Home Fitness Exercise Equipment for Your Home

March 7, 2009 by Kat Wendersen
Filed under Fitness Equipment

In order to feel encouraged each time to make full use of the benefits of being a gym member, including facilities and advice, you can try envisioning the trip to the gym as a worthwhile activity. The alternative, however, would be to skip the trip altogether, and simply have a gym inside your own home.

How do you decide what to buy?
It might be wise to restrain yourself from buying any sort of equipment impulsively, especially if you’re only on your way back to a fitness regimen. It is best to try to find out what equipment they have available in the gym, and try these first with the help of a gym trainer.

The first thing you may want to consider buying, especially if you want to undergo some weight training, is a basic set of weights.

Free weights cost a meager amount of less than $50 for a basic set. This basic set should at least contain a combination of weights: 4.5kg and 9kg dumbbells, and a bar with weights you can change for another. While you can pick whichever bar you want, you have the option of buying metal weights or plastic ones, which are made from composite plastic or filled with sand.

Later on, you’ll find the need to move to a weight machine in order to progress on your workout. This is because weight machines are able to better target specific groups in a manner safer than free weights can ever achieve. Moreover, some muscle groups, like the hamstrings and calves, are much more difficult to work on when using free weights.

If you feel that it’s time for a weight machine, then get ready to spend the required amount of money. The price of a machine can vary, with some simple machines costing a couple of hundred dollars. There are those that offer adjustability in weights, which can go for as much as $1800 to more than $5000.

Stair steppers, which can cost anywhere from $80 to $150, offers a good, low-impact cardiovascular workout without occupying a huge amount of space in the home. Keep away from models that are too cheap, as you want to ensure that you still get a reliable and sturdy model.

There are more expensive stair stepper models that can cost more than $1700. However, at this price, you should look for benefits in addition to that of simulating the process of walking up staircases. It should be reliable enough to last you more than 5 years. With this price, you should have a stair stepper with hand rails, and the ability to adjust the total pace, resistance, speed, and angle of your steps. Most of the machines available at this price should also offer built-in pulse monitors and digital readings of your specific statistics.

You can also try a treadmill. Treadmills can cost anywhere between a couple of hundred dollars to about $2000. At this price range, you should have clear expectations at the benefits you should get out of your machine.

These treadmills should operate smoothly for a good number of years. Check if the treadmill you want to buy should have a non-slip track where you can run on. It should also offer the opportunity to move as fast as you do.

These treadmills should also offer a good variety of built-in controls and digital statistic readers. They should also offer the ability to adjust speed and resistance.

Just make sure that you’ve made a commitment to working out, especially because you will be spending a huge amount of money.