Niceday Hydraulic Squat Machine for Home, Compact Squat Assist Trainer with 44LBS Resistance Bands, 16 Levels of Resistance, Easy Setup & Foldable Exercise Equipment, Glute & Leg Trainer Machine

The media could not be loaded. My husband has Parkinson’s and severe kyphosis and really needs to use a stable, at-home exercise machine similar to what he uses in PT to strengthen his back, shoulders, legs and core. This machine turned out to be PERFECT for him—and me! Take a look at him using it. He loves it!He used to be a marathon runner and was still running 3-5 miles, 3+ days a week until Age 76 when AFIB hit him hard, followed quickly by valvular heart failure and then Parkinson’s. He also lost so much muscle mass from being out of commission for months at a time these past two years due to severe osteoporosis, which caused vertebral and hip fractures. We did not know low-T could accelerate bone loss, but at least found that Forteo could stop all the fractures whenever he fell. Anyway, I wanted to get him a Cardio Glide like they have where he gets PT for Parkinson’s to try to stop and hopefully reverse all the muscle loss. Couldn’t find one for sale online, but I am so happy I found this Row-N-Ride by Niceday instead!!It is much lighter in weight and less bulky, but is still very sturdy and very well-built! All of its parts were so well wrapped and packed up that there was not a scratch on any piece when I unwrapped it all. Nice! Also, the finish seems like it won’t get scratched up from lots of use over the years. The instructions were terrific, although the extremely detailed pictures were a bit small. Even so and despite my old eyes and arthritic hands, I was able to assemble it easily with no help.We are both really thrilled with it because it’s so easy to use, gives our backs, arms, quads & glutes a GREAT workout while tracking time and # of “pull-ups”. PLUS, it is easily adjusted so we can both use it! I thought I’d be folding it up after each time, but we plan to work up to using it for 15 min 3x daily to try and rebuild muscle more quickly. Besides, it takes up very little space, and I LOVE how it looks! It has a silky smooth charcoal finish and an orange-trimmed seat and two orange control knobs. Its footprint is only about 18”x38”, and it can be easily moved if ever necessary.We haven’t tried the bungee-type resistance cables yet (and may never try using them!), but they are very securely attached to the base up front and the company’s video makes me want to use them. We’ll likely stick to our hand weights and doing targeted floor exercises once Keith’s legs are a bit stronger.This is a really enjoyable way to rebuild strength and improve balance. It actually allows one to do cardio and resistance exercise simultaneously while working both the upper and lower body pretty hard! We’re only using Level 6 of 16 different piston tension settings, and our muscles are feeling GOOD afterwards, like they should! So, we both highly recommend this exerciser for anyone who weighs not much more than 250 lbs.—only because the seat may be too slim for a heavier person.The seat is well-made, comfortable, and appears heavy duty, but it is only 1.5” thick. It’s also not very wide, although it suits us perfectly. It measures 12” long and 8” in the back. One isn’t really sitting on it, though, when using this machine. The seat just serves as a support for the lower body in the squat or down position. So, it might actually be just right for larger people than Keith, who is just 135 lbs now. If over 6’ tall or over 250 lbs, though, I’d contact the mfr to be sure it will be a good fit. It would be pretty impossible to repack all its parts and then get them wedged together just right to fit it all back into the original box, which measures 9x9x46”, to return it! I took lots of photos just in case as I was unpacking it, but I would still hate to repack it.Just know that it only has two length adjustments for the front handle bar, which surprised me, but does offer 5 or 6 settings for the seat. I’m under 5’ tall now due to degenerative disc disease, and I can use it just fine. Keith’s arm and leg lengths are typical of a 5’9” man, but his kyphosis makes his height just 5’4”. So, we are both on the small side at this point. It’s a ruggedly built machine, though, so we believe it would be just as great for the average-size person on up to maybe 6’ tall.

The long and short of it: While other exercises without the machine could give you the same workout, this piece of equipment is easy to use, doesn't require much thinking, and gives a good workout.Assembly and handling* Instructions are not that great, but this is very easy to figure out. Look at the finished pic, match the parts, put them together.* The machine is fairly lightweight but sturdy. I was afraid I'd tip over on this, but I haven't. It's super easy to move from one spot of the house to another by yourself fully assembled.The machine:* I don't often use the resistance bands, but I suppose it could be useful for additional exercises, like working your legs out from the side. Personally the bands feel too weak to give my arms any decent workout.* Often I will just keep the bands off of the handles when using the machine because the resistance bands get in the way of my legs when I'm using the machine and it's annoying.* Even though the product advertises 16 levels of resistance, I really don't notice the difference between levels unless I notch it up several levels from the last level I was at.* The hydraulic cylinder gets fairly hot, but then again, I'm doing sets of 100 and around 500-600 in one sitting. I use it for light cardio more than I do for actual muscle building, but it still works the muscles. Still, I'm not worried the machine will break or catch fire.* The monitor is battery operated, and I trust it for the counter and timer, but not really any other function (ie. calorie burning). It's simple, easy to use, and it came with a battery.* Different parts of the machine can adjust to your height or the depth of the squat you want to do very easily.Overall I am pleased with the purchase I made. My family had a larger/heftier version of this kind of a machine by a different brand in the 90s. It had a cushier and larger seat and an additional place to put your feet if you wanted to emphasize an arm work out more than the legs/abs. It also offered quite a bit more in terms of levels of resistance but also was much more expensive. For the price you pay for this, its functions, and its portability, it seems worth the money.

I put this together myself and it was pretty easy considering I make my husband put everything together. I love it. I could really feel the burn in my legs and it doesn't take up space so I can literally put it in my small living room and watch tv while working out. I hated doing traditional squats but know they're a great workout to tone your butt and core so now I have something to help me get those same results without almost falling over.