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I’ve been having this dilemma for a while. If I only have room for one piece of indoor exercise equipment, what would be the best option to keep fit under extreme circumstances, like when you can’t go out (for reasons such as weather conditions or, you know, pandemic)? Would it be a rowing machine? A stationary bike? Or an elliptical machine?
-Only Room for 1
ONCE UPON A TIME, I liked to tell myself that I’m the type of person who is committed enough to my health and fitness that I could make the most out of any situation. That I could develop a solid plan to stay active no matter what type of equipment or space I’d have at my disposal, or the larger conditions I could be faced with, whether on a personal or global scale.
Then came 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic, and I had to live up to that expectation in ways that I could never have expected. I was largely able to keep up a level of activity that met the bare minimum of my standards—but it would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if I had, before the calamity of the “lockdown” period, prepared my home to serve as a training space that functioned better than just as a last resort. I lived in a tiny Brooklyn basement apartment without a ton of space for gear inside, so most training days were an exercise in creativity as much as they were actually exercise. From this question, it sounds like you had a similar experience and found your home setup similarly wanting.
My biggest challenge was finding a low mental-effort option to work up a sweat that I could access when I couldn’t escape to the outdoors, because of bad weather or social anxiety. Yes, you can do countless sets of bodyweight squats, lunges, and pushups until you collapse (and we have countless examples of the types of workouts fit that bill), but it’s much simpler if you can just jump on a machine and get your sweat in without having to think twice about it.
For me, the most immediate answer to this dilemma came in the form of a stationary bike. I was able to tuck it away in a bedroom without eating up much floor space, and when the machine wasn’t in use it served as a makeshift coat tree, clothesline, and shoe rack. When it came time for a training session, it was a relief to just hop on and pedal without pulling out any other equipment or cycling through however many bodyweight movements I could bring myself to do.
But I didn’t choose the bike with my overall training goals in mind; I took an opportunity to upgrade my space because it was offered to me. Had I been given more time and other options, I’d likely have picked a different machine. Nothing against the bike—and I still use it to this day, even without the same drastic circumstances in play—but there are probably better options out there for when there’s only space for one machine.
Since my home gym setup has evolved since the early days of Covid-19, I wanted to check in with some other fitness experts who have built up top-notch home training spaces to determine which cardio training machine is the best choice.
“On some level, this is a personal decision,” says Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. “You need it to be a motion you (at least somewhat) enjoy doing, because if you can’t stand it, then you won’t utilize it to its fullest potential. But in terms of mechanics, your best bet will be a cardio row.”
This is assuming you have the floor space for a rower—and you probably do. There are plenty of options that can be stood up and stowed away in a hidden corner of your room when you’re not using them (I happen to have one of these now, and it takes up even less space than the bike). But convenience isn’t why the rower is Samuel’s top pick. He offers two reasons he made this selection:
“The basic rowing motion, by default, addresses two of the key motions that offset everyday life,” he continues. “We all need to strengthen our glutes, and we all need to strengthen our mid-back muscles. And every single stroke on the rower requires you to squeeze your glutes, and tighten your mid-back muscles.”
There’s also more variety available with a rower than you might expect.
“The rower can accommodate both longer cardio workouts and high-intensity interval sessions, letting you train multiple energy systems,” says Samuel. “You can easily sit down and row 4,000 to 5,000 meters, or you can go 10 seconds max-effort, 50 seconds rest, for six to 10 rounds. That means you can train multiple energy systems.”
Men’s Health Advisory Board member and trainer David Otey, C.S.C.S. agrees that the rower is his top pick. “Bikes can be helpful because of the cyclical movement, and unfortunately for treadmills you can accomplish a large majority of that movement by just simply going outdoors,” he says. “A rower provides a repetitive movement that can test conditioning, power, and leave you stronger after every time use it.”
Score two for the rowing machine. If you’re sold, check out these workouts for your new rig so you can do more than just pull with no plan.
But not all of the experts agree. Don Saladino, celebrity trainer and Men’s Health Advisory Board member, believes the rower has a fatal flaw as your single option: “We sit enough, and I don’t like being in that kyphotic position. I don’t like the fact that we’re working out seated,” he says. “Especially in pandemic circumstances, when people are on the couch a lot—why are we going to get in a seated position to do cardio?”
Saladino’s pick puts you in a standing position to perform a similar movement pattern: His top choice is a Ski-Erg. “You’re actually getting a squat motion involved. You’re loaded. You’re using your core, you’re using your arms,” he says. “If you’re trying to compare apples to apples and with cost and even size, I would take the standing Ski-Erg over the rower.”
Whether you go with a bike, rower, or Ski-Erg, it’s also important to remember that these pieces of cardio gear will have limited success when you want to switch up your training or really focus in on building muscle. That’s why I think you should consider a totally different option (or, an additional supplement to your training space that won’t take up a ton of space): a good set of adjustable dumbbells.
Yes, you might run into the same challenge of building out your training plan that you would with bodyweight routines, but having weights at your disposal will allow you to train in so many different contexts. You can focus on a strength-building block for awhile, and when you want to work up a sweat, cut down the rest periods and crank up the intensity. You’ll get a similar cardio burn while building more muscle—and you won’t have to take up a ton of space on a machine that becomes nothing more than a glorified coat rack when you’re not using it.
My personal favorite pair of dumbbells is the SMRTFT Nüobell, which run from five to 80 pounds and handle like a pair of weights you’d find on the rack of a commercial gym. Need some training guidance? Start with this routine, then branch out into broader workouts with these go-to routines. Whichever option you choose, you’ve already won in one sense: You’re willing to make an investment in your training setup, which is an investment in yourself.
Brett Williams, a fitness editor at Men’s Health, is a NASM-CPT certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter who splits his workout time between strength and conditioning training, martial arts, and running. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.
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