8 best rowing machines to supercharge your fitness at home, tried and tested

The wave aims to be a more compact (by 30 per cent) version of the original Hydrow. Thankfully, it still retains some of the features we liked so much from the original – such as the “drag technology”, which combines magnetic resistance with a polyester belt to produce a smooth rowing action with no stutter – but it does have some cost-saving tweaks, too.

For starters, rather than the original’s aluminium, it has a polycarbonate frame, which is light for moving around but also feels robust enough to survive the ironing board falling on top of it in the spare room. Most importantly, it retains a confidence-boosting build quality and that’s without mentioning this simple change now makes it £400 cheaper. Another tweak is that the wave’s 16in screen has been reduced by 6in and is now static, so you can’t swivel it like you could the screen on the original machine.

Having really enjoyed the live rows from various rivers across the globe and also the workouts with a third-person view of your coach in their boat, we were intrigued as to whether the shrunken screen impacted the immersive nature of the connected content. In short, it didn’t. The coaches are both highly motivating and knowledgeable and the sheer volume of workouts on offer means you never need to do the same one twice, which really keeps things fresh. There is also a big emphasis on the correct form running throughout the online content, which, in our minds, is key. Access to this Hydrow content costs £44 per month.

Once you’re finished with the rower, you can store it upright, but you need a vertical anchor kit for this, which will cost you extra. You can also order the wave in four different bright or bold colours if you want it to make more of a statement.

If you haven’t got the £1,000 budget for the original water rower (£1,099, Waterrower.co.uk), this is a quality machine that offers six levels of resistance that are adjusted by manually filling or emptying the tank. It sounds like a hassle, but the manufacturer has really simplified the process, so it can be completed quickly and easily.

Instead of a chain drive powering the water paddles, there’s a belt, which provided a very fluid stroke and made the machine very quiet – all you can hear are the paddles in the tank going through the water. Contoured seats, nice large flexible foot plates and a smooth rail system meant, even when we were rowing over greater distances, we never had to worry about the machine and could just concentrate on our technique.

The LCD console has programmable modes, such as racing against the computer and various countdown programs, including time, distance, strokes and calories. Meanwhile, for storage, the rower stands neatly on its end.

Throughout assembly, which is easier with two people, you can tell the component quality is high with the freedom air – it’s a rower that’s built to last. Both the seat and foot-plates are comfortable, and the slide rail allows for a smooth stroke with no lag on the handle and all the other contact points are comfortable and sweat-proof.

There are eight levels of magnetic resistance, while the air resistance means the harder you pull, the tougher you will find it – it’s like a rower that fights back. The performance monitor is easy to read, no matter how hard you’re working and has all the relevant metrics, as well as being heart-rate-monitor compatible.

This is another dual resistance rower, utilising 10 levels of air resistance and a further 26 of magnetic, so there really is something for every level.

Getting up close and personal with the various parts of the rower during setup, we could tell the RW900 is a high-quality, robust machine that will be able to withstand a lot of punishment. The finishing touch is the 22in HD touch tablet, which will connect you to NordicTrack’s iFit training library – membership of which is free for one-year after purchase. Without iFit, you can still use the rower manually, of course, however, the live and on-demand workouts are well curated and will benefit all experience levels.

The RW900 really is a versatile machine. One of the standout features we absolutely loved is that, during your chosen session, the resistance is automatically adjusted according to the trainer’s programme and, during the pre-recorded outdoor workouts, the resistance matches the wind and water conditions you’re seeing on screen. This means you can really focus on your training goals and keeping your form as you train.

This connected rower launched in 2020, when the world went home gym crazy, but its continued popularity is well deserved – it’s an excellent machine that delivers a very realistic training experience. Rather than have its own screen, the echelon turns your phone or tablet into your performance monitor, via an app, with membership to the connected content starting at £19.99 a month, for a two-year sign up. If you want a more flexible monthly membership, it will cost £29.99.

The app is split into featured, on-demand and live tabs, giving access to hundreds of classes for all levels and all outcomes. If you’re into training live alongside a trainer and other “real” rowers, the app also boasts up to five live classes every day. Not only does this mean you can easily fit them into your schedule – ideal for keeping you motivated and making sure your training stays on track – the classes always had a focus on proper rowing technique, which is good if you’re just starting out.

Away from the app, the Echelon is a quality machine with straightforward assembly and resistance coming from a magnetic flywheel, providing 32 levels of very smooth resistance. One of the standout features is the resistance or damper control, which is increased or decreased using two red buttons in the handle, so it’s easy to adjust mid-row without disrupting your stroke. Foot rests were large, sturdy and fully adjustable, so we felt well anchored throughout, and the rower stayed static during even the most energetic session.

The Echelon also made storage very easy – with a very simple action, you can hinge the rail of the machine so that it folds up, so you don’t have to worry about it taking over a room.

The first thing we noticed about the skillrow was the very punchy price point – it’s well over double the price of the next most expensive machine in our line-up – and it doesn’t even come with a big, glossy screen. It does, however, come with a lot of technology that aims to mirror the sensation of real rowing closer than any other machine out there. In our opinion, it makes good on this promise, with a hybrid resistance profile that uses both air and magnets, in a proprietary technology that Technogym calls “multidrive”.

The primary resistance (there are 10 levels) is all air and offers a smooth yet dynamic rowing movement that is the closest to the actual sensation of all the phases of a rowing stroke through water. However, the skillrow also gives you the opportunity to switch to power mode, which is where the magnetic brake kicks in to mimic the agonising drag of a resistance weight through the water, which changes the amount of tension in each stroke without changing the feel of it, turning it into a power workout, rather than an aerobic one.

From seat to footplate, this was the most ergonomic rower on test, with build quality that is second to none. You can just row using the standard metrics displayed on the rower’s backlit monitor or you can clip in a smartphone and use the skillrow app, which broadens out your training options to include training videos and online racing.

Finally, you won’t need to worry if you’re headed for an early morning session, because the machine is very muted during use. In terms of footprint, the skillrow effortlessly splits into two pieces that can be stored on their ends.

You just can’t have an indoor rowing round-up without the machine that has been the go-to ergo of the world’s top indoor rowing competitors, as well as the training tool for Olympians for decades. The RowErg replaces the industry standard model D and relies purely on air resistance to deliver your workout, which you can track on the clear, concise and well-organised PM5 performance monitor.

The flywheel feels very responsive to the effort you put in, so you feel in control of your session, and the nickel-plated steel chain is never sloppy at the catch, with a very smooth action throughout. The high build quality the American manufacturer is renowned for is again in evidence and the whole machine feels ergonomic when in use, with a nicely weighted handle, comfortable seat and effortless monorail. The unit is wheeled and, like other Concept 2s before it, it can actually be separated into two pieces (without tools) for easy storage and transportation.

Rowing machines are not the most attractive pieces of home fitness equipment, however, Water Rower changed all that with its fabulous design, marrying wood and water and turning the machine into something you’d be proud to have on display in your home.

Thankfully, it’s not just about the looks, as the performance of the S4 is also exceptional – it uses paddles inside the water tank to create the drag as you pull the soft handle, which grips well. There are no damper settings, as, the harder you row, the more resistance you’ll feel, and the rower produces a lovely fluid row even when you’re going hard. In addition, the monitor is well set out and gives you all the necessary data, from stroke rate to total distance.

At the end of your session, you can store the complete rower upright, so it actually has the most minimal footprint of all the rowers in our edit but, when something looks this good, it’s almost a shame to put it in a corner.