Types of rowing machines for Home Use | Pros & Cons, Budget, Resistance

We all know there are different types of rowing machine according to their resistance. All the types of rowing machine offer a different kind of workout and benefits, so, it is important to find the one suitable for your needs and what are you exactly looking for in your workout equipment. The rowing machine offers a full body workout including cardio and muscle toning routines means the machine works on both your upper and lower body parts. There is some rowing machine that is driven by hydraulic force, some by flying wheels and some are driven by magnetic force.

Hydraulic Rowing Machine

The Hydraulic machine is one of the best workout machines to use at home and keep yourself in shape, If you are looking for compact but effective workout machine in a tight budget, this is the rowing machine for you. It works on the piston resistance that comes from the Hydraulic cylinders that are attached to the handle of the rowing machine, the simpler mechanism of the hydraulic rowing machine makes it popular who are looking for cardiovascular workout and some upper body toning, the Hydraulic is not best known for lower body workout as it usually has fixed seats, so you have to set yourself in a particular position means no legs movement and thus minimizing the effect of the full body workout. The length of the rower handles on this class of rower is typically adjustable, the handle length is fixed which makes the trajectory that the hands must take on the stroke and return, thus it makes the stroke less accurate than it’s other counterparts.

Pros and Cons

Pros:-

• The lower price due to the simpler mechanism and design.
• The compact size of the product that has much fold up and it can be stored easily without taking much space when it’s not in use.
• The Hydraulic Rowers are much quieter than the water and Air Rower, and thus it makes it ideal for them who don’t like the unnecessary noise.
• Some higher-end models offer variable resistance by adjusting the fluids in the cylinder before you begin working out.

Cons:-

• The Hydraulic Rower is as smooth as its other counterparts like air and water.
• The seats on most Hydraulic rower is fixed, so your legs muscle won’t move and won’t give you any real workout.
• You can’t adjust the resistance during your workout.
• Hydraulic rowers don’t emulate real-world rowing conditions because your hands can’t recreate the difference in hand height on the stroke and return.

Flywheel Rowing Machine

The second on the type is Flywheel Rowing machine also known as the Air rowing machine. As the name suggests the resistance is provided by the wind and this gives you the experience like outdoor rowing. There is a fan blade attached that rotates when you pull the handles, the harder you pull, the more resistance you will feel with every stroke, You need to pull harder than the Hydraulic machines. Air resistance models use vanes on the flywheel to provide the flywheel braking needed to generate resistance.

The flywheel rower will give the benefit of full cardio and add muscle on the upper parts of the body along with the calves and lower part of the body. The adjustable vent use to control the volume of air moved by the vanes of the rotating Flywheel, thus a smaller vent results in lower resistance and larger vent results in higher resistance. The energy dissipated can be accurately calculated given the known moment of inertia of the flywheel and a tachometer to measure the deceleration of the flywheel. The Flywheel rowing machine mostly used by the fitness enthusiasts, rehabilitation clinics, corporate fitness centers and also used as sports rower and indoor competitive rowers.

Pros and cons

Pros:-

• The flywheel Rowers gives you complete control over the intensity of your workout.
• They can be available at a low price as per depending on the model.
• It gives you a full body workout along with cardio.
• It works smoother than the Hydraulic Rower.

Cons:-

• Some features dampers to allow resistance control at first but work smoothly afterward.
• The continuous whoosh of air cab be a bit louder at times, and the noise can be an issue to some people.

Magnetic Rower Machine

This Rowing machine comes next in the list, and the resistance is given by the permanent magnet. In this machine, there is no friction required, and this leads to no sound thus making it best indoor rowing machine where you can easily do other activities like watching T.V, etc. while Rowing with no sound disturbance. The Magnetic rower also gives you a full body work out and cardio, but it won’t give you feel of actual rowing. Magnetic Rowers has a rotary plate, made of non-magnetic, electrical conducting material such as aluminum or copper, and either integral with, or independent of the flywheel, that cuts through the magnetic field of the permanent magnet or the electromagnet, resulting in induced eddy currents which generate a retarding force that opposes the motion of the rotary plate.

The resistance is adjusted with the permanent magnet system by changing the position of the permanent magnet relative to the rotary plate. Most of these fitness rowing machines are based on magnetic resistance available utilizing only magnet resistance or a combination of magnetic and air resistance.

Pros and Cons

Pros:-

• Magnetic resistance rowers are quieter than any other indoor rower so it might be ideal for apartment owners and people who don’t like much noise.
• The adjustable seat provides a lower body workout.
• The handlebars adjust in order to provide a stroke and return that moves the rower’s hands through different heights.
• The metallic rower is the smoothest in all the other rowers.
• A wide range of resistance means you can customize your workout.

Cons:-

• The Metallic rower machine can’t fold up because of the monorail.
• The hand motion is more realistic than the hydraulic resistance machine, but the sensation doesn’t feel like the actual rowing because it is too smooth due to the metal.

Water Rowing Machine

The water rowing machine is considered the best one among all the rowers because of it accumulate features and design, and it actually provided you the sensation of rowing in lake due to the water that’s filled in the tank, it feels like the boat moving through the water by the swishing sound the water made as the flywheel rotates inside the tank. The frame of the Water Rower comes in both wooden and metal version so you can buy as per your preferences. As you have probably gathered by the name the resistance is provided by the Water, The Water resistance models consist of a paddle revolving in an enclosed tank of water, the mass and the drag of water creates the resistance, the more you row, the more resistance you will feel throughout the workout.

You can change the resistance level by increasing or decreasing the water level in the tank, so models provide the feature to increase or decrease the water level but on some, you have done it by yourself by the help of bucket. The rower gives you the through workout including the cardio, upper level, and lower level body parts. It is suitable workout equipment for home and gym too. The Water Rower is usually the first choice to buy because this typically meets everybody workout requirement.

Pros and Cons

Pros:-

• With Water Rower, you are able to create your own resistance simply by digging deeper in each stroke and catching the water at the right angle
• This considers as the best choice for the beginners due to natural motions that are easy to pick up.
• The Water Rower provides an entire body workout.
• It gives the feel of rowing actual rowing due to the swishing sound.

Cons:-

• The Water Rower is pricy compared to all the other Rowers.
• Some people may not like the constant swishing sound that it constantly gave off.

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Summary

While all the rowers are good and have their own specialty and drawbacks. They are guaranteed a good way to work out your whole body and not only cardio. We do separate cardio exercise, but with the Rowers, you can do your cardio and gain some muscle along the way with a bit of more work and Let me tell you the Rowing machine gives more profit in less time. Hope you give it a try and find the one that you want for yourself. Fore more information about indoor rowers,  you can read on Wikipedia.

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