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Fitness Equipment Home Gym


Fitness-Home Gym Equipment

You can enjoy all the benefits of gym membership – a wide variety of equipment and facilities, good advice from staff and other members and the incentive to work out by making the gym a destination. But, you can also enjoy having the ease of access and the absence of a commute by purchasing home gym equipment.

But what to buy?

If you’re just getting into, or back into, a fitness routine, you should hold off purchasing anything. Using relatively new professional equipment, under the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor, will give you a good basis for comparison when shopping.

One of the first pieces of equipment anyone interested in weight training will want is, naturally, a set of weights.

Free weights can be purchased for very little money – a basic set is often under $50. You’ll want a mixture of small, 10 lb (4.5 kg) and 20 lb (9 kg) hand-held dumbbells and a bar with larger, exchangeable weights. Just about any bar is as good as another, but weights can be either metal or plastic. Some people like the old-fashioned clink of metal, but plastic weights (usually composite or sand-filled) are marginally safer.

At some point, you’ll want to ‘graduate’ to a weight machine. They offer the ability to focus on specific muscle groups – biceps, quadriceps, deltoids and others – in a much safer way than free weights can. Also, some muscle groups – calves or hamstrings, for example – are harder to work using free weights.

Once you’re ready for a weight machine, be prepared to spend some serious cash. Costs and configurations vary. Some are just simple resistance machines, essentially composite rubber stretching straps that allow for some adjustment to the tension. These run a few hundred dollars. Others are multi-station, adjustable weight stacks, often costing from $1,800 to $5,000 or more.

Stair steppers are becoming increasingly popular. A very simple model can run anywhere from $80-$150. It offers you the ability to get a good cardiovascular workout in a small space at home with low joint impact, while you build thighs and calves. Beware anything that looks like too good a deal, though. Reliability is key here, otherwise you’ve spent $100 for nothing when it breaks two months after purchase.

Some stair steppers run as high as $1,700 or more. At this level you should be getting a lot more than just the ability to simulate walking up stairs. Apart from reliability and handrails, which should be rock solid for 5 years or more, you should be able to adjust resistance level, speed, angle, and distance between the pedals. You should also get a heart rate monitor and other digital readouts (speed, distance climbed, calories burned, etc) as part of the package.

Treadmills, too, are becoming a more common part of the home gym. Since they run anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $2,000 or more, you should expect to get a lot for your money.

Again, they should be completely smooth working, stable and reliable for several years. A good treadmill should have a great, non-slip surface and it should be able to go faster and offer more resistance than you could ever use as you build up.

Like stair steppers, it should come with an impressive panel of controls and digital gauges. Any treadmill that costs over $1,000 should have, at minimum, adjustments for and measurements of speed and distance ‘walked’. It should include calories burned, with tailoring based on age, weight, etc. A heart rate monitor is a great plus.

Of course, if you plan to spend several thousand dollars to acquire home gym equipment, you should be prepared to dedicate yourself to a consistent, regular workout. But that’s something no manufacturer can guarantee.

Your Home Gym
Today, luckily for those concerned about fitness, there is a wide range of quality equipment that is both affordable and really useful. Sure, there is hype. There is gear that could never live up to some advertising claims. But those are the exception. Most offer great value for years of use.

Treadmills are popular and still gaining ground. Elliptical trainers, once suspect, have now firmly proven their worth. A rowing machine is a much more common item in a home gym than ever before. You can fool some of the people some of the time. But the widespread popularity of these items is no accident. They deliver.

Even simple dumbbells or free weights – relatively inexpensive and simple to use – continue to deliver good value. They provide a range of motion unequaled by anything else. The weight can be gradually increased as you improve, or scaled back when need be, say after an injury or when they’re used by more than one person in the home. Resistance bands can also build strength and improve joint health, and are available in a range suitable for different individuals.

Weight machines take the values achievable to the next level. While they can be pricey, those who own them clearly think the money is well spent. They offer a variety of stations that permit a range of exercises in a safe, fast and easy to use setting. A weight machine will be a valuable addition to the home gym for years.

Several other items typically found in the complete home gym likewise continue to deliver value because they’re perfect for low-impact exercise. Stair steppers or climbers, aerobic riders, stationary bikes or spinning cycles, and more provide a great cardio workout and burn calories as they strengthen and tone.

Pilates equipment has more and more come to be included among this group, too. As the range of Pilates exercises increases, the need for equipment grows. To get the most out of your home gym, you’ll want to include things like a magic ring, a Pilates ball or even a reformer.

To measure the results you get a few fitness accessories are always helpful. Some, such as a heart rate monitor, are often included as part of a treadmill or elliptical or other equipment. Those available as stand alone items are sometimes lower cost and more accurate, though.

When you go to outfit your home gym you’ll have to consider a variety of factors. Cost is always a concern. But sheer price means little without considering quality and safety and other important aspects.

The most important criterion, though, may well be just how much enjoyment and value you get out of your home gym fitness equipment. After all, if you don’t use it, it isn’t doing you any good.

Luckily, but not accidentally, much of the gear that is on the market today is high quality, long lasting and reasonably priced considering how long it lasts. They’re also a great deal considering how much good they do for your health, self-esteem and overall well-being.