This is a mistake that results from trying to make your home gym look like one you might join. There's nothing wrong with wanting that kind of equipment, so long as you are sure you will really get good use out of it.
For the rest of us, a simpler home gym is more affordable, more fun and more likely to be used.
A exercise ball, for example, can be kept in the living room, and used as you watch television. If you have kids you don't have to worry about it pinching fingers, and they'll probably think it is loads of fun to play with. And if it's just you at home, you don't have to worry about it attracting clutter. A ball is a terrible place to store things.
Dumbbells and resistance bands are also great alternatives for your home gym. These are quite inexpensive, and you can have a small selection without taking up a ton of space. But if you don't want to buy weights, you can find things to lift around the house. They may not be perfectly designed for your routine, however, and experimentation may be required to get things going at the level you would like to work out at.
You can often find perfectly good home gym equipment at garage sales. This is great if you do want to have a larger piece of equipment. You can buy them new if you like, but since many people fail to make good use of the equipment they buy, you can often find it in excellent condition for far less.
If you enjoy aerobics, an aerobic step can be a great investment. It's easy to put away under a bed, and a great way to make your aerobic workout more challenging.
A mini stair stepper can be a good choice, so long as you get a good quality one. Many come with handles so that you can involve your entire body, not just your legs. Once again, these are generally small enough you can store them out of the way with ease, or have them in whichever part of the house you would like to workout in on a particular day.
The key to a successful home gym is that it works with what you will do for exercise. If you aren't really going to use it, even cheap exercise equipment probably isn't worth the money. Take your time and be sure.
The following are my 8 home gym must-haves:
1) Dumbbells Dumbbells are essential for the home fitness gym, necessary for presses, arm exercises and even a few core exercises. There are many kinds of dumbbells out there, from the cheap to the boutique. All of which fall into one of two types: fixed weight or handles only. Handles are plate loaded. This requires you to slide the weight plate on yourself and then fasten the weight with collars. Most handles are either standard or Olympic. Standard are smaller in diameter than the Olympic version. You'll want to coordinate any plate loaded barbells you purchase with your dumbbells. That way the plates are compatible. Standard handles start at around $8. Olympic handles are pricier and longer. This added length actually takes getting used to on a few exercises.
2) Barbells You need a good barbell, and, like dumbbells, they come in standard and Olympic. Again, definitely be sure that they're compatible with your dumbbells. Although, an Olympic bar won't fit on a standard bench, a 7-foot standard bar will work on an Olympic bench. A standard barbell set includes a 20 pound bar, 2 dumbbell handles (with collars) and 85 pounds of plates. A unit like this will run about $100. This isn't a lot of weight, so you'll probably want to buy more before too long.
3) Bench In a truly cheap home gym, you can use any old bench for presses and one-arm rows. Make sure that it's 2 to 3 feet wide and solid. A piano bench could work if it's heavy enough. Otherwise, a picnic bench also works well. Get creative: you can put something under the front or rear to have an incline or a decline bench.
4) Chin Up Bar A chin up bar can be constructed out of any material that will support your weight. You can find a chin up bar for $10 to $40.
5) Swiss Ball Although I think that these are somewhat overused, they can add a little variety to your home fitness gym workouts. In addition to making you look more sophisticated by simply having it around the house, they also increase balance and tend to strengthen the core muscles. You can find one for $20.
6) Jump Rope Jump rope for cardio: $5. Simple.
7) Stairs If you have a few stairs in your house, you can add a couple outstanding exercises. These include the lunge and the step-up. Since they elevate heart rate, both are good if you're performing circuit training. And, if you live in an apartment building with several flights of stairs, your cheap home gym includes a free stairclimber.
8) Yard If you have a backyard, you can always do basketball style conditioning drills, such as sprints and short intervals. Make sure to build up your joints and tendons first with slower, more deliberate strength training to avoid injury. And if you have solid walls, you could bounce a medicine ball. This move is good for ab development and keeping a high heart rate.
Both Stephanie Foster & Klee Young are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Stephanie Foster has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Shopping and Pets. Stephanie Foster blogs at about keeping fit. Stephanie Foster's top article generates over 823000 views. to your Favourites.
Klee Young has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Gym, Cardio Training and Personal Trainer. This article was written by Scottsdale personal trainer Klee Young. Klee is a certified personal trainer serving the Phoenix Arizona area. Find out about elliptical training, circuit training, cheap home gym design, the best cardio exercise equipment, tre. Klee Young's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.