If you’ve ever considered rowing for a workout, now is the time to give it a try! And don’t worry, you don’t need to be a competitive rowing athlete to obtain all the benefits that rowing can provide. In fact, if you can only do low-impact exercises, then rowing can be in your toolbox as a powerful strengthener for both your heart and lungs!
Being a low impact movement is just one of the many benefits of a rowing machine. Not only does this activity put little to no pounding on your joints, it’s also user-friendly – allowing novice exercisers as well as elite athletes the ability to increase strength and endurance. That’s right, both your overall strength as well as the health of your heart and lungs can be improved with a rowing machine.
Power is needed in order to row, and doing this for an extended period of time improves endurance of the cardiovascular system. On the other hand, strength is also improved, especially within the lower body as well as the core and upper back.
Rowing machines might seem like a complicated piece of fitness equipment, especially since they aren’t quite as popular as a treadmill or stationary bike; however, you can get quite the burn on a rowing machine, and it gives you another option for cardio if you’re at the gym and the bigger pieces of equipment are being used. But what if you wanted to use a rower at home?
A rowing machine is a fantastic piece of equipment to add to your home gym. While some brands have heavier machines and a larger footprint, most rowing machines are easy to move around and fold/put away when not in use – making it very user and home-friendly!
There are several different rowing machines out on the market today. Even ones that have an actual base filled with water to mimic rowing outdoors! With all the choices, it can be overwhelming. So with that being said, we’re going to compare the rowing machines from ProForm to the rowing machines from Aviron – and from there, you can narrow down your decision a bit!
ProForm Rowing Machines
ProForm has two different rowers: the 750R Rower, and the Pro R10 Rower. The 750R is $999 and includes an iFit membership for the first month of use ($39/month after those 30 days are up), while the Pro R10 is $1,403 and includes a three year membership to iFit.
This fitness subscription allows you live and streaming access to hundreds of workouts, both on and off the rower! From interval training and HIIT to strength training and yoga, you’re sure to find a workout that fits your training regimen. The 750R rower has a 5” high-contrast display, while the Pro R10 has a 10” color touchscreen for you to view your workouts.
With a 250 pound weight capacity for both rowers, you can’t go wrong with ProForm! Both rowers have ergonomic molded seats and adjustable handlebars, while the Pro R10 boasts 24 digital resistance levels.
Both machines also have front-mounted transport wheels and a SpaceSaver Design, allowing you to fold up the rower when not in use and move it quickly out of the way.
Aviron Rowing Machine
Aviron also has two different rowers: the Impact Series Rower, and the Tough Series Rower. The Impact Series comes in at $2,199, while the Tough Series is $2,499. A personal membership to Aviron’s network (which includes challenges, updates, players, etc.) is $29 a month and is separate from the cost of the rower itself.
Within this network, you can play games as your workout time goes by, interact with friends and other Aviron members to get to the top of the leaderboard, and even virtually race other people as part of your workout. Both rowers have a 22” HD touchscreen that allows you to view your progress, as well as 4GB of memory and 32 GB of storage.
Both rowers have comfortable seats, while the Tough Series Rower has commercial-grade bearings to boost the longevity of the machine itself. Both rowers also have 16 levels of resistance available, as well as whisper nylon belts.
The Impact Series Rower has four transportation wheels and is designed to fold, while the Tough Series Rower has two wheels and cannot fold away. The Impact Series Rower can hold up to 397 pounds, and the Tough Series Rower can hold up to 507 pounds!
The Bottom Line
No matter which rowing machine you go with, you’ll get a terrific workout on a quality machine. The Proform rowers are reasonably priced and offer access to iFit and and folding machines for your convenience.
The Avrion rowing machines are excellent for bigger and heavier users. Either way, you can’t go wrong@
