Hi Does anyone use a rowing machine? I have cartilage damage in both knees and had an op on one last year so trying to build up the muscle to strengthen the joints. Taking it steady at the moment so as to not not over do it, can anyone suggest how I can get the most out of it? Thanks
What is it you need vippy? Is it cardio, explosive power or duration? Do you have full range of motion and have you been passed as fit to train?
I would recommend you seek advice from qualified professionals, rather than a forum on the internet. Your situation sounds serious.
Hi Simon I have a reasonable range of motion but so far cannot go into a deep squat, I am self employed so being passed as fit is a luxury and I am on my feet all day. At present I am building my time up, doing about 20 min at a steady pace which gives me about 300 reps on my knees, also trying to lose weight. Just wondering if there are any routines which will give me help with my recovery without knocking me backwards
Knees aren't my area of expertise, so any advice should be weighed up carefully. I would be going slow, warm up really well and work on increasing the range of motion. The other thing I'd be doing to assist with weight loss is shorter, but more intense workouts. Are you strong enough to put in short sprints? 20 minutes is probably more than enough, but after 10 minutes try some 30 second sprints.
thanks Simon I'll start building those in, I'm training fairly intuitively at the moment so trying to feel what my knees need, just looking for options to work with
Cool, so as long as the knees hold out I would try some light tabata. Warm up for 5-10 minutes then do short bursts of 20 seconds, with 10 seconds rest before doing another 20 second burst. 8 rounds of that is 4 minutes hard work. That will also have the added bonus of really getting the lungs working and will also aid with weight management. Maybe also just do physio work. Very light rowing but with a deeper stretch for a few reps every hundred metres rowed. Do you have a friend/partner who could stand at the bottom of the rowing machine and hold a resistance band? They could hold one end while you hold the other. You could then use the seated rowing position to do the equivalent of a squat while seated. If you don't have a training partner you could set the resistance level quite high, hold the grips close to your chest and just use the legs to move forward and back.
no training partner but I can adjust the resistance. Its currently on the lowest setting so as not to over do it I'm not really getting my heart going yet so I think that is the next stage for me so the 20 second bursts as suggested
I've found a couple of decent links that should help. http://www.livestrong.com/article/525929-rowing-machines-knee-problems/ http://www.cartilagehealth.com/images/Images from rehabmatters/BASEM poster final.png http://concept2.co.uk/training/technique_video
