Smart Home-Gym Equipment Review: Peloton, Mirror, Tonal 2023

Our fitness writer tested the latest smart home gym equipment to find the best, from brands like Peloton, Technogym, Mirror, Tonal, Hydrow, and Tempo Studio.
Who’s It For: Anyone who dreamed of being a collegiate crew star, or Crossfitters who wish the whole workout of the day was rowing. What You Get: A commercial-gym-grade rower with adjustable resistance levels and a 22” touchscreen for viewing prerecorded workouts (nearly 500 and counting) or a “just row” mode where you’ll get a view of the water without any instruction. When Hydrow officially launches later this spring, they’ll be adding 15–20 live rides per week. Along with rowing workouts, you can also take yoga, pilates, and stretching classes to complement your cardio. Just tilt the screen off-center so you can be on a mat alongside your rower. The monthly subscription rate is $38. Delivery is included in the purchase price. What It’s Like: If you haven’t rowed before, jumping into a Hydrow workout can feel a little awkward. Fortunately, there’s a short “Rowing 101” tutorial video breaking down the rowing movement. I watched this a few times before my first row, and then the stroke felt more natural. Workouts are also broken down into categories (from easier “Breathe” to higher intensity “Push” workouts) and most are comprised of interval rowing. While the trainers are all expert rowers (like Olympian Grace Luczak and US National team member Christine Cavallo), I felt like they were still getting the hang of being fitness instructors as the classes didn’t feel as high energy as others. My favorites were the ones with two instructors in a double boat as their back-and-forth felt more motivational. Hydrow does have the best visual experience of all these devices: Instead of watching an instructor in a blank space or inside a studio, they’re all out on the open water (the classes I took were filmed in Miami), which made me feel less cooped up even though I was inside my apartment on a cold winter day. TL; DR: If you’re ready to make rowing your main form of cardio, Hydrow offers a lot of variety in an easy-to-use machine. The instructors are not quite there yet, but the scenery is a nice change of pace.
Who’s It For: Anyone who knows they should incorporate strength training into their routine but isn’t quite sure how to start. What You Get: The wall-mounted Tonal screen with built-in electromagnetic arms that offer up to 200 pounds of resistance. There’s also a $495 accessory package that includes smart handles and a smart bar — both of which attach to the resistance arms and allow you to change the weight at the touch of a button — an attachable rope, a bench, a mat, and a foam roller. Delivery and installation costs $250, and a subscription to the workouts will run you $49 monthly. New workouts are added daily. What It’s Like: Before your first workout on Tonal, you’ll complete a fitness assessment and choose your goals (like “build muscle” or “tone up”) and the machine will recommend a workout program for you and determine how much weight you should be using for each exercise. As someone who runs most days of the week, I know I should be doing strength training but find the whole weightroom thing a little intimidating. Tonal offers the perfect alternative with guided workouts from expert coaches, detailed instructions, and weight recommendations for each exercise. It keeps track of the weight you use and will automatically bump it up as you get stronger. With all of the accessories, you can do pretty much any exercise you would at the gym — from arm and legwork to core toning moves — with Tonal. What struck me at first about using Tonal was that, unlike any other workout video I’ve done, there’s no running clock dictating how long to do each exercise and when to move on. Instead, it’s all about reps. Tonal recognizes when you start and finish each rep and only then do you proceed to the next move. If you’re feeling extra ambitious and want to try lifting more on a particular exercise, you can go into “spotter mode” and Tonal will detect when you’re fatiguing and reduce the weight. TL; DR: Probably the best at-home “smart” option for resistance training, Tonal will definitely make you stronger if you stick to the workouts. It’s like having a trainer keeping tabs on you.

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