First Degree Fitness Neptune Rowing Machine

Treadmills? Steppers? Ellipticals? Gym experience? Not my thing. The Neptune Rower gives me everything I need right at home so I can take whatever opportunity avails - no more excuses. The rower requires a clear footprint 7ft x 2.5ft.

It's smooth, quiet, and gives good consistent resistance right throughout the stroke. I read reviews about different rowers and lack of resistance was a common theme, but rowing is not about taking your muscle strength to the edge, it's more about all-over-body workout and this rower delivers an even resistance that fairly mimics a real-life rowing experience, where the resistance and the result comes from your own effort and pace that you put into the workout. This rower has no trouble on the aerobic front, it will raise your heartbeat and exercise your breathing as far as you want to take it!

The water makes a gentle sound which is quite Zen once you settle into a rhythm. The computer is functionally adequate; a back-light would have improved it. You can use the computer to pace your workout using whatever measure you prefer: elapsed time, number of strokes, strokes per minute, calories, or all of the above. The tempo setting (think metronome) is less useful because the audible beep is too low volume and gets lost in the sound of the water. The whole unit is well engineered and feels solid and stable during operation.

I used to enjoy rowing in dinghies when young, and using the Neptune rower evokes those good memories. Assembly was OK; most of the unit was pre-assembled. The parts are well labelled; the assembly diagrams could have been better detailed.

As someone in my 50's who has been letting the whole exercise thing slide for too long, I appreciate that with the rower I can start at a level appropriate for me, and can step it up over time as my fitness levels improve - this unit will stay with me and deliver as I need to step up the intensity.

I thought about whether to rate it down to 4 stars for the computer and assembly diagrams, but the exercise experience is what it's all about and that definitely rates 5 stars. It's exactly what I hoped for, it will help me improve my fitness and strength, and it will keep the nagging doctor off my back.

Would I buy the same thing again, knowing what I know now? Yes, absolutely!