Whether you are trying to lose weight, beat a health problem, or just boost your stamina, cardiovascular workouts are something you need to include in your regular fitness routine. These types of workouts are described as any activity that raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster and heavier.
Health and wellness experts all agree that cardio is important to strengthen your heart, improve your lungs, and make your cardiovascular system stronger. This results in your muscles getting more oxygen, prompting them to burn fat during exercise and even at rest.
The benefits of cardio workouts are undeniable—to both your body goals and overall wellness. But what kind of cardio workout works best?
Typically, when you think of cardio your mind probably goes right to running, biking, or even swimming. However, one of the oftentimes overlooked cardio workouts that provide great results and varying levels of challenge is indoor rowing. In fact, adding an indoor Rowing Machine to your home gym might just be the secret to your cardio workout success.
Why Indoor Rowing?
The goal of any cardio workout is to boost your heart rate, increase your breathing, and work your muscles. While most workouts tend to achieve all of these objectives, they differ in terms of difficulty, muscles targeted, and overall impact on your body. Choosing the workout best suited for you usually depends on your age, fitness level, and workout goals.
If you are looking for a full-body, calorie-burning, low-impact workout, then indoor rowing is a perfect choice. A specialized indoor rowing machine gives you a genuine total body workout. Rowing targets a wide variety of muscles including back muscles, core, quads, shoulders, glutes, hamstrings, chest muscles, biceps, and triceps all at the same time.
Plus, rowing works for everyone. Despite being a good cardio workout, it puts less impact on your body and your joints than the treadmill and the elliptical machine. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Indoor rowing can still provide quite the challenge. You just need to adjust your workout duration and resistance. Depending on the workout intensity and resistance, a one-hour rowing session can burn as much as 300-600 calories - more than you’d burn from one session of aerobics.
Best of all, rowing is a good combination exercise. This is perfect for when you’re short on time and looking for the best quick overall workout. Committing to at least 20-30 minutes of high-intensity rowing or 1 hour of intermediate rowing a day will already produce results. Rowing combines cardiovascular endurance and muscular toning so you can shed those calories while sculpting your muscles. By rowing regularly, you will notice better muscle toning, increased strength, and improved balance and posture.
4 Different Types of Indoor Rowing Machines
There are many benefits to indoor rowing. It’s just a matter of selecting the right machine for you and putting in the time to regularly use it. Rowing machines make a great addition to home gyms as these are versatile and tend to be smaller and take up less space than bulky treadmills or elliptical machines, a bonus if your workout space at home is limited.
But how do you choose the machine best suited for your needs? Learning a little bit about the different types of machines on the market can help you make an informed choice.
Currently, there are four types of rowing machines:
1. Hydraulic Rowing Machines
These machines are usually the most space-saving and budget-friendly options. These machines receive tension from the air or fluid that is compressed by a piston or cylinder located at the front of the machine. These usually provide several different tension levels.
2. Flywheel Machines
Flywheel rowing machines offer an experience similar to outdoor rowing. These machines get resistance from the user’s pulling motion that spins the fan blades on the attached flywheel. The wind provides the tension. To increase resistance on this type of machine, users just need to pull harder.
3. Magnetic Resistance Machines
Magnetic rowing machines are the quietest types of rowing machines. They achieve resistance from a specialized magnetic brake system that utilizes magnetic resistance or combines magnetic and air resistance.
4. Water Rower Machines
These are the ideal machines for users who want to feel like they are literally rowing through water. For these machines, users fill up the water tank flywheel with more or less water depending on how much tension they want. Several water rower machines are also made of wood for an authentic rowing feel.
Each type of rowing machine provides good calorie-burning workouts. Choosing the best rowing machine will boil down to personal preference, budget, space at home, and long-term fitness goals.
Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RW1205
To help you when it comes to choosing an indoor rowing machine for your home gym, we’re taking a closer look at the Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RW1205 Adjustable Resistance Rowing Machine.
This machine is a good choice for both beginners and intermediate exercise enthusiasts. Made by Sunny Health & Fitness, which has been creating quality exercise equipment for the past 15 years, this compact but powerful machine has several important features to help provide you with the best indoor rowing workout possible without having to break the bank.
Like all rowing machines, the Sunny Health & Fitness Adjustable Resistance Rowing Machine is designed to provide a workout that targets all the major muscle groups in an intense but low-impact way.
Key features of the SF-RW1205 include:
- A solid steel frame with a silver-colored anti-corrosive finish.
- Hydraulic cylinder resistance with 12 adjustable levels perfect for every kind of workout.
- A fully padded and ergonomically designed seat to help give you a solid base and provide you comfort while completing a workout.
- Large textured anti-slip foot pads for every foot size and adjustable foot straps.
- Fully foam-padded handlebars to keep your hands as comfortable as possible and prevent slipping during intense workouts.
- A digital LCD monitor that tracks workout time, row count, total count, and calories burned. You’ll be able to easily track your progress and meet your workout goals.
Why Choose the Sunny Health & Fitness Adjustable Resistance Rowing Machine
The Sunny Health and Fitness Adjustable Resistance Rowing Machine is a hardworking piece of gym equipment. But is it the right choice for you? Alongside its lineup of features, here are some reasons this rowing machine is a great bet for anyone looking for a reliable rower.
- Durable and Budget-Friendly – At its price point, you can’t beat the Sunny Health & Fitness machine. It’s a durable and hardworking rower that provides excellent home workouts that may be adjusted for users of varying ages, fitness levels, and sizes. All of this, and it’s budget-friendly too.
- Simplicity and Ease of Use – Along with the sturdy frame and durable resistance piston, the machine is easy to put together and simple and straightforward to use.
- Compact Size – The Sunny Health & Fitness Rowing Machine packs a ton of features into a small streamlined product. With its compact size, the machine takes up less space than other rowers, likewise making it easy to store.
- Adjustable Resistance Levels – With over 12 different levels of resistance, the Sunny Health & Fitness Rowing Machine provides resistance levels good for beginners and advanced users alike. The machine can easily keep up with you as you progress in your fitness journey.
With all its adjustable features, the Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RW1025 Adjustable Resistance Rowing Machine gives you good bang for your buck and would still be a bargain at even twice the price. For a highly affordable rate, you get a great machine that would make a great addition to any home gym.
Final Thoughts
Indoor rowing is a great workout choice that improves your endurance and strengthens your body. The hydraulic rower from Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RW1205 is a great choice for your home. It delivers an efficient and effective low-impact, high-intensity, total body workout at an affordable price.