This wasn't purchased by me but just one of the pieces of exercise equipment from a neighbours house after we converted our garage into the 'communal gym'. I never really used a rowing machine in the past and probably wouldn't have purchased one otherwise, but now I think it really is a good piece of equipment to train with.

One of the most important things to note is its durability. It has had extensive use by a number of teenage boys and men while training very intensively.

It is very smooth to use, the track just glides. The settings can also be adjusted to suit the feel so for me the smoothness is good but for someone that is actually training to actually row a heavy boat, it can be adjusted to mimic that.

From using these machines in gyms a few years ago, the design of this doesn't strain as much and I'm not stretching abnormally to use it either. It probably helps that it's so easily adjusted to suit the height of every user and you can adjust the footrests to suit yourself as everyone is different with how they feel is a comfortable position.

On the screen, you can keep track of distance, speed, pace and calories - and it really shows such a difference if you were on a walking machine at the same time. This machine really works your body. It also has a preset program feature so it's easy to set that and you can also record and 'race' yourself later.

This is a really good machine and I would recommend anyone in the market for one to definitely buy this one, or one in the same range. It is excellent for all purposes from basic fitness or weight loss to people who actually row and need something to train on while out of the water.