Home Fitness Equipment

For many people, good home fitness equipment is the key to building muscle, losing fat and getting in shape. After all, most of us would like to lose weight and get in shape with a minimal of effort. That's how the fitness infomercial makes billions per year, promising miraculous results without breaking a sweat.

If you are not fooled by their claims then you know you have to work at getting in shape and losing unwanted pounds. But the right exercise equipment can make this easier.

In addition, one of the most used reasons for not exercising is a lack of time. Having proper home exercise equipment eliminates this popular excuse. After all, one of the major advantages of a home gym is convenience.

With a health club, there is waiting in line to use equipment and costly membership fees, in addition to the time factor. With the right home fitness equipment, you could put together a great home gym. Home exercise equipment tailored to your specific needs, will allow you to get or stay in great shape.

Plus, you can put together a great home gym for about a year's membership to some fancy health club with home fitness equipment that will last a lifetime. So it's a great dealy economically too.

If you decide that working out at home makes the most sense, the first consideration will be the location. You want an inviting location that is well ventilated and provides sufficient light. For some, a room with a television would be appropriate.

If lack of space is a consideration, there are a number of pieces of fitness equipment, like compact home gyms,that don't take up a lot of space.

There are numerous pieces of home fitness equipment, from cardio machines such as elliptical trainers, treadmills and exercise bikes (all reviewed elsewhere on this site), to weight lifting equipment, which we'll discuss here.

When looking to put together a good home gym, you have a number of options, from free weights to one piece home gyms like Bowflex, Powerflex and Total gym, to multi-station home gyms with weight stacks.

To help decide what type of home fitness equipment is appropriate for you, you have to take a look at a number of different things - such as your goals, your budget, your avaiable space and what you see yourself doing in the future.

If you're an experienced lifter, you probably have an idea of the type of home fitness equipment you are looking for and can just use these reviews to help you make your decision quickly and easily.

If you're buying your first piece of home fitness equipment, you might not even know the difference between your various options, so here's a basic rundown.

Free Weights

This is the preference of most experienced lifters. Free weights are a great option for a number of reasons. For one, you can build your home gym over time by adding various pieces of equipment as you need them. This is also great if you don't have a huge initial bundleof cash to get started.

In addition, you can have a complete home gym that allows you to do everything you need with complete safety, for under $1,000, and it will last you a lifetime and then some. I use a lot of my father's weight lifting equipment and my son will probably use it as well.

Multi-Station Gyms

These stations are a very popular piece of home fitness equipment. They work just like the machines in the gym and allow you to workout in complete safety since they use weight stacks as opposed to a barbell that you could get stuck under.

Possibly the greatest disadvantage of these machines is that you are forced to exercise along a fixed plane. In other words, instead of the movement working along your natural plane like free weights do, you are forced to work along the machine's path.

Obviously, people are different heights and weights, etc. and you may not fit the machine well, which could cause certain injuries over time.

Another drawback is that you are limited by the amount of the weight on the weigh stack. If your strength outgrows your machine, you are stuck. For some, this may never be a problem, but if you are serious about your training, these stations may not be the best piece of homefitness equipment for you.

One Piece Home Gyms

These are the machines you usually see on infomercials, such as the Bowflex, Crossbow by Weider, and Poweflex by Gold's gym. There is a reason these have become very popular home fitness equipment.

To learn more about the pros and cons of Bowflex and it's new competitors, click here. These reveiws are coming soon! (Posted July 24th, 2003)

Another major problem (which also happens a lot with home fitness equipment purchased from infomercials), is not buying quality.

Yes, quality home fitness equipment will cost more when you buy it. However, high quality exercise equipment will last a lifetime, so it will actually cost you less over the long haul.

Check out some great deals on home fitness equipment, with Price Match home exercise equipment

Check out the following fitness equipment and reviews.

Exercise Equipment Review Home Page

Elliptical Trainer Reviews
An in depth review on the various features of the ellipitcal machine and what it can do for you including a comparison of popular models.

Home Fitness Equipment Reviews
Use this guide to decide what type of home gym is best for you, from all in one stations to dumbbells and free weights, including a checklist of what you need for a complete gym. Includes reviews of popular machines like Bowflex and the Total Gym.

Stair Climbers Reviews
With so many different stair climbers, it's tough to know what you really need and which one's are most effective. With our in depth reviews, now you'll be informed enough to make the best decision for you.

Treadmills Review
Do you really know what you need in a treadmill? Now you will, including things like how long the track should be for your stride length, etc. Check out our reviews here.

Exercise Bikes
Take a look at what is more appropriate for you - a traditional exercise bike or a recumbent bike - and what features do you really need?

Ab Exercise Equipment Reviews
Are all those infomercial ab products nothing but hype? Do any of them work? You'll find out here.

Weight Bench Reviews
Learn what you need in a quality weight bench for the home.

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Exercise Equipment Review Home Page