Best Rowing Machines of 2024

When using a rowing machine, it is important to exercise well if you want to get the most out of your workout. It is helpful to have a rowing coach or coach who is familiar with the machine to teach you the correct way to row.

Pick up, drive and retrieve: It is important to learn the four main steps of paddling. This is it Capture, drive, finish and retrieve. Peloton rowing coach Alex Karowski says your starting position should look like this: “Starting in a fully pressed position — your arms should be extended, your body pivoted forward at a slight angle, and your knees close to your chest.” From here you want to push with your legs to guide the seat and handle it away from the screen. “For the first third or half of the flight, our legs do most of the work while our arms and bodies are supported and take the pressure,” Karowski explains. Then, when the legs reach about 45 degrees to the ground, the body begins to swing. The key to swinging the body, he says, is to think about “adding momentum” to the handle. The legs begin to move the internal flywheel, and this is where the legs and body can work in tandem to further accelerate the flywheel. “Finally, our arms engage at the end of the stroke and we pull the handle up to the chest,” he says. Once all of that is done, the stroke recovery phase begins, which is the exact opposite as the arms move away from the body first, followed by forward body rotation, and the legs are squeezed back into the catch.

Do not abuse the drag operator: The drag factor usually appears as a damper handle on a traditional rower. In more modern paddles, like some of the ones mentioned on this list, it is included within the software. “Most people assume that moving this from, say, 3 to 10 makes the machine harder, but what it really does is simply increase the rate at which the flywheel slows down, and therefore makes the stroke feel heavier because now it does. As if You were paddling in molasses instead of water,” Karowski explains. In other words, avoid confusing “drag factor” with “speed level” or “density.”

Know what the main measurement is: The main unit measured at grade is output. Karowski explains that when you row, each stroke takes a certain amount of time, so the work being measured is the force applied to move the flywheel. “From the output, we can derive the partition, which is given in terms of the time it would take to row 500 meters at the given output and distance,” he says. Another metric to look at is stroke rate, which is the number of strokes you would perform, if you maintained your current rhythm, in one minute. “I encourage people to focus on the production because that’s the big number that’s usually in the middle of the screen,” Karowski said. Keep in mind that different rowing machines have different metrics highlighted, but ultimately it comes down to how much force you can apply through the motor to move the flywheel.

Paddling precautions: As with any form of exercise, it’s important to get clearance from your doctor if you have health concerns or are pregnant. “If you’re coming back from an injury — and one that doesn’t prevent you from sitting on the rowing machine — the rowing motion can be a gentler way to regain your cardiovascular fitness,” said Peloton rowing coach Katie Wang. This is a good way to get the benefits of cardio while taking care of your joints and knees.