After six months, most home gym end up looking the same. The kettlebells roll under couch; the treadmill gathers dust. But the rowing machine usually doesn’t.
It provides a full body workout in one fluid motion. You use your arms, your back, and your legs by driving with your legs while pulling with your back and arms. That make it an efficient and effective exercise (as opposed to “just” running in place).
And if you choose the right model, it’s something you’ll be able to keep as part of your life instead of a piece of expensive closet space. Most of us aren’t looking to buy the single best rowing machine out there. Most of us are trying to find the best machine for our own individual situation.
Maybe we have a small amount of space? Maybe we’re on a budget? Maybe we don’t want to deal with assembly or maintenance?
Choosing the incorrect machine could mean turning a five minute stretch into a logistical nightmare. Choosing the correct machine means it becomes an easy part of quick session. Do you value data over silence?
Or do you want nothing but silence? First up, what kind of resistance mechanism? This will dictate how hard the machine pull, and also its behavior while unoccupied.
Key Factors for Choosing the Best Rowing Machine
Why Rowing Machines Stay in Use
The old standby is air resistance, fans spin, creating drag that scales directly with your own pulling force. The harder you go, the harder you feel pulled back. It’s a real, visceral feeling.
But there’s a catch: it’s noisy. Air rowers sound like a tunnel of rushing air. If you live in a thin-walled apartment with other people sleeping, this might not be the best option for early mornings.
Choosing the Right Resistance Type
For a quieter option: Magnetic resistance use a magnet to create drag, which you can then control via a button or dial. You set it as lightly as you want (for long cardio sessions) or all the way up (for strength training). The movement is smooth, consistent, and quiet.
While some purists say it’s not as raw as air resistance, for most people the tradeoff is worth the silence, especially if you want to row while watching a movie without having to shout above the whirring sound of a fan. Pistons cause resistance within hydraulic models, which tend to be the most compact and least expensive. They’re nice because you can tuck ‘em away behind your bedroom door, but then you remember how segmented the motion is.
Your legs and arms don’t quite move together as a single unit, which makes it feel choppey. Pistons also have a limited life span; sooner or later they’ll either seize up or start leaking. These are fine if you just need to get a quick cardio session in a small studio, but they typically won’t last very long under heavy, daily use over several years.
Then there are water rowers, which take up a middle position on the spectrum. They use paddles in a tank of water to create resistance. This makes them extremely smooth because they mimic weight of a real boat.
They also have a meditative quality. The sound is more a gentle slosh. And you continue to move even after stopping your pull…
Similar to being out on the lake. But there’s also the downside: maintenance. You have to add algaecide to the water to avoid getting any kind of slime, or else the tank becomes a biology experiment.
An extra step, sure. But then again, it’s a beautiful machine that deserves a bit of care. Finally, I’d be wrong not to mention the brand aspect of this, Concept2 has been making air rowers for years and they are the gold standard.
Top Rowing Machine Brands to Consider
The Model D is everywhere (gyms and at home) and they’re built like tanks. You can get a good used one and when it’s time to sell, you’ll still get most of your money back, it holds value ridiculously well.
While it’s not the prettiest rower on the market and it takes up some floor space, it gets the job done.
If you care about aesthetics, WaterRower is the way to go; their wooden finish and water resistance are first-rate and it doesn’t look like a piece of exercise equipment. It will feel like furnitures. And while Hydrow is an all-in-one solution that features streaming classes on a large touchscreen combined with a magnetic rower, it’s pricey.
You also have to subscribe, so it is basically a rowing machine meets Peloton. If you need some sort of digital coaching to keep yourself going, it’s worth the price tag. Otherwise, you don’t need all that overhead if you just want to turn off your brain.
Measuring Space and Final Selection
The last limitation is space. Measure out your room and add a foot or two for clearance. An upright rower requires about eight feet in length for that full leg extension.
There are some which fold up, but then setting them back up becomes awkward. So if you can dedicate a corner to this machine, size isn’t as important. However, if you’re moving it daily, foldability and weight will be the determining factors.
If you’re rolling it up the stairs once a week don’t waste your money on a heavy steel frame. It may be the sleek WaterRower, sitting on the floor looking good enough to keep in the room with the rest of the furniture. Or it may be the rugged Concept2 that stands up to a decade of hard pulls.
Or maybe it’s the quiet magnetic model that allows you to pull without waking anyone else when you get up at 6 AM. The bottom line: Get the one you’ll use most. Measure your floor space.
Check your wallet. Then go for the drive.
