HOW TO SELECT HOME EXERCISE EQUIPMENT

The variety of home exercise equipment that is available today is almost overwhelming. In order to avoid wasting money and in some cases avoid injuries, you must carefully evaluate the design and usefulness of each piece of equipment. Follow the basic guidelines outlined here and you will eliminate most of the costly mistakes many purchasers make.

DEFINE YOUR GOALS

Don't even start looking at exercise equipment until you clearly define your fitness goals. Do you want to lose weight, gain strength, increase flexibility, make overall fitness gains or train for a marathon? Each of these goals will require different equipment or combinations of equipment. Once you have your specific goals clearly spelled out, you will be able to eliminate 90% of the available options.

DEFINE YOUR PREFERENCES

No one will stick to an exercise program if they must do something that they hate to do. For this reason, you must decide which type of activity you like to do. If you dislike riding bikes, you will probably not enjoy riding an exercise bike. If you enjoy rowing, an aerobic rowing machine may be a good choice for your home fitness center. Determine what activities you like, purchase equipment that imitates that activity and you will have an exercise center that will give you years of quality use.

SIZE CONSIDERATIONS

So you just bought a treadmill, an exercise bike and six single station strength training machines. Sounds great! You have the makings of a very nice fitness center. You have just one problem. Your available space is only 5 feet by 5 feet. I hope your vendor has a liberal return policy.

You must carefully calculate your available space before you purchase any equipment. A good way to do this is measure your room and draw it on a piece of graph paper. Get the exact measurements of any equipment you are considering and make drawings of the equipment in the same scale as your room drawing. Cut them out and arrange them on you room drawing. This should give you a good idea of how much equipment you can fit in your available space.

If you have a large room or are building an addition for your center, you will probably be able to fit most of the equipment you want in your room. If you have only a small space available, a good strategy is to purchase a piece of cardiovascular equipment (treadmill, exercise bike, stair climber, etc.) first. You can then add dumbells or exercise tubing for resistance training. This type of equipment takes up very little room.

BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS

Your health and fitness should be one of the most important goals of anyone's life. I believe that you should budget as much money as possible to achieve your fitness goals. That being said, you can't go into hock for the rest of you life to pay for your fitness center. Please budget as much as you can, but use common sense. If you must, start small. You can add equipment when extra funds become available.

The most expensive and most important piece of equipment that you will purchase should be a quality piece of cardiovascular equipment. This will be the centerpiece of your center. Strength training can be done with low cost free weights and resistance tubing. When more money becomes available, you can add multi-station or single-station strength training machines.

FAMILY CONSIDERATIONS

Do you live alone? Do you have a spouse or roommate? Do you have kids? These are all concerns that you may not think of when you are purchasing exercise equipment. If you live alone, the only needs you need to consider are your own. If a spouse, roommate, kids live in your home, you will need to consider their needs also.

If you and other members of your household can't agree on cardiovascular equipment, a treadmill is a good compromise. A good quality treadmill is the most versatile and efficient piece of cardiovascular equipment available.

If you have kids, safety must be a primary consideration. Both cardiovascular and resistance training equipment can be a hazard to young children. Make sure that any motorized equipment has a safety key or switch. This will prevent the machine from being inadvertently turned on. Both single-station and multi-station resistance machines can cause a pinching injury if you child should catch their hand in pulleys or between weight plates. If a child or adult uses free weights without a spotter, serious injury can be a result of losing control of the weight. Make sure your children are aware of these hazards and do not use the equipment without your supervision.

If your equipment is located near bedrooms, noise may be a concern. If you run on a noisy treadmill when other family members are sleeping, you may end up running out the door, chased by a well-aimed projectile. Exercise bikes, rowers and stair steppers are generally quieter than treadmills. Some of the higher end treadmills are comparatively quiet, but still generate some noise.

POWER IT UP

The normal circuit in your home is a 15-amp circuit. That is enough to power lights and most small appliances in your home. Some of the more heavy-duty pieces of exercise equipment, such as treadmills and some stair steppers and bikes, will require a 20-amp circuit. Almost all exercise equipment operates on 110 volts. The exception to this is some commercial grade treadmills. These high-powered monsters require 220 volts. An electrician can easily change a 15-amp circuit to a 20-amp circuit. Changing to 220 volts is a bigger job, but can usually be accomplished if you have extra power available coming into the house. Check with the salesman or manufacturers of the equipment that you are considering, for any special power requirements.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

Finally, don't buy any expensive equipment without taking it for a test-drive. Any quality fitness equipment vendor will have the equipment on display for you to try. Make sure and dress for exercise when you visit the store. Try out all of the makes and models that they have. Choose the one that fits you the best and you feel most comfortable with.