exercise - but I reckon I could put my back into a rowing machine. I am just wondering if they come with an inbuilt HRM like many treadmills do?? - or should I take my own??

[Hidden]

I'd suggest you take yours, it's only small isn't it?

[Bazza1234 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Yes -- I just wonder whether it will work inside a ship with all the electrical impulses going around?? I did a run this morning with it - all was going fine ( I was all nice and sweaty -- too much information, I know - but it is what a HRM needs! ) it worked fine for the first 10 minutes and then decided to STOP working for about 5 minutes -- then started up again for the next 20 minutes.

Mind you - it IS an ALDI $20 job -- I might have to get out and buy a Garmin at some time - not for $20 though!!

[Hidden in reply to Bazza1234]

Gawd, did you think you'd snuffed it? I would have! I'm coming to the same conclusion about the Garmin...RunKeeper is pretty useless actually...I eventually bought a watch for pool swimming, totally changed my swimming...BUT I'm too mean, and BaldyBoy thinks it's a waste... he cringed when I paid £85 for my shoes, and they are looking a bit worn already..

[Bazza1234 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

I don't mind Runkeeper - insofar as what I use it for. It seems to keep a reasonable GPS track of my movements ( I think that a lot may depend on the phone itself that you are using) . I use a cheapie Huawei - but I have been VERY impressed with it overall. Damned Chinese are definitely going to take over the World!!

Problem is when the HRM "stops", you have no idea of why. Obviously it needs good connectivity to the human body - but today I thought I had plenty of that. Some of the cheap ones do not like spurious electro-magnetic radiations and I would EXPECT that an expensive thing like a Garmin would ONLY react to a specific designed frequency . I though that maybe the battery had gone flat - it was making attempts to start up again as I ran -- but then it launched up into full service for the final 20 minutes, so I don't think it was the battery.

Anyway, these things are really only meant to be a Guide. It's getting warm here now - and I could see clearly, during the time it was working, that I was overextending myself in the Heart Rate department today , in spite of the fact that my leg muscles and breathing was saying everything is OK. I hit a high heart rate number while trying to run "easily" up a big hill - and it wouldn't go down much after I go to the top - 1 klm later I was done!!!

[Hidden in reply to Bazza1234]

Yes, you're right. These things are only really meant to be a guide, and RunKeeper is, after all, free. I do find it a bit weird sometimes though, on a run in Spain a few weeks ago, the spoken summary it gives at the end was completely different to the stats I got when I posted the run. It said I had run for 22 minutes, when in fact it was double that, and that's what showed on the web site.....

[Tomas Graduate]

Heart rate monitors on gym equipment are notoriously inaccurate. Might as well not bother with them unless you're certain you can get the same machine each time.

Why not splash another 20 bucks on an Aldi job? Compared to the cost of a two week cruise it's nothing.

Best of luck with the rowing.

[Bazza1234 Graduate in reply to Tomas]

Yes - I have heard that!! - but no personal experience. I will take the Aldi job with me - I like it when it is working

Trouble is re the cost of things -- I have no problem talking the wife into a 2 week cruise - but a $500 Garmin is another matter entirely!!!

[Pigivi]

I had in this order: a york hrm (disappeared from my bag at the gym) - a polar (fitness only) , still working but the battery of the hrm is dead and to replace the whole thing is over 30 quid. I finally got a Garmin on ebay, (£ 65 for a forerunner 110) after being kindly convinced by c25ers :

the hrm of the garmin does not work with the Polar... but the york does work with polar, and Polar and York work with gym equipment

But in the end, do you really need to know your heart rate for the next 2 weeks?

[Pigivi in reply to Pigivi]

I mean, if it is not for health reason,it may be just an opportunity for a break from technology kind of...as rowing machines come with a lot of gadgets , even the basic ones!

[Hidden in reply to Pigivi]

Thought you said York HAM....

[Pigivi in reply to Hidden]

[Irishprincess Graduate]

I would say that most modern rowing machines have an inbuilt HRM monitor. Mine does at the gym.

Why don't you contact the ship's admin department and ask them the question?

[Zev1963 Graduate]

They dont normall have inbuilt HRM, butare often able to display the signal from your own HRM. I have a Concept2 and it displays my Polar HRM. Most of the gyms use Concept2 as they are really good quality ans last forever. I had two cheap rowers before the concept2 which I wore out in less than a year each. The concept2 ive had for 10 years!

[Rignold]

The rowing machines at my gym are the one bit of kit that doesn't have an HRM.

I like the rowing machine.

Well I hate being on it, but I like the workout you can get on it. Much more so than the stationary bike or cross trainer or whatever. Works for long slow distance and for intense interval work equally.