Magnetic Rowing Machine

What magnetic rowing machine is best for you?

Having a rowing machine among your exercise equipment is truly ideal. This piece of exercise equipment is almost always included in every gym or home exercise setup. It would be very important to know the various types of this equipment. Here, you will find a short article that can help you find the best and right rowing machine for you. Feel free to read on this page to learn more.

Rowing machines really have come on leaps and bounds since the noisy, cumbersome rowers of a few years ago. These days even at the lower end of the price scale, you can get a fairly decent magnetic rowing machine.

The use of magnetic resistance, the same technology which is found in high-end elliptical trainers, allows the machines to be very quite, squeak free, and ultra smooth. Since rowing is such a great cario workout, and targets both upper and lower body muscle groups, id you're only going to invest in a single piece of gym equipment a magnetic rowing machine is one of the best solutions.

There are magnetic rowing machines to suit almost every budget. From inexpensive machines from companies like York and Spartan, to high end units packed with features from Concept and Bodycraft. Let's take a look at some of those features, and see which ones you need, and which you can probably do without...

Noise and Smoothness

In general, magnetic rowing machines are quite quiet (compared to air resistance) but there is still quite a lot of variation between different models. The Concept 2 is one of the most popular good machines, but it used to have a reputation for being quite noisy since it uses and air resistance flywheel. While the newer models are a lot quieter, they are still much noisier than magnetic resistance units. Other rowing machines, such as the BodyCraft R100 use a combination of magnetic and air resistance to give a different feel, and allow for more powerful strokes at the expense of a little more noise.

Resistance settings

Being able to adjust the resistance to your stoke allows you to plan your workouts better, and increase resistance as your training progresses. Look for at least 5 different settings.

Long travel frame

If you're quite tall, or other people of different heights in your familiy will be using the unit, look for a decent length frame of around 44" which will easily accommodate people of different heights.

Computer

A built in electronic display and sensor will allow you to get lots of feedback about your workout. Different models will give you different information but most magnetic rowing machines will at least track your time, distance, strokes, calories burnt, and some computers will also measure heart rate.

Once you've decided what features you need the next consideration is build quality and reliability. In general, you get what you pay for. Go for one of the bigger, well known brands and you'll be assured of a good wuality piece of exercise equipment which will last. You'll also find that if and when parts do break or wear out, companies like Concept 2, BodyCraft and York will be able to supply you with spares.

Whatever you go with, a magnetic rowing machine is one of the very best pieces of home gym equipment. In fact if I had to lose my weights bench, and exercise bike I could manage quite happily with just a rowing machine and a yoga mat, and the best part is that since they are so small they can easily be tucked behind a sofa when not in use!