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Five Reasons why I love the Ergatta Rower

The Ergatta Rower is not like a traditional rower for many reasons. The biggest reason is that instead of focusing on live classes, they primarily focus on games. Today, I am going to tell you my top five reasons why I love the Ergatta Rower and why I cannot stop rowing on it.

I have been using the Ergatta Rower for about two months and I absolutely love it. I have completed two of their entire workout programs and two monthly challenges. Plus, I have already passed the 100,000-meter milestone and I do not plan on stopping anytime soon.

What I find most interesting about the Ergatta Rower is that it does not have any live classes. In fact, there are no live instructors and the tablet is smaller than most of my other devices. The speakers on it definitely are not anything special and the music on it is okay.

So what brings me back to the Ergatta each and every week? And why can I not seem to stop rowing on it? I have thought a lot about this and it really comes down to five reasons why I love the Ergatta Rower so much.

Ergatta programs

The first reason why I love the Ergatta Rower is that it’s program-based versus class-based. Yes, they also have a wide assortment of classes you can choose from if you want to just pick a class every day, but I am a sucker for well-designed programs that have a purpose and that you follow along to.

As someone who has professionally written program designs for people over the past 13 years, these are some of the best programs that I have ever encountered. They are enjoyable, addictive, and make complete sense towards the goal you are trying to accomplish.

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Along with having a ton of Push Programs to choose from, Ergatta also just added a new feature called Progressive Push Programs. These are essentially several Push Programs linked together into a training block, that are designed to be taken over the course of several months.

To be honest, I have never seen a connected fitness product design training blocks that are progressive like this before. The value of having dedicated train blocks is really effective and I am excited to be able to follow a program that understands this.

Ergatta games

The second reason why I love the Ergatta is because of the gamification. Whereas other connected fitness devices may focus on music or locations, Ergatta chooses to focus on games. As somebody who is generally a competitive person, this really sucks me in.

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All of the triggers in my mind that enjoy this type of thing get sparked when I start doing the Ergatta programs. If you have not already, check out our article breaking down everything you need to know about the Ergatta Meteor game.

Ergatta community

The third reason why I love the Ergatta Rower is the communication and community behind it. This may get overlooked by some people, but to me, it is very noticeable. If you check out the Ergatta Reddit, or if you get into the Ergatta Facebook group, you will see that they are very hands-on.

The Ergatta team is always asking for feedback from their community and talking about improvements. The designers even go on to discuss their programs and do live Q and A’s. The Ergatta software also seems to be updated continuously. Just over the past few months, the software has received more than eight updates.

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Their team seems to be really on the ball, improving the Ergatta based on what their community is asking for. They do it quickly and with clear communication. If there are any bugs, then they are addressed immediately, and they are very clear on timelines. You can tell that the team behind the Ergatta puts a lot of love into it.

Ergatta monthly challenges

The fourth reason why I love the Ergatta is the monthly challenges. There are other monthly challenges on different platforms like Peloton and iFIT but they do them in different ways. The Ergatta monthly challenges are similar to the challenges on the Peloton because you can earn a digital badge for your profile.

What I like is that each month, the challenge is completely different. Not only that, but if you complete a monthly challenge, Ergatta donates money towards the fundraiser chosen for that month. So if you are close to completing a challenge, you really feel compelled to finish it so that you can help out the cause Ergatta is supporting.

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Ergatta is great for families

The final reason that I keep rowing on the Ergatta all the time is just how kid-friendly it is. I have a three-year-old daughter, so I can only work out at certain times of the day. And if I work out when she is sleeping, it has to be quiet. Luckily, the Ergatta Rower is really quiet and very easy to take down.

If my daughter entered the room or was around while I was rowing, it is definitely one of the safest devices I have seen. There seems to be almost no way that my daughter could get hurt playing around while I row.

Even if her fingers were near the wheels of the seat, they are very protected, and I doubt that it would hurt that much. It just pushes everything out of the way without crushing or pinching.

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Since I do not need to listen to a class or music while I row, I can often accomplish some rowing at night with my family while they are watching TV. I like that I can still pay attention to the TV while I do the programs without it taking away from my training.

Conclusion

As someone who needs a family-friendly device to jump on at any time, the Ergatta is just a really convenient choice. Of course, there are a ton of other reasons to like the Ergatta Rower, but these are the five big ones that really keep me coming back and make me excited to continue using it.

Even when I have so many other devices to test, I still try to carve out time for the Ergatta. People ask me all the time, “Which device should I buy?” “Should I get a treadmill, a bike, or a rower?” “Which company is best?”

Honestly, it just depends on the person and the situation. If you are at all like me and appreciate some of the reasons that I said, then the Ergatta may be a good fit for you. It certainly is for me. I love it and I know there are thousands of other people who love it too.

Buy the Ergatta Rower here.

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Author

Avatar for Colin Jenkins Colin Jenkins

Colin lives in Ventura, CA where he runs a Strength & Conditioning facility. If you have suggestions for fitness tech that you’d like to see covered or reviewed, feel free to send info over to colin@9to5mac.com