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The Best Rowing Machines for Supercharging Your Cardio Gains at Home
Skip the park runs and strap into one of these rowing machines instead
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Rowing machines are hard to top if you’re after a cardio-focused full-body workout you can smash from the comfort of your own home. Unlike treadmills – which, let’s face it, do not compare to being out in Mother Nature – rowing machines are a compact and practical way to enhance your stamina and fire up your muscles. They're also more accessible than most cardio machines, which is an added bonus.
Below, we've rounded up the best rowing machines on the market for adding to your home gym setup to suit every budget and lifestyle. You can pick from our quick list below or scroll on for our 101 on rowing machines, to help you take your training to the next level.
Best Rowing Machines
Read more: The Best Treadmills, Tested by Men's Health
What Muscles Do Rowing Machines Work?
It's often thought that rowing is just an arm workout (the Olympic team do have epic guns after all), when in reality, this exercise will target your entire body.
'Evidence shows that rowing works 86% of the muscles in the body, from your calves and glutes to your pecs, abs and obliques,’ says Pelé Zachariah, head of performance at ROWBOTS. ‘This means that even if you're short on time, you know you'll be getting a brilliant full-body workout.’
Benefits of Rowing Machines
Zachariah explains that rowing will not only help you build strength, it can improve your conditioning and your posture too. It can also boost your aerobic ability, increase your heart and lung health and smash through the calories. Best of all, it's lower impact on your joints.
Aside from the impressive fitness-boosting portfolio, rowing machines are particularly versatile. Perfect for those long cardio sessions, as well as sprints at maximum effort. There’s a reason they're a favourite among the CrossFit community, as they fit perfectly into those punishing WODs.
Convinced? We think it’s time you stepped up your home workouts with one of the best rowing machines available right now. Your body will thank us.
Types of Rowing Machine
Magnetic rowing machines
‘Magnetic rowing machines use strong magnets to create resistance,’ says Vikash Sharma PT, DPT, OCS, COMT. ‘Because there's no friction, they're generally very quiet. They're often more compact, foldable and low maintenance, too.’
Water rowing machines
‘Water rowing machines use a drum that's full of water and resistance is created by paddles that turn as you row,’ adds Sharma. ‘They offer a smooth rowing motion and they're also a good option for quiet workouts.’
Air rowing machines
‘These rowing machines provide resistance by blowing air through a flywheel. They are able to automatically adjust the resistance and replicate the rowing action of being on the water.’
How We Test Rowing Machines
Our team of experts have covered countless kilometres on each rower, trying every feature and setting on offer to test their ease of use, design, functionality and performance. Only rowers with exemplary scores in all three areas earned the Men's Health Lab Approved badge. Here's what we looked out for during our tests.
Ease of use
We want a rowing machine you can hop on and start using with minimal fuss. Ergs earned extra points for simple set-ups, easy-to-access workouts and well-presented performance stats. We also rewarded 'Just Row' functionality where the machine automatically starts tracking your stats when you start pulling.
Design
Sleek, compact or foldable designs — ideal for smaller homes — were scored highly, as well as clever design features that improved their functionality.
Performance
The best rowers should be stable, secure and comfortable, whatever pace you’re pulling. Smooth-moving handles are also a must.
14 Best Rowing Machines Worth Buying in 2024
Priyankaa is our senior health and wellness writer, specialising in expert-tested reviews and roundups on the latest health and fitness products. From walking boots to running machines, Priyankaa has written about hundreds of products and is passionate about providing in-depth, unbiased reviews. Plus, as an avid runner and gymgoer, she knows exactly what to look for when finding the right gymwear, fitness tracker or earphones.
Priyankaa has an MA in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University and over five years’ experience in health and fitness journalism. Priyankaa has written for Stylist’s Strong Women Training Club, where she regularly wrote about diversity in the fitness industry, nutrition tips, training advice and her experience completing various fitness challenges.
She has also written for a variety of publications including Business Insider, Glamour, Bustle, Metro, HuffPost UK, gal-dem and more.
Outside of work, Priyankaa can usually be found trying out a new gym class, seeking out London's best eats or watching a Spanish TV show in a bid to keep up her language skills.
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Yanar has spent 15 years as a health and wellness editor and writer for national titles such as Women’s Health, Men’s Health and Runner’s World. Yanar is a 580-hour yoga therapist, 200-hour yoga teacher and level 3 personal trainer at Yanar Mind & Movement. After years of running races and marathons, she discovered CrossFit and Olympic lifting in her mid-30s and fell in love with training and competing. She now advocates strength training for women to build a stronger body for life and the benefits of nervous system regulation for better physical and mental health. When not training, teaching or writing, she can be found experimenting in the kitchen.
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