INFINITI R80 Air Magnetic Rower product reviews

The Christmas/New Year period is notorious for expanding waistlines and relaxed fitness routines... but a machine like this can help keep you toned up while you snarf down the BBQ'd meats and other goodies during the festive season. Now, at first glance one could be forgiven for thinking that this machine would take up a lot of space, get in the way, and basically be forced to stay in one place as part of a semi-fixed home gym setup... but you would be wrong in that assumption. You see, with the twist of a single tightening screw, you can release the hinge-lock and fold the entire travelling beam (the bit the seat slides along), seat and all, upright, so that the machine's footprint reduces to something much smaller, small enough to fit in a wardrobe in fact. With the built-in slider wheels mounted in one of the support feet, you can just grab the now-vertical travelling beam and use it as a handle to push or pull the whole unit around.

I often pulled it out of the spare room, it's usual home, and into the lounge so that I could huff and puff away while watching a DVD or favoured TV show... though the fan did make it necessary to increase the volume of the show a bit. Speaking of the fan, this has to be considered as one of the best features of the unit. Not only does it provide much of the resistance to your 'pull', but with the celver venting moulded into the case, it blows a decent blast of air at you, giving you a much-welcomed cooling breeze during your workout.

With 8 levels of resistance, even the most 'buff' user can find that satisfying burn when using it, especially when you consider that without having to adjust the machine at all, you can do at least 5 different workouts, just by how you move your body during the 'pull' phase. I managed top work my biceps, triceps, abdominals, laterals and even my lower back... just by adjusting my body instead of the machine... and stayed cool and comfortable throughout.

I was quite taken by the electronic display unit mounted on the machine too... it's mounting system allows you to position it pretty much however you like, for best access and visibility. I would often reach out on the 'release' stroke (when my legs were bent and I was closest to the unit) and tap the button that would flip the display to it's second set of figures, in effect, I could flip between stroke-rate/distance travelled/etc to calories burned, and back again on the next stroke, without breaking my rhythm at all. There is even facility to attach a suitable heart-rate monitor, though it does not appear to come with one as standard, unlike the exercycle, a feature I think should automatically be a fixture on any piece of heavy-duty workout equipment.

Overall, I found this unit to be very easy to get to grips with. The manual that comes with it explains every part and it's placement, so if anything needs to be assembled or replaced, the user can probably do it themselves... within the limitations of any rental agreements or service contracts of course. For those who want to target arms and legs, this is a great option to consider, and if you time it right, seasonal sales or trade-in deals might mean you get an even better price. Easy, effective and enjoyable to use, this is not a Super-Deluxe-with-Cheese unit, but nor is it an El-Cheapomatic either. A sturdy, durable and comfortable middle-range unit, well worth investigating next time you pass by your local Elite Fitness store.