account_circleMark

Really nice rowing machine

I've had this for a month and a half now and it is a very nice rowing machine. I got it from the Rockville, MD location. I think the version I got was the A-1 Studio rather than the A-1 home but other than the finish on the wood I think the two units are exactly the same so I don't think there would be any performance differences between them. First, I like the aesthetics of the wood - it looks much nicer in the home than a utilitarian all metal rower, IMO. I've used air resistance machines at the gym and these water-based ones are much, much quieter. A gentle woosh of water is all you hear - if you're rowing with the TV on, or listening to music, there's no need to turn up the volume as with air-resistance machines. As for the rowing motion, it is super smooth. With the woosh of water and the smooth motion, it almost seems as if you are out on the water. The only downside, performance-wise, is adjusting resistance is not as easy as turning a dial - you have to add or remove water from the tank to change the level of "mechanical" resistance. But, most rowers know that it's better to generate rowing resistance through personal effort rather than using the machine setting. Rowing machines produce more resistance at a given setting the harder you pull, so it's better to pull harder to increase the intensity of a workout rather than crank up the machine resistance to increase the work/effort. I have not felt the need to adjust the level once and have the tank filled to the "reference level" which is the resistance level most group classes use. Finally, this machine is very stable when stood up on end, and has a small footprint when you stand it up that way, which means it stores pretty compactly. It also has wheels in the front and is relatively easy to roll around on one level from room to room. That makes it easy to bring it out to where you want to use it and roll it back to store in a corner pf a back room when you are done. I even roll mine out on the back deck so I can row outside. To summarize, it works great, looks great, and has a pretty high convenience factor given that it stores pretty compactly and is reasonably easy to roll around the house.