The best rowing machines are an essential piece of your home or personal gym if you want hardcore training to boost your fitness and burn those calories. This type of gym equipment also sculpts your hamstrings, glutes, and your back, which make up a large percentage of your muscle mass. Indoor rowing is also an alternative to intense cardio activities, so it is really an all-in-one upgrade you need to have for total body fitness.
However, the best rowing machines can be a very expensive purchase if you do not know what you are looking for. We know that technical fitness jargon can be confusing, so thankfully, Consumer Reports already tried and tested several units to bring you the best of the best.
Why Trust Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports uses a sophisticated set of testing categories in their private facilities with controlled environments to rate and test several products. Every aspect and part of a specific product is scrutinized to help ensure that you get your money’s worth out of a certain recommendation. The group isn’t affiliated with any brand, so its releases are 100% guaranteed to be unbiased and accurate.
The Best Rowing Machines Recommended by Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports listed these top six best rowing machines with scores garnered from a very specific set of criteria to help you make the best possible choice. Note that price is relative to the rating, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to buy the most expensive option to get a good workout. What’s common between these models, regardless of the price, is their top-notch user safety ratings, which Consumer Reports themselves evaluated.
Peloton Row Basics (95) $2745
The Peloton Row Basics is the undisputed rowing machine king this year from Consumer Reports. It’s very expensive, but it’s one of the few that tracks every essential metric serious rower want to keep tabs on, such as stroke rate and time per 500 meters. Its system uses electromagnetic resistance, and it has sensors that detect how you can improve.
The Row Basics has a 23.8-inch screen that gives you a window into the company’s live or on-demand classes. It is another $44 bucks or so, but it offers a ton of workouts aside from the rowing programs. It’s very easy to use and built tough, so it’s suitable for beginners until they develop into pro rowers and beyond.
Hydrow The Hydrow Rower (95) – $2495
The Hydrow rower is also an electromagnetic resistance rower that runs quiet and efficient. The system is designed to make the user feel like they are actually rowing on water, instead of something that seems like its too mechanical. It boasts superb durability and a lot of features, such as its flexible connectivity and the large 22-inch HD rotating screen. It also
Like Peloton, the Hydrow Rower also relies on subscription-based workouts that are either live or on demand. Each workout was designed to be immersive, so you might find yourself rowing through fjords or rivers in Europe or more. Of course, the programs are not limited to rowing, so classes for yoga, circuit, or strength training are also available when you subscribe.
Sunny Health and Fitness Magnetic Rowing Machine SF-RW5515 (82) – $221.99
The Sunny Health and Fitness Rowing Machine is the cheapest so far this year, but it is CR’s smart buy that ranks third for the 2024 lineup. It earns high marks because of its construction quality and user safety despite the low price. It is not as sophisticated since it can’t track your workout metrics, but it still gets the job done in helping you get fitter.
It can only track time, counts, and calories burned, but that’s what mostly matters in the long run. The machine is quite comfortable to use, and it has enough customization to personalize each workout.
The steel frame on the Kettler Favorit features a biomechanically-correct footplate setup which allows users to enjoy natural motion. The included monitor offers six functions, along with an infrared earlobe sensor which measures pulse rates electronically. This model has a weight capacity of 285 pounds, and it’s covered by a three-year residential warranty.
WaterRower A1 Home (72) – $900
The WaterRower A1 Home is a cheaper alternative to the option above if you also want a hydro-power drive and a wooden frame. The hand-crafted frame uses premium ash wood while the sleek monorail employs aluminum for durability and lesser weight. All units are unstained and only treated with Danish oil to bring out the luster and warmth of the wood.
The WaterRower A1 Home also only takes its wood from replenishable sources for ecology purposes and to help preserve our natural environment. WaterRower provides 3 years warranty for parts and five years for the frame, as long as the unit stays in the original country of purchase.
LifeSpan RW1000 (70) – $500
The LifeSpan RW1000 is a more affordable option that doesn’t compromise on performance and reliability. This model offers a quiet eddy current drive system with a 16.5-pound flywheel for smooth operation. It also uses a solid steel frame which is heavier, but more durable than other options listed in this lineup.
Another feature that makes the LifeSpan RW1000 stand out is its three-LCD console which provides distance, calories, time, strokes, and strokes per minute. All of this information is useful in helping the user maximize the workout and reach his or her goals. The LifeSpan RW1000 has a 300-pound maximum limit with a five-year warranty for the frame, two years for parts, and one year for labor.
Stamina ATS Air Rower 35-1405C (59) – $400
The Stamina ATS Air Rower 35-1405C is a more affordable option that uses a fan-powered drive that reacts to how hard you pull. This budget option features large footplates and a frame with built-in wheels so you can easily move it around the room if necessary. The machine’s footprint requires a little over 9 feet of length by 2.6 feet, so its rather easy to fit into smaller gyms or living rooms.
The Stamina ATS Air Rower 35-1405C also includes an LCD monitor which lets you track your speed, distance, and time, along with the calories you burn while rowing. This model only supports up to 250 pounds so its not as flexible when it comes to user’s body sizes. The Stamina ATS Air Rower 35-1405C has a 3-year warranty for the frame and a short 90-day guarantee for its parts.
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