“Every university, high school rowing club, and gym has those machines,” he says. With a price point under $1,000, they’re more accessible than a lot of pricier new models (like the Ergatta and the Peloton Row), but don’t skimp on functionality. It gives you a lot of data, and it’s one of the most dynamic-feeling rowers out there, Kamphuis says. One thing the Concept 2 won’t offer is some of the more high-design features of the Hydrow Wave, like the live rowing classes streamed to your machine, that’ll give you the sensation of being out on the water even if you’ve never rowed before. It’s why we’d recommend the Hydrow for someone who wants the full suite of experiences, from on-demand videos to a quiet, space-saving design.
The Best Stylish Rowing Machine: Ergatta
There’s a reason everyone, including us, raves about the Ergatta rower. It’s a beautiful machine and the overall experience is centered on the athlete. Rather than simply prescribe workouts or offer classes, the Ergatta’s calibration system tailors workouts specifically to your fitness level (sorta like a personal trainer), so they’ll grow with you as you level up over time.
With its handsome cherry wood body, it looks a helluva lot more sleek than a hulking metal indoor rower, plus it stows away vertically when it’s not in use. But with a price that’s even more steep than the RP3 T below, an Olympic-caliber machine, you’re really paying for looks and design over actual game-changing features. It also uses a traditional water tank to dial up the water resistance similar to an actual oar moving through the waves, which can be a lot louder than a magnetic rower like the Hydrow Wave. It’s a solid, lightweight machine, though, with a cool gaming component that’ll help your morning workouts feel a little more enjoyable. (If you’re a cyclist who loves the gamification of Zwift, you’ll love the virtual regattas on Ergatta.) And if you’re still unsure, the machine comes with a 30-day trial period so you can test it out in your home and get a feel for it.
The Best Hardcore Rowing Machine: RP3 Original
“The best of the best, if you’re looking for one that the Olympic teams and elite Ivy League schools are training on, is the RP3,” Kamphuis says. That’s because the RP3 actually moves underneath you for a unique boat-like sensation, he explains, that really simulates the experience of being out on the water. It combines an aluminum body with a dynamic wobble seat and a tablet or phone monitor that connects to the RP3’s free app to pull up your stats. Kamphuis calls out the fact that the RP3 feeds you a lot more metrics and live feedback than the average machine on your dig force, joules, and your power curve—not only your watts or speed—which is ideal if you’re trying to maximize your performance.
If you’re training with a team, you can also connect one RP3 to another to pull up the power curve of your teammate, which can help you optimize your technique. The RP3 can be used in dynamic or static mode, which allows rowers to have more flexibility with how they train, and the machine itself is designed to help improve a rower’s posture and go easy on the body during training, which can help prevent any injuries down the line. It’s a hefty investment for the average rower, and probably overkill for anyone who wants a basic machine, but a really bang-up machine for serious rowers.
3 Other Rowing Machines We Like
This budget rowing machine, which mimics the looks of an Ergatta at a much less scary price point, is the perfect way to test your mettle without making a massive investment. It’s not as high-tech as the other smart rowers on this list, but it’s a user-friendly, compact model that gets the job done with a Bluetooth monitor to chart your stats. It’s our top pick for the best budget rower in the $500 range, but we’d suggest throwing a little more money in on the Concept 2 if you want to work out like a serious rower.
This year, the fitness junkies over at Peloton branched out into the rowing space with the launch of the Peloton Row. It’s got a sleek, compact frame at just 8′ x 2′, and magnetic resistance that allows you to get a sweat session in without waking up your partner. It also dials in on metrics that help you improve your form and stroke rate, with a padded seat to help you stay planted for a while without your glutes going numb. The swiveling touchscreen is a nice feature that the Hydrow Wave doesn’t have, and it borrows from the folks at Hydrow with some scenic features that make it look like you’re out on the water in pretty, far-flung locales. If you want the experience of working out with actual rowing experts versus Peloton instructors, we’d still recommend the Hydrow Wave over the Peloton. But for Peloton devotees, the siren song of a new Peloton machine that can help them gamify their rowing workouts (and build a community with other Peloton folks on the leaderboard) might be too compelling to resist.
If you love the Assault Bikes you’ll find in every CrossFit gym in America, here’s the rower for you. Made by the same company, the massively overbuilt AssaultRower will fit in nicely next to your squat rack, kettlebells, and TRX straps. Unlike the other picks on this list, the Elite is an air rower model, meaning it produces resistance using air flowing over an internal flywheel. It’s all powered by you, so the harder you row, the faster the flywheel spins, dialing up the resistance in the process. It’s a great way to self-regulate your workouts, but isn’t quite as dynamic an experience as some of the other picks on this list that offer classes and magnetic drag resistance. The monitor displays basic stats, but won’t stream any classes or scenery as you whir away.
Bill Bradley, Lori Keong
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