Workout at Home - Home Gym Equipment
Belonging to a professional gym has many benefits. You’ll enjoy a wide spectrum of equipment and facilities, good advice from trainers and other members and the incentive to work out by making the gym a destination. You can, however, set up a home gym and have easy access, no commute and flexible schedules.
But what to buy?
If you are interested in weight training, you will, of course, need to invest in a set of weights or a weight machine.
Many people find that free weights are an affordable way to start with your weight training. A basic set of free weights may cost you less than fifty dollars. To start with, you’ll need a combination of small, 10 lb (4.5 kg) and 20 lb (9 kg) hand-held dumbbells and a bar with larger, exchangeable weights. You don’t need to be over concerned with brands or materials. Almost any bar will work well. The weights can be either metal or plastic. Some people prefer the old-school sound and feel of metal, but plastic weights (usually composite or sand-filled) are marginally safer.
As you progress in your weight training, you may want to move up to a weight machine. Weight machines offer the ability to target specifict 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. In addition, some muscle groups - calves or hamstrings, for example - are harder to work using free weights.
For cardio workouts, many people rely on stair steppers. Beginning level stair steppers will cost between $80 and $150. Stair steppers allow you to get a good cardiovascular workout in a small space at home with low joint impact, while you build thighs and calves. You need to focus on reliability and stay away from anything that looks like too good of a deal. You do not want to spend $100 on a machine that breaks in a few months.
At the advanced level, stair steppers may cost more than $1,500. These advanced machines offer much more than just the ability to simulate walking up stairs. Again, you’ll need to focus on reliability – these machines will need to hold up for five years or more. Advanced stair steppers should give you the ability to adjust resistance level, speed, angle, and distance between the pedals. These machines should also include a heart rate monitor and other digital readouts (speed, distance climbed, calories burned, etc).
Treadmills, too, are becoming a more prevalent 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 a broad array of controls and digital gauges. For treadmills that cost more than $1,000, it should have 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 also a great benefit.
Of course, if you plan to spend thousands of 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.
