How the Water Rower Works

If you’ve never seen a Water Rower before, prepare yourself for a revelation. The sleek design is so stylish and luxurious that you’ll never again see exercise equipment in quite the same way. The machine itself is a visual symphony of American hardwoods, anodized steel and the smoky, fluid curves of the polycarbonate tank that holds the water. The classic elegant design of the Water Rower fits right into the décor in most homes, like a carefully chosen piece of fine furniture. It’s specifically created for the home gym, and designed to fit into a small space. When it’s not in use, you can simply stand the WaterRower on end, and it takes up less space than a dining room chair. All in all, the Water Rower looks far more like an elegant, up-scale sculpture than a serious piece of fitness equipment.

Make no mistake, though. A serious piece of fitness equipment is exactly what it is. The Water Rower was designed by rowers for rowers, and that shows in everything from the tiniest details (like the non-slip grip on the aluminum oar) to the patented water paddle mechanism that makes the Water Rower the closest possible experience to rowing on the water. That makes possible a smooth, flawless rowing motion that exercises all of your large muscle groups at once – without putting undue stress on joints and bones. It’s stylish, timeless, elegant – and the best aerobic workout that you can find anywhere.

Short History of the Water Rower

Rowing machines have been around for well over 100 years. One of the earliest patents for a rowing machine was filed with the U.S. Patent Office in 1872, and when the YMCA decided to add gymnasiums to their facilities, indoor rowing machines were among the first exercise machines introduced. Those machines were nothing like the Water Rower, though. The old-fashioned rowing machine consisted of a seat that rode on a pair of rails as the rower pulled on ‘oars’ and pushed with his legs.

Since one of the key elements of the exercise in rowing is the drag on the oars as they pull through the water, older rowers used bands attached to the seat to mimic the water’s resistance. If you wanted a harder workout, you used stronger bands with more resistance. The first major design innovation to the rowing machine was the ergonomic rower, which replaced those bands with a flywheel that used air to mimic water resistance. Since 1981, when the ergonomic rower was introduced, people have used air, bands, chains, pulleys and even magnets to make rowing a rowing machine feel like rowing a boat. It wasn’t until 1988 that John Duke, a member of the U.S. National Team in rowing and a naval architect, patented his unique WaterFlyWheel design. The WaterFlyWheel is the heart of the Water Rower’s unparalleled rowing experience.

Why the WaterFlyWheel Makes the Water Rower Unique

One of the beauties of rowing as an exercise is that the harder you row, the more resistance there is against your oars. The more resistance there is, the stronger your workout. Most rowing machines use some mechanism to simulate that resistance. The most popular and well-known is the Concept 2, which uses a flywheel spinning in the air. It’s noisy, and the resistance needs to be manually set to change the level of your workout. Because the resistance is artificially set – or imposed – you run the risk of straining muscles by trying for a workout that’s beyond the limit of your capability.

Not so with a Water Rower. Because the resistance in the rower is provided by water, it works the exact same way that water does – makes sense, doesn’t it? Here’s how it works:

At the front end of the Water Rower is a tank of water. When you row the machine, you’re turning a paddle wheel inside the tank. The paddle wheel’s turning makes the water in the tank spin. The harder you row, the faster the water spins. The faster the water spins, the more resistance there is. The more resistance there is, the more you get from your workout. To get a more powerful workout, all you have to do is work harder.

Because the resistance is geared to your ability, it increases naturally as your own strength and abilities increase. There’s far less risk of overstraining yourself by setting the resistance higher than your body is ready to handle because the resistance is self-regulating. You never risk working your body harder than it is ready to work.

Filling the Water Rower

The first time you use your WaterRower, you need to fill the water tank with water. The manufacturer suggests that you use plain, ordinary tap water to fill the tank, because it contains chemicals that inhibit the growth of algae. After the tank is filled, the only maintenance it will need is an occasional chlorine tablet added (every 6 months to 2 years, depending on the amount of sunlight on the water tank.)

The amount of water that you put into the tank determines how hard a workout you’ll get. The suggested amounts are:

Children: 12-14 liters
Women: 14-16 liters
Men: 16-18 liters

There’s a handy level gauge marked on the side of the tank so that you know how far to fill it for each level of workout.

The Water Rower – As Close As You Can Get To Rowing Without a River

Rowing on a Water Rower is as close as you can get to rowing on the water without being on the water. The ergonomically designed, padded seat glides soundlessly and smoothly on anodized steel runners attached to wooden rails. There’s no clanking or banging, no mechanical sounds to break your concentration on the rhythm of your rowing. Instead of your ears being assaulted by the hum of the flywheel whirring through the air, the only sound you’ll hear is the pleasant, rhythmic rush and whoosh of water. The rhythm, say many rowing enthusiasts, helps keep the pace of your workout steady, and adds to the feeling that you’re gliding along on the open water.

Living with the WaterRower

The WaterRower is designed to fit into any lifestyle, into any style. It comes in three different “series” with several models available in each series. The Natural selection is crafted of solid ash, and stained in either oak, or rose and black. The Designer series is elegantly styled in different materials, including models in black walnut, cherry wood and stainless steel. The M series is designed for the commercial market, and features a low-rise and a high-rise model each designed in brushed stainless steel.

Each model is available with or without the computerized monitor, and there’s an option to add a monitor later if you choose to buy without at first. The monitor does far more than keep an eye on your speed or your heart rate. Through a variety of functions, you can use the S4 monitor (the latest upgrade) to monitor your progress, keep track of your workout statistics, tell you when you’re working at optimum benefit level – even tell you how fast you’re rowing and how many miles your machine has been rowed overall.

The Water Rower gives you all the benefits you’d get from taking a scull out on the river – a full, low-impact aerobic workout that works the arms, chest, back, shoulders, legs, thighs and glutes – all in the comfort of your own workout room. It does it with a machine that’s so well-designed and stylish that it fits into any room style and décor. Beauty, utility and unparalleled quality all rolled into one compact fitness machine. It just doesn’t get much better than this.

Kristopher Gardner is a freelance writer and home exercise enthusiast providing information about indoor rowing machines at http://www.All-Rowing-Machines.com.

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