Buyers Guide

How to Choose Equipment For Home

For some people, choosing a home-based gym is like buying a car. There are compact gyms, mid-sized versions and even the luxury options that require quite a bit of space but give you the ability to cross your arms and smugly tell your friends, “That there piece of equipment is the exact same model you pay $100 a month to wait in line to use over at the downtown gym.”

How can you possibly navigate through the myriad options available without losing your mind? Unlike cars, where you can slip into the driver’s seat, pull out onto the Interstate and take it for a comfortable spin, the right gym equipment requires more than a short sit-down to determine whether it is worth the investment. There is budget to consider, space, the type of workouts you’ll be performing, and many other factors that will contribute to the choice between a $50 workout bench with some adjustable dumbbells and a cheap jump-rope or a thousand dollar beauty that takes up the corner of your new “workout room” and has more exercises available than you have hours to try them out.

The best place to start sorting through your options is usually located in one your pockets – your wallet. Just as someone with a $10,000 budget isn’t going to stroll onto a luxury car lot to seriously consider making a purchase, the type of equipment you will consider for home-based use will vary depending on the cash you have ready to spend. If you only have a few dollars to spend, for example, you’ll spend your time comparing inexpensive items like medicine balls, Swiss workout balls, cheap dumbbells and perhaps a bench or step platform that can be tucked away in the corner. Those with a larger budget and more space will obviously begin to consider more elaborate equipment that provides additional options and exercises.

At the lowest level of investment, your options are push-ups, sit-ups, and attending free prosperity seminars until your financial situation changes.

Increase your budget a bit more ($20 – $100) to allow for a variety of options. For resistance training, you can consider light weight dumbbells, inexpensive, flat benches, and even resistance bands. You can also grab one of those popular Swiss workout balls. These are great to store fully inflated in the corner of a room on your main level so that even if you’re not serious about working out, your guests think you do.

Consider throwing a few hundred at your passion for fitness in the comfort of your own home, and now you can start considering more serious equipment that ranges from benches that adjust to incline and decline, a serious set of dumbbells (and maybe even racks to stack them on), or some of the newer systems that allow for a dozen or so exercises and then fold conveniently into a flat shape that often ends up forgotten and lost in the closet behind the tangle of work clothes and shoes.

A budget in the thousands is required to move into more of the complicated (but effective) equipment. This includes the machines that allow you to pull things on cables, push things with your legs, and heave large amounts of weights without the fear of it suddenly crashing and causing injury. This equipment can provide more exercise variety and is often more durable and has more safety features. It does require a little extra space, however.

More Information
Safety is an important concern
Planning on taking your program

Related Links:
Keypoints to Consider in choosing a Home Fitness Equipment