The Gold Standard
Sir Steve Redgrave
Speaking in 2005
"If you're thinking of getting fitter, losing some weight and generally improving your health, in my opinion the single best fitness machine for you is the Concept2 Indoor Rower. Throughout my rowing career, it formed one of the main building blocks of my training. No matter how hard I tried, I could never beat it. It never broke and it never let me down. The quality of the machine, the similarity to rowing on the water and the accuracy of the feedback enabled me to attain a level of fitness and mental toughness far beyond anything I had achieved in my early days. It gave me the confidence to take on the world and, well, you know the rest...
"Now that I've retired from competition, my training needs are different. My work and family commitments mean that I have very little time to exercise and, like everybody else, I need to combat the dreaded middle-age spread. I've also got a new target as I am aiming to break the world charity fundraising record in the 2006 Flora London Marathon to raise funds for the Steve Redgrave Trust, which is working to improve opportunities for young people across the UK. Yet, despite all these changes, and despite all the pain it has put me through in the past, it's still the Concept2 Indoor Rower that I find myself turning to. It's the best all-round fitness machine in the world, and suitable for anybody, not just international athletes!
"Because the machine gives you the best workout around, exercising all the major muscle groups, it's incredibly time efficient, making it possible to have a really good session in just thirty minutes a day. Equally important for me is the fact that it's weight-bearing and impact-free. At my age, it's not possible to endlessly pound the streets. If I'm going to line up at the marathon in the best possible shape, it's the Indoor Rower that's going to get me there. In no time at all I know I can improve my stamina and shed a few of those extra pounds I've put on since retirement.
"I have known the people from Indoor Sport Services for over 25 years now, and it is no surprise to me that they have transformed what was once simply a training machine for rowers into the best fitness machine in the world. The product, the support and the company are all first class. Even though I am rarely going to be in a boat again, the Indoor Rower will still be my training companion for many years to come."
Sir Matthew Pinsent
Four time Olympic champion and BBC presenter Matthew Pincent tells us about his history with the Concept2 rowing machine and how it worked in with his Olympic training over the years.
Steve Backley OBE
Steve Backley has an impressive set of medals from European, Commonwealth, World and Olympic Championships. Although now retired from professional athletics he is still a keen sportsman and competitive Indoor Sport Services rower. Here he tells us what drives him and what he thinks of the rowing machine.
Other testimonials...