Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

About me: I am 50 year old chick just trying to hang on to what I got. I have have two herniated disks in the past, compete in triathlons and trying to stay in decent shape without too much time commitment. I swore off the local gym due to distance, cost, germs and just ridiculous drama. Since then I have been "piecing together my basement gym". I have all of my equipment from Craigslist, but the C2's just never come up for sale. I had decided to add some hard hitting cardio to my workout; I did a bunch of research and came up with "rowing". Initially, I knew ZERO about rowing, so I read EVERY AMAZON review, watched every YOUTUBE video. I will say it is not very often that I will pull the trigger on a $900 purchase sight unseen, but I did confidently with this purchase. With that being said, I can honestly say this piece of equipment has humbled me. I got off after my first 2000m in 9 minutes and my muscles were screaming and I was so hooked. Where else can you get a non-pounding workout that totally takes your breath away in 10 minutes and is FUN, FUN, FUN! I always do mega-research on any big purchase. After reading all the reviews, here are the few notes about the rower, accessories and usage that I jotted down that might help others in their purchase: 1. There are several computer programs out there for online rowing: the two most popular seem to be: 1)Oarsome Foursome and 2) RowPro from DigitalRowing. I didn't try Oarsome Foursome, but this is what the website said: A general fitness and training DVD for all fitness levels - with or without a rowing machine brought to you by the Australian rowing legends, the Oarsome Foursome. I have other workout DVDs like this and they are interesting the first few times, but because "they play the same thing time after time" they become stale. ProRow, reviewed below, will keep your attention over time because it is very customizable. ProRow (...) is a slick software program that keeps you visually engaged in your rowing progress. This program offers multiple combinations of rowing, will track your progress and allows you to easily race against other rowers throughout the world. Users can pick various distances, race against yourself or multiple Olympic caliber rowers, change views, race online, and even offers a coaching clinic. I did try this software and I did love it. The free, 20 day trial is almost a no-brainer and is a Cadillac program. My only gripe with the software is that it doesn't let you adjust the time for your time zone. Customer support said this would be fixed in the next release late 2012, but I find it incredibly annoying to have to calculate the time to join a group row. The software is $100...which is a little steep after plopping down $900 for the rower, but it is a one time fee without those annoying renewable/yearly fees. My assessment: Worth every penny! 2. I went back in forth in trying to justify the extra expense of PM4, but I just couldn't. Now that I have the PM3, I have to admit I didn't really think about the value of the heart rate (HR) capture. [The other features of the PM4 I determined I could live without]. One reviewer made a comment on how he could see all his progress over time: heart rate, SPM, time and weight because it was all tracked. That got me to thinking. If you already have a Polar compatible chest strap and the $25 HR attachment from Concept, your HR will show up on the PM3 monitor. You will not get more detailed data such as "time in zone" or "maximum HR" on the monitor, but if you are wearing your watch receiver when you row all the usual metrics it provides will be stored as a file on your watch. As a result, I will be ordering the $25 cable soon. 3. As a newbie, I found the Youtube and Concept 2 videos on proper form essential before I ever sat on the machine. I think it helped me understand/visualize good form before I got settled into any bad habits. 4. One row owner noted incredible weight loss and toning results using the "Pete Plan". I found the website and plan by googling "Pete Plan" and "rowing". It's free. Check out the tab called "Pimp My Erg". There is a device called C-Breeze that takes the out air from the flywheel and blows it back out on you to keep you cool. Xmas gift??? 5. One row owner recommended oiling the chain every 10th use and using a Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean on the bar to keep it clean and friction free. 6. Several folks used towels over the seat for extra cushioning, others bought the C2 seat. Some folks use gloves; my bike gloves work great. 7. For an non-impact workout that maximizes calorie burn this machine is the answer. I can easily burn about 150 calories in 9 minutes with a 2k meter row which equals 900 calories in an hour!! 8. One reviewer has her kid do a 500m row before he could use his X-Box. How creative... 9. My 13 year old told me that rowing was so easy. We sat down and has a "row off": I did a 2000m and she did a 500m. I beat her Strokes/Min by .1. Since then, she is on my rower twice a day...when her friends come over, she makes them row. She is determined to beat me. [Not going to happen, Jessie!] 9. Okay, this is where you will find me totally crazy. There are actually indoor rowing championships. Amazon won't let me post the link, but on the C2 website go to /home/racing/calendar. I found a local event in my area and immediately signed up for a 500m race the same day I ordered the rower. What I didn't know is that the new rowers are used for the one day competition and then sold at a nice discount.... The local row team sponsors this indoor rowing competition. They bring in new C2 D rowers, use them one day and sell them afterwards. Big screens to watch the action, age group competitions [13-70] and so many different length races. There was a time lapse Youtube video of last year's event that is worth two minutes if you haven't been to one of these. These local events are feeder/qualification races for the World Indoor Rowing Championships, called C.R.A.S.H.-B in Boston-February 18th this year. C2 has info about this on their website under RACING or check the C.R.A.S.H.-B website directly. 10. Out of all my workout equipment [CompuTrainer, elliptical, treadmill, Bowflex and VasaTrainer swim machine] if I had to pick and keep just one....yep, it would be this rower. 11. Want to try before you buy? Go to to the Concept 2 website and look under \Online Tools\Find an Indoor Rower for rowers in your area. I am very glad I pulled the trigger.... this is the only piece of equipment my whole family uses on a consistent basis and I now understand why I could never find it on Craigslist. I did apply for the Amazon credit card which let me pay this baby off over a year period of time at no interest...lessening the pain of writing a $900 check. Hope this helps!