What the rower and the moving stairs may lack in traffic, they can make up for in effectiveness and intensity for people willing to think outside the box.
“What’s the best piece of cardio equipment? My short answer is the one no one’s using,” said exercise physiologist Tom Holland, author of “Beat the Gym”.
People tend to do what they’re good at and what they see others doing, he said.
Holland's favourite under-appreciated machine is the moving stairs.
“It’s tougher than the traditional StairMaster, harder to cheat on, and usually hidden away in dark recesses of the gym,” he said.
The treadmill is the most used machine, according to the trade association IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association), followed by resistance machines and elliptical trainers.
Stair climbers and recumbent cycles are among the most ignored, it says.
Hayley Zawadzki, personal training manager at the New York Health and Racquet Club (NYHRC) fitness centre chain in Manhattan, favours the rowing machine.
“It burns a high amount of calories in a short amount of time, activates large muscle groups and is also good for training cardio endurance for marathoners and triathletes,” she said.