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Home Gyms | Equipment Basics

A home gym may be one of the few luxuries that's actually good for you. You can exercise regularly, anytime of the day or night. You'll save time because you're not driving back and forth to the health club, you'll be more motivated because your home workouts are so convenient, and you'll never find yourself intimidated by a room full of strangers. You may also save money. For the cost of a year's gym membership you may be able to buy a piece of your home gyms equipment that contributes to your cardiovascular and muscle fitness for decades.

Concerned about the space requirements of home gyms? Equipment for a home fitness center doesn't necessarily need to be bulky. If space is an issue, a Swiss ball, also known  as a balance ball may be one way to begin outfitting a space-saving (and cheap) home gym. They're small, portable and can be used for several different kinds of exercises. They can provide a good abdominal workout, help you to achieve a great stretch, improve balance and build muscle fitness across all muscle groups. Prices start at about $20 and may include a pump and exercise DVD.

Other cheap, compact, portable fitness equipment? Consider step benches, which can be used in an aerobics-based home workout plan, a starter barbell set, one or two fitness benches, or a compact treadmill (be aware however that compact treadmills may not be as robust or as pleasant to use as their larger fitness treadmill counterparts). For extreme space requirements, consider home exercise bands, or a fold up treadmill.

Larger, sturdier home fitness equipment falls into two categories: strength training equipment, such as barbells, dumbells and multi-gyms, and cardiovascular training equipment, such as treadmill exercise equipment and ellipticals that provide stamina fitness.

Elliptical Fitness Trainers. Elliptical fitness machines make your feet move in an elliptical stepping movement. Ellipticals are extremely "low-impact," meaning that they're gentle on the knees and joints, unlike commerial or home fitness machines that may not be designed to counteract pounding or impact.  Elliptical steppers offer a smooth motion and the sensation of an easier home workout. Popular elliptical? Life Fitness Elliptical Trainer, Nordic Track elliptical trainers, and ProForm ellipticals. The better elliptical fitness trainers come with advanced electroncs and preset programmes and the very best, at the level of a commercial-quality elliptical machine, make the workouts smoother.

Exercise bicycles are a popular home gym machine. They're manufactured in three styles, upright bikes, recumbent and semi-recumbent bikes and dual action bikes, which in addition to exercising the legs, provide basic workouts for the arms. Exercise bikes are good all-around fitness cardio equipment, and since they're so familar and easy to use, seniors often feel comfortable with them. They can also make great kids exercise equipment.  Relatively low priced Reebok and Schwinn fitness equipment is popular, while Lifecycle fitness equipment is  widely regarded as a higher end stationary bicycle.  

Treadmill exercise equipment is extremely popular in the world of home fitness. Home equipment of this type is also easy to use and very familiar, so excellent for both advanced and beginners workouts. Because treadmill exercise equipment takes such a pounding, you may want to avoid a treadmill buy that seems like too good of a deal, even with all the discount fitness equipment promotions and seemingly juicy fitness discounts. Treadmills made to last should be to some degree over-engineered, which can't be done on the cheap. Popular manufacturers include Bowflex, Nordic Track, Life Fitness and Precor. Hint: In planning your treadmill buy, you may also want to look at treadmill mats or home gym flooring. All that jogging  can do a number on unprotected floors.

The home fitness rowing machine can be an excellent addition to home gyms. Equipment of this type requires a little less space than treadmill exercise equipment. Rowing machine fitness utlilizes the whole body, providing both stamina fitness and strength building muscle fitness, especially for the large muscles of the back and legs. At the low end, you'll find Reebok and Schwinn Fitness equipment, and at the high end, Kettler rowing machines, Lifecore rowers, and Tunturi rowers. One thing to keep in mind: rowers are not a natural motion for everyone; you may want to test one before you buy.

Ultimately, the most important thing is to pick home fitness machines that give you better, more satisfying home workouts. Home workouts you'll enjoy and stick with. Unused home gym equipment is as big a waste of money as an unused health club card - but when it comes to home gyms, equipment takes up more space.

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