Yeah, you've bought fitness equipment before. There's the all-in-one home gym that's in several pieces in the garage, needing a spare part to fix it that you can't get. The mountain bike you swore to your spouse you were going to use, but that's in the garage gathering dust, too. And jogging makes your knees ache. But in spite of earlier bad fitness equipment buys, you long for a bit of fitness training.

I know it'll sound like throwing good money after bad here, but have you considered a rowing machine? No, not the pneumatic piston contraptions that you bought from a mail-order catalog, that felt amazingly unlike real rowing, and broke inside a week, just like that home gym in your garage. I'm talking about quality equipment. Like your mountain bike, but you can use it for a few minutes everyday while watching TV, rather than having to go outside and get sunburned.

A quality rowing machine will actually give you the feeling that your are rowing on water. They are quiet enough that you can still watch television without raising the volume much and your spouse can still read in the next room without being disturbed. With rowing, there is no impact, so there is no strain on your joints.

The best thing about rowing is the full-body workout that it gives you. It works your legs, arms, and even your back. For a complete workout, just add in few pushups for your chest and triceps, and you've got a fully balanced workout.

Not only is rowing a full body workout, but a rower can be used to train a variety of energy systems. Need to improve your pure strength? Crank the resistance up to the max and do short sprints. Want more endurance? Turn down the resistance and shoot for time or distance. Feeling competitive? There are rowing machine competitions, which will give you a goal to shoot for while training and help keep you motivated.

If you are in the market for a rowing machine don't discount the possibility of a gently used rowing machine. While you can pay a lot of money for a new rowing machine you may be able to pick up a used one that is just as good. If you must purchase new, consider buying from a company that has a strong track record in providing rowing machines. Newer companies often don't carry the parts to fix your machine should it have a minor break down.