Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I know I said I would review "soon" and here I am nearly a month later. But I've been preoccupied...Anyway... The video was probably pretty enlightening about the build quality and the general appearance and function of the machine. I hope to cover what was not covered in the video with this written review, starting with my later impressions. For starters this is a reasonably priced rower with decent resistance settings. The shock has 12 different resistance levels, and if I had to equate the first 7 levels to lifting pounds I would do so as follows (and some might disagree): Level 1 = 2-3 pounds Level 2 = 5 pounds Level 3 = 8 pounds Level 4 = 13 pounds Level 5 = 17 pounds Level 6 = 20 pounds Level 7 = 25 pounds These are approximates of course, but they give you a sense of how incrementally the resistance goes up as you go up in level, up to the peak 12 which I would rate at a good 50-60 pounds, possibly a little more, but not too bad. Now you might be wondering: "That doesn't seem like a lot of pounds to lift!" and you'd be right, except for the rowing motion. Anyone of a decent build can dead lift 10 pounds, but the question is could you do so repeatedly, rapidly (not so fast that you injure yourself, mind)? Maybe. More pounds and you'll feel tightness in your muscles. The target zones I specified in the video...pecs, triceps, shoulders, are all going to get a good strain, but one area I didn't mention is your forearms, specifically near your inner elbow. Doing a Level 5+ workout for 25 or more reps and you will definitely feel the tightness in this area. For a machine like this, I will normally do 2 sets - where a set would be 25 rotations - at Level 7 resistance. Of course, you should not overstrain your muscles; if you know you're out of shape or you have a smaller frame, you should start smaller and work your way up as your body gets adjusted to the resistance. Don't overexert yourself because you will definitely pull something. Some negatives, things I would like to see improved: - The seat. Not only its looseness (which I think should be addressed definitely for a leg workout), but also how hard it is. The padding is a really hard foam and is extremely uncomfortable. - I did notice how challenging it is to keep your feet in the stirrups, but what I found is that it really didn't matter so long as I used the ball of my foot...the area right beneath my toes, to push as opposed to the temptation to use my heel. - The handgrips are just as uncomfortable as the seat, so much so that I had to buy gloves to protect my palms. - The count meter is counting based on the number of times the seat moves backward and forward, not how many true revolutions you've done. This throws off counting, because of the lack of resistance on the seat. I might push all the way back before the revolution is completed. - Would like to see the rear foot have multiple height settings so that you can incline the unit, which would add resistance for your legs as they would then be lifting the weight of your body, resulting in a full-body workout. - Simple indigo backglight for the screen to be able to see it in low light conditions. So...do I recommend it? Yes. As long as you realize that this is not the top of the line, this is a great deal for a great machine. It does have issues, but it's well worth a try.