Rowing Machines: Great for the Home
If you're serious about fitness, I'm sure you've thought about putting together a home gym. It could be a Zen sort of place where you can suffer and improve yourself in peace and quiet away from the chaos of the outside world, or a raucous corner of the world where you can workout with just your friends and no one else.
When looking to fill your gym with machines, you probably take the time to look at fitness sites and ads about fitness machines. If you've taken the time you will have discovered that many of these are useless, and some of them are even dangerous to use. It can be hard to determine which will be good for you and which will just hurt you.
One piece of equipment that will give you the most bang for the buck over the long run is a rowing machine. While it may not provide the versatility of something like an exercise ball and is a bit more costly, it's is nowhere near as expensive as a decent treadmill.
Some of the main reasons the price difference between high end rowing machines and high end treadmills is so great are the more complicated motor and mechanics of the treadmill, coupled with the need for a more sturdy frame able to withstand the impact of a 300 pound person running on it. In contrast, a well made rowing machine is a much simpler machine, which will always cost less than a well made complex machine.
A rowing machine is just at versatile as any other cardiovascular equipment. You can decide if you want to work out by time, distance or endurance also. You can incorporate the upper body as well. You can't do that on other equipment like stepping machines or bicycles.
A rowing machine is somewhat restricting in that it doesn't work all necessary muscles to be toned everywhere. The rower focuses mostly on the back, butt and legs with a little bit of biceps so the rest of your arm, the chest and the abs will need extra attention to balance the body. A rowing machine also uses a specific pattern of movement for your legs so the repetitive motion may cause injury if you don't have variety in your workout.
I'm sure it has crossed your mind to fill up your gym with fitness machines, and you have eagerly read various fitness sites that told you most of these machines are not only useless but some are actually dangerous. You might be wondering which actually can hurt you in a good way or in a bad way. One piece of equipment that will give you the most bang for the buck over the long run is a rowing machine. While it may not provide the versatility of something like an exercise ball and is a bit more costly, it's is nowhere near as expensive as a decent treadmill.
Published May 13th, 2008
