A Fluid Situation
A Rowing Machine with Real Water

You made a New Year’s resolution, and by God you’re going to stick to it.

It’s laudable, but almost impossible to keep.

You resolved to only use the finest gym equipment.

So we came across this: WaterRower, a piece of hardware that’s handsome enough to share the same room with your Philippe Starck chairs, your Noguchi lamps and your Eames elliptical trainer.

As you might expect, it was designed by a former rower for the Yale and US National teams, and comes from Rhode Island, the place where all hard bodies and good furniture come from. It uses a water tank to create resistance, replicating the sensation of a hull slicing through the sea. The faster you row, the more resistance there is.

So, yes: this thing will leave you as sweaty as if you just kayaked the North Branch in August. (Added benefit: you now can cross that off your bucket list.) But the important part: it looks good. You can get it in a variety of materials—from basic ash to American black walnut, cherry or stainless steel—to match your place’s interior. When you have guests, just fold it up and out of sight.

Unless it’s one of those rowing parties you’re famous for.