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How to Store a Rowing Machine

The way a machine stores is not a footnote - it is the feature that decides whether you still own it in a year. Here are the three methods, and how to pick for your space.

By Stephen V.An enthusiast who reads the manuals and does the math. Not a coach, not a lab.Last verified July 24, 2026.

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An empty room with a tape measure and floor space for exercise equipment

How a rowing machine stores is the most underrated feature in the category. A machine that disappears between sessions gets used; one that dominates the room gets resented and then sold. There are three storage methods, they are not equivalent, and choosing the right one for your space matters as much as the rowing.

Standing on end: the best of them

The most space-efficient option. A WaterRowerstands upright on its front end as a single piece and occupies roughly two square feet — about the footprint of a floor lamp. Some steel water and magnetic machines stand up too. The caveats: the machine needs to be light enough to lift (a filled WaterRower is 103.5 lb, a deliberate two-handed act), and it needs a wall to lean against, because a seven-foot object standing free is a hazard.

Folding: length becomes height

Folding machines hinge to trade floor length for height. Circuit Fitness publishes both figures for its machine — 91 inches in use, 49 inches folded — but note the folded height climbs to over four feet. You gain floor and lose a corner. Folding is ideal when you have wall or corner space but not floor length, and when the machine is light enough to fold comfortably. Our foldable picks are here.

Separating into pieces: fast but two objects

The Concept2 separates into two sections in seconds and stores at about 25 by 33 by 54 inches. It is quick and it works, but you now have two objects to house rather than one, so you need somewhere to put both. This suits a garage or a utility room better than a tight living space.

Choosing for your room

Match the method to your constraint. Short on floor but with a spare wall — standing on end or folding. A garage or utility room with cupboard space — separating is fine. A living room where the machine must genuinely vanish — a stand-on-end water rower is the most elegant answer. Work out the in-use footprint first, then decide where it lives afterwards — that second step is the one people skip, and it is the one that decides whether the machine stays. The apartment picks weigh both.

Straight answers

Questions people actually ask

How do you store a rowing machine to save space?

The three methods are standing on end, folding and separating into pieces. Standing on end is the most space-efficient - a WaterRower occupies about two square feet upright. Folding trades floor length for height. Separating (as the Concept2 does) is fast but leaves you with two objects. Match the method to whether you are short on floor, on corners, or on cupboard space.

Can you stand a rowing machine upright?

Many can. Wooden water rowers like the WaterRower stand on their front end in about two square feet, and some steel water and magnetic machines do too. The machine needs to be light enough to lift safely and a wall to lean against, since a tall object standing free is a hazard. Air rowers like the Concept2 separate into two pieces instead.

Which rowing machine is easiest to store?

A wooden water rower for pure footprint - it stands on end in about two square feet as a single piece. For something lighter to move daily, a folding machine or a compact magnetic rower is easier to handle. The Concept2 separates into two sections quickly but gives you two objects to house rather than one.

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