🏋️ best budget rowing machines for home gyms

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Here’s what’s on deck today:

• We detail the best budget rowing machines for your home gym.

• The benefits of cold baths for recovery.

• Eight overhead press variations for your shoulder workouts.

Reviews

Row for Less

Cardio is hard enough for some people — it’s made even worse when you factor in all the wear and tear that comes with running on a track, treadmill, or (heaven forbid) concrete. That’s why rowing machines have been getting so much press lately.

These machines offer a low-impact solution to your cardio woes by playing nice with your knees while also bringing your arms, shoulders, and back into calorie-burning fun. That all sounds great, right? Well, that is until you look at the price tag. Yeah, many top-of-the-line rowing machines cost around $3,000, if not more.

That said, there are plenty of stellar options that cut that price in half, as long as you’re willing to forego a few bells and whistles. And that’s what we’re focusing on today — we rounded up the best budget rowing machines that will still give you an A+ workout without butchering your piggy bank.

Fitness

Take a Bath

When it comes to staying at the top of your lifting game, it’s essential to find a high-quality recovery plan that keeps your body in working order. Some athletes prefer foam rolling, while others swear by low-intensity jogs on their “off” days. For others, it’s all about embracing the cold — specifically, cold water immersion (CWI).

Ice baths, a more casual term for CWI, have risen in popularity in recent years, with countless high-level strength and power athletes touting their ability to enhance recovery from high-intensity competitions and training sessions. But there’s some conflicting evidence about whether these baths actually help at all.

Below, you’ll find the cold-hard facts about ice baths, including the potential benefits and possible detrimental long-term effects on muscle recovery.

Exercise Tips

Press Variations

The standing barbell press is an absolutely killer upper-body exercise — it focuses heavily on the shoulders, but it also involves the upper back, triceps, and even the upper chest. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to steadily improve your pressing game, meaning your progress might stall much sooner than on other barbell lifts.

So if you’ve hit a rut with the overhead press, it’s important to know about some helpful variations that will still help you to build muscle and strength. Check out eight such variations below:

Everything Else

He’s Back

• Arnold Schwarzenegger is the subject of an upcoming three-part documentary series on Netflix. Watch the trailer here.

• The hex press can give you a world-class pump and some serious upper-body gains. Learn how to do it the right way.

• Weightlifter Tian Tao set a 222-kilogram world record clean & jerk at the 2023 Asian Weightlifting Championships earlier this week. Watch him in action.

Sound Off!

One Last Question Before the Weekend