I have been a Personal Trainer for 17 years. In every session I provide, I prioritise a client’s “experience” as the most important aspect of my training sessions. The reason I prioritise experiences you ask? I believe this is the secret sauce and reason why people continue or discontinue their training. The more positive our experiences are with exercise, the more we will want to continue, the less positive, the more risk associated with not wanting to continue our training.
With the NordicTracks RW900 and iFit trainer technology, I was coming into this product review very sceptic and slightly concerned for my personal exercise experience. Rowing sits in 6th position on my list of preferred cardio experiences. This machine had a lot of work to do to win me over and let me tell you, it did win me over!
After plugging the machine into power and switching it on, I was genuinely wowed by the 22inch, HD, touch screen. I was prompted to complete a pre-exercise questionnaire and immediately felt a sense of ownership of the machine and the way I intended on using it. I was tasked with completing questions connected to personal measurements, weight goals, how often I like to train, what other equipment do I have or like to use, and it even asked me for my current exercise goals. After completing the questionnaire, I was provided with a summary of the questions I answered and was required to confirm if they were correct and accurate. Once completed, I was then taken to the home page of the iFit technology.
The iFit app was extremely easy to use and navigate around. You literally see 100’s of workouts that vary from “Beginner” & “Intermediate” one off sessions with an iFit trainer, to recommended series of workouts, it was a similar experience to being prompted to watch popular new shows on Netflix. There are daily challenges for you to complete, featured now workouts and even Ted Talk videos, related to spirituality, sleep & mindfulness.
For my first workout, I couldn’t take my eyes off the English Channel Endurance Series Workout 1. This was a 3826m distance row with an expected calorie burn of 212cals. I have never been to the UK, so thought this was a cool virtual workout to give a go. The lead coach on this workout, was iFit Instructor and Olympic rowing medallist, Alex Gregory. Alex’s demeanour, language and communication was incredible, I felt immersed in his session and enjoyed my rowing experience of the English Channel. Genuinely, I was excited to reach my destination. Alex was constantly providing instructional cues on where your strokes per minute should be and would provide power wattage targets that you need to aim for at different sections of the course. This helped me preserve energy in some parts and be kept accountable & honest when it’s time to get to work. Having been guided by Alex and the iFit technology, it also made for a more comfortable, overall rowing experience. You were being led by a professional the entire time, dare I say it, a similar experience to having a Personal Trainer right there with you in your own home.
In terms of the RW900’s build, previously, I have used and rowed on Concept2 rowers, which I know have always been a rowing fans favourite machine. During my rowing experience, I was comparing the concept2 against the RW900. Personally, I found the rowing experience on the RW900’s better, than that of the concept2. My main reason for this? I felt as though the RW900 had more of a water-based rowing experience than that of the concept2. It felt realistic and smooth when engaging with the rower, there was less pressure on my back and joints and I did not have to physically change or alter the intensity at any point of my iFit training session, this is completed for you by the iFit technology.
The only challenge I had experienced during my review of the RW900 was with the foot pedals. When I was instructed to give the row speed a nudge and increase my strokes per-minute, I would lose my footing a few times and my feet would fall out of the foot pedals. It should be noted, I am not a trained rower so this experience could also be down to user error.
In terms of sound and audio experience. You are able to modify the volume of the trainer’s communication to be louder, than that of the music coming through or have the music audio come through louder than that of the trainers communication. Whichever way you wanted your audio experience, was completely customisable. The sound quality also needs a mention. I love my music and experienced a surround sound like audio experience, which made for a fitness club like moment.
I would strongly recommend the RW900 and iFit technology to people who are looking to maximise their time management. This is a machine that is able to provide Cross training workouts, virtual rowing workouts, it stores data and training statistics, you have a supporting app and can even use the app, when it is not connected to your Rower.
Performance Specs
| Technology |
|---|
| Visual |
| Sound |
| Touch display |
| iFit app |
| Build |
|---|
| Row & cable |
| Sound/minimal |
| Comfort (foot pedals/seat) |