FITNESS REALITY 1000 PLUS Bluetooth Magnetic Rowing Rower with Extended Optional Full Body Exercises and MyCloudFitness App

4.0 out of 5 stars

By Lollygirl - Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2019

Great machine, quiet and does its purpose

I like this rower and definitely recommend it, BUT with a few caveats. First, the good things. 1. This rower is quiet. I mean DEAD SILENT. I don't know what experience the prior reviewer had with it or maybe I have hearing loss but it is barely audible. A lot quieter than a treadmill, bike or moderate volume television. 2. Assembly was so easy. ALL tools are included. I read the instructions word for word because I'm slow at constructing and I still had this thing built in half an hour. Font waste money having Amazon assemble. 3. LCD screen is easy to see, even without my glasses. It displays strokes at the top and then lets you toggle between displaying calories, meters or time. Meters or time functions are the most valuable. 4. The cable utilizes a thick nylon cord as opposed to the thinner cables at most gyms. It makes for a cleaner catch and drive with less "bounce" on the return phase. 5. Resistance settings allow for a wide range of strengths. I expected to max out the resistance setting but was pleasantly surprised to only set it to a 6 out of a total 14. Rowers of all ability can use this machine and have a lot of room to progress or do graded exercises or HIIT Sprint progressions. So what is neutral about the rower? I know most people might be persuaded to buy this model over others because it shows some different upper body exercises you can do. Just know, you can do those exercises on any rower, you DO NOT need this model. The only special feature of this machine that facilitates doing resistance training are the 2 foot pads at the front of the machine. For a beginner I can see this being potentially helpful but I am a former competitive powerlifter and didn't find the pad placement to be ergonomically correct for my height, stance preference or pelvic/trunk alignment. I also didn't find the movement of the extra exercises to be smooth. Theoretically the movement should feel similar to using a cable machine, but it was jerky and awkward and I struggled to do a curl at a 1 resistance due to friction of the nylon cord on the machine. This machine simply doesn't replace cable or free weight based resistance training and if that is your goal go buy a quality set of resistance bands and a kettlebell. However, that wasn't the selling point for me anyways. Even without the extras, this machine is worth the price tag and does it's primary purpose (rowing) with excellence. This machine folds up. Sort of. It folds in half and takes up less space on the ground but more space vertically. For those with dedicated exercise space this won't matter but for those hoping to fold and stow away, make sure your stow space is 4 feet squared and then another 6 feet high. But again, this was not a selling point for me so I don't care. I think it stows rather easily. So why only 4 out of 5 stars? The app is useless. It doesn't sync half the time. In order to get an accurate kcal estimate you really need to be calculating based off of the MET equivalent of the exercise and your weight in kg. There is no way of manually inputting your weight into the rower, meaning the kcal estimate that displays on the machine itself is not accurate. Since I have been unable to sync my workouts with the app I can't speak to the accuracy of kcals displayed on the app. This doesn't affect me because I utilise a fit bit plus manual weight-based MET equations to calculate kcals burned and rarely rely on machines for this. But if you're new to exercise and are hoping this rower shows you accurate calorie expenditure, don't hold your breath. The wheels are really not wheels. If you have to stow and move this machine often, it doesn't roll very well. Now the big downside for me: PIVOT PEDALS. The pedals on this rower are only anchored in one spot, meaning they pivot around an axis as you push into your feet to drive. There is a bar on the bottom to stop the pedals from rotating fully back, but it's placement is just a bit too posterior for my liking. This could be a pro for some people who have limited ankle mobility and need to be able to have more space to plantar or dorsiflex the foot in order to avoid strain. But for most rowers I feel like this is a con. For me personally it pulls a lot of the torque off my hip extensors and glutes and translates it into my anterior calf muscles and results in overall weaker movements. I solved this by placing a rolled towel under the foot pedals on each side so that I can drive down into the heel without the pedals rotating. Of this explanation doesn't make sense to you then don't worry about it because it likely won't affect you. But if you're someone who has used multiple rowers and has tried out rowers with pivot pedals, just know this rower has them. Overall I am happy with this purchase. My goal was to use this 3 times a week for rowing only HIIT and it is just great for that. Rowing is a wonderful total body, low-impact workout that can be done by individuals at all levels and ages so if you want to buy a rower and get started I think you'll be happy with this one.

1.0 out of 5 stars

By Britni - Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2019

DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!!

Your browser does not support HTML5 video. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT This product arrived defective as seen in the video. I wrote the seller who simply advised me to use the email within the user manual. This has been nothing but a difficult process to try and obtain a working product. I still have no resolution.

4.0 out of 5 stars

By Nick - Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020

I hope this review helps anyone on the fence about buying this machine.

I wanna start off by saying that I purchased this product because I live in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan and I wanted something quiet and collapsible. I read the reviews, both positive and negative, and decided that I wouldn’t let the negative reviews steer my judgment, but I kept them in mind with unboxing and putting the machine together. Some negative reviews stated that the unboxing took forever. I’m not sure why? Was this packaged well? Definitely! Was it hard to inbox? Nope! For the people having trouble... I hope this helps. Start by opening the top. Then flip the box over so the open top is on the bottom and slide it off. Very simple, and I did this alone. After removing the box, flip the machine and styrofoam back over so the machine is upright. Then just cut the tape and remove each piece individually. The instruction booklet is pretty straightforward for the rest. From unboxing to fully built it took maybe 25-30mins. Now for the pros and cons of the machine after my first use. I may update in a week or two. Pros: almost completely silent. The only real sound that comes from the machine is the seat sliding, and that’s really not noticeable. So if you live in an apartment, don’t be worried about your neighbors hearing the machine. I have mine of a wood floor because I haven’t purchased a mat yet and I highly doubt they can hear it below me ( and I’m not a small person). The ability to use it as more than a rower is incredibly convenient. There were some negative complaints about not being able to feel a difference between level 1 and 14– let me tell you, I can absolutely feel it! They must have been unlucky and received a defective machine and I’m sorry for the hassle that I’m sure they went through with the replacement. The ability to connect to the app via Bluetooth was also a reason I purchased this machine. Does it connect on the first try, 97% of the time, yes. And it stores all of your rowing workout data. I’ll put my negative thoughts on the machine/app in the cons section. Which I’m getting to now! Cons: I was hoping the folding of the machine would be as simple as it looks like it would be. It is not. You have to unscrew something and then remove a safety pin in order to stand the bar up. That IMHO is too much work! But I guess it’s necessary for stability? I added a photo to show the knob that needs to be unscrewed every time you want to store the machine. You can also see in the photo of the wire that connects the magnet on the seat/bar to the interface. It’s not very secure at all, and I worry that it’ll break in transit by getting caught on something. That’s actually my least favorite thing about the machine, and the reason I’m giving it 4 stars. Bluetooth app- is great. The app software. Sub-par. The first month is free and then it’s 15/month after that if you want access to the workouts. Which honestly, you don’t really need. I feel like if you take advantage of the free month, you should have everything down enough to not need it anymore. Also, what I noticed is the app only measures rowing workouts. It’s doesn’t measure when you’re using it for upper body workouts because you’re not triggering the magnet on the seat. I mean I guess you don’t really need it for that? Another con is the amount of styrofoam that comes in the box! There’s so much! I understand it’s necessary to prevent damage in transit, but I’m sure there are other ways, by now, to transport large items safely. I think I covered everything. If there’s anything else I can come up with I will add it. If you stuck around for the whole review, thank you!

5.0 out of 5 stars

By C Wallace - Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2019

Great Workout!

I received the rower in 4 business days and it was packaged to ensure no damage during shipment. It took me about 40 minutes and the instructions were clear and parts were numbered making it very easy. The only part that confused me for a couple of minutes was having to put the two large bolts in the bottom holes for the foot pads, and the other two bolts hold the foot pad in the top holes. The foot pad just rests on the bottom two bolts. The quality is good and the seat and pulling action is smooth and quiet. It folds up with little effort and takes up little space, which for me is important since I don't have a lot of room. I rowed for 20 minutes for my first workout and it got my heart rate up and I could feel my arms and back muscles working. The foot pads keep my feet secure and the velcro is strong so there was no issue of having to stop during the workout. I am using it on carpet and it doesn't woggle at all. I tried the exercises like bicep curls and upright rows, and it will be great to have another way to weightlift. The console works and for me I am interested mainly in rowing for cardio so probably won't connect it to my phone. The seat is firm so I will need to get a cushion for it. Probably any seat is going to get uncomfortable the longer a person rows. I feel this is a quality rower for the price and I am happy with the purchase.