Cardio Energie

I am big into fitness and weight training but i need cardio. I have a stationary bike that that just works out my legs. I could run but the neighborhood insnt the best. I heard rowers work out the entire body and its not expensive unlike a treadmill. There is this rower called Spartan Sports Full Motion Rower. Its cheap and really all i can afford for a 16 year old who works 2 days a week. I couldn’t find any reviews for the rower but I was wondering if anyone would not about this rower or if it looks good enough. Thanks!

I recently incorporated the use of a Polar Heart Rate Monitor into my exercise routine. I work out 6 days a week. 5 days consist of 45 minutes of cardio and another 45 minutes of weight training and the 6th day is just the 45 minutes of cardio. On day 7 I rest.

I always love watching the calorie counters on my favorite cardio machines such as the eliptical bikes and cross trainers … they tend to tell me I burn much more calories in a 45 minutes session (about 575 to 600). A treadmill says I burn about 350 to 400 in the same time.

When I started using the heart rate monitor I noticed the calories burned on the HR monitor showed lower ranges on the eliptical bike & cross trainer … about 375 for 45 minutes verses what the machine said (575-600). As for the treadmill, the HR monitor was closer in range to the machine.

I’m wondering which one is more accurate (the HR monitor or the machine?) Both devices make you imput your age and weight … so why are they so different?

If you only have a choice of one of the above..which is best for overall conditioning?