Buying a Rowing Machine for Your Home Gym

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.

I'm sure you've also put some thought into fitness machines to fill your gym. You've probably read the fitness sites back and forth and found that not only are most of them are useless, but some of them are actually dangerous. But looking at the slick ads you wonder which is which, which can hurt you in a good way and which will hurt you 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.

High-end rowing machines have much more complex machinery and parts than similar quality treadmills, which makes them comparatively more expensive. Also, the rowing machine must have a strong frame to withstand the force of the heaviest people. The treadmill is composed of relatively simple pieces, and even if these parts are very high quality, they will always cost less than the complicated parts.

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.

It's not a be-all, end-all proposition, however. You'll find that while a rowing machine is good for your back, biceps, legs, and butt, it doesn't really help you address muscles you want to show off at the beach. To reach that goal and work your abs, triceps, chest, and shoulders, will need work as well. Another caution for a rowing machine is that it should not be your only leg exercise regime. You don't want to get locked in to a single movement pattern which can cause repetitive strain problems.