Upper Body Re-Form

NOHRD WaterGrinder

The NOHRD WaterGrinder is an upper-body ergometer that copies the action of winching a sail on a sailing boat: you turn two crank handles and a paddle works through a water tank. The harder you crank, the more the water pushes back, so the resistance always matches your effort. The handles set to eight positions, and a smaller turning circle makes the work harder. A touchscreen monitor swivels to either side and tracks time, heart rate, calories, watts and rpm. The seat hangs on either side at three heights, and the machine also works standing or from a wheelchair. NOHRD makes it in Germany in six wood finishes.

In sailing, the grinders are the crew who winch the sails, and their work combines explosive strength with high levels of endurance. The WaterGrinder brings that training onto dry land, with a cardiovascular workout through the core and the upper body.

Inside the drop-shaped wooden frame, the tank is filled with 18 to 20 liters of clean tap water, and an ergonomically shaped paddle turns through it for smooth, even resistance. Training comes with the calm sound of moving water.

The WaterGrinder weighs about 50 kg (110 lb) without water and about 70 kg (154 lb) with the tank filled. It suits home and studio use alike, and rehabilitation training as well.

NOHRD WaterGrinder, a man training on it in a loft gym

Inside The WaterGrinder

How it works

A pair of crank handles drives a paddle through a tank of water, and the water supplies all of the resistance.

The Water Tank

At the core of the machine sits the water tank, and an ergonomically shaped paddle inside it gives smooth, even resistance through the whole turn. The resistance rises with your effort, with nothing to dial in before you start.

Water resistance

Crank Handles

The easy-to-grip handles set to eight positions along the crank. A smaller turning circle means a higher intensity, and a wider circle lightens each turn. The cranks run forward or backward, reciprocal or symmetrical, single-handed or two-handed.

Smaller circle, harder turn

Extendable Arms

The arms extend and retract, which gives you more or less lever on the crank and changes how the load feels through each turn.

Adjustable leverage

The Touchscreen Monitor

The touchscreen monitor swivels to either side of the machine, and you keep a full overview of your performance whichever side you work from. It tracks time, heart rate, calories burned, watts per hour and rpm, and it carries Workout-of-the-Day sessions and a game where your cranking propels a fish.

Swivels both ways

Using The WaterGrinder

How to use it

NOHRD WaterGrinder, a woman turning the crank handles

Set-up

Choosing a Position

Hang the seat on the side you want to work from and pick one of its three heights, or leave it off and stand. Seat side decides whether each turn is pushing or pulling work, and the cranks run single-handed or two-handed. Standing without the seat puts more of the effort through the core. Then set each handle close to the center for a short, hard turn, or further out for a longer lever.

Either side

Water

Filling the Tank

Fill the tank with clean tap water to no more than half, because too much water can damage the gearbox and the paddle. A bucket on the seat and a syphon pump do the filling, and one chlorine tablet keeps the water clean. During a long break from training, add another tablet every three to four months.

Tap water Chlorine tablet

Wood

The Drop-Shaped Frame

The frame is drop-shaped and wooden, and it holds the tank at its center, a shape that sits as easily in a living room as in a studio. The woods are of identical quality, and the Vintage frame brings character and depth. The Club version is solid stained beech.

Wood finishes Made in Germany

Upper Body Or Whole Body

How it compares

The WaterGrinder trains the upper body against water, while the StepBox, the StepTower and the Wall Compact each pack a whole-body kit into one piece of furniture.

StepBox

Bench-height box at 121 x 57 x 45.5 cm holding three pairs of SwingBells, four tubes, a jump rope and a cork mat.

121 x 57 x 45.5 cm, 80 kg (176 lb) 150 kg (331 lb) max user weight SwingBells, tubes, jump rope and cork mat inside Equipment stored inside the box

Shop the StepBox

StepTower

Upright cabinet at 141 cm tall on a 50 x 48 cm base, carrying four pairs of dumbbells and a cork floor kit.

50 x 48 x 141 cm, 125 kg (276 lb) 150 kg (331 lb) max user weight 8 dumbbells, 2.5 to 10 kg in pairs Four tubes and a cork floor kit

Shop the StepTower

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WaterGrinder

An upper-body ergometer where hand cranks drive a paddle through a water tank, with a touchscreen monitor that swivels to either side.

120 x 110 x 80 cm, 50 kg (110 lb) 120 kg (265 lb) maximum user weight Crank handles in 8 positions Touchscreen monitor, power connection

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Wall Compact

Wall-mounted unit at 217 cm tall pairing the SlimBeam cable machine with a ski trainer and eight SwingBells.

121.5 x 217 x 50 cm, 250 kg (551 lb) Sits 4 cm (1.6 in.) off the wall SlimBeam column, 75 kg (165 lb) stack Wall-mounted and mains-connected

Shop the Wall Compact

Using Water Resistance

Frequently asked questions

It uses water. Two crank handles turn a paddle inside the water tank, and the harder you crank, the more intense the resistance.

Yes, it is suitable for wheelchair users, and you can also train on the hanging seat or standing on either side.

It takes users up to 120 kg (265 lb), and the machine itself weighs about 50 kg before the tank is filled.

It is 80 cm wide, 110 cm long and 120 cm high.

Yes, for the touchscreen monitor, which runs from the supplied power plug. The water and the cranks provide the resistance on their own.

Yes, it ships in three cartons and goes together in 12 steps: the feet, the tank, the base profile, the clutch, the crank unit, the crank and the seat, finishing with filling the tank.

Retighten all screws at least every two months, and retighten the base bolts once after about two weeks. Spray lubricant between the gear wheels of the crank unit from time to time, and keep the serial number on the crank unit to hand for service.

It delivers cardio and strength work for the upper body in the same session, and the cranks run in ten configurations, from two-handed symmetrical turns to single-crank work in either direction.

NOHRD covers it for one year from the date of initial shipment, for private and commercial use, and registering it within the first year extends the cover to two years on all components, wooden components included.