What’s the best home exercise equipment? Weights? An exercise bike? A home treadmill? Is it an exercise machine or home gym equipment? The answer is: it depends. Sorry.
Everybody has different fitness goals. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve when you exercise at home you may or may not need any home gym equipment or an exercise machine. For most people, we think you can get a very effective workout at home using only your body weight as resistance.
Most people are exercising at home to lose weight or to get fitter and have more energy. Most people aren’t training to improve their sports performance or to build muscle. These two types of training are very specialized. They really aren’t compatible with training at home. You need a lot of gym equipment to build a bodybuilder’s physique. Athletes usually train under the supervision of professional trainers. Chances are you don’t need this kind of access to equipment and support.
WHY DO YOU NEED HOME EXERCISE EQUIPMENT?
When you’re considering the best home exercise equipment you need to ask yourself why you want to exercise at home? For some people it could be convenience. For others, privacy. Whatever your reasons, you then need to consider your fitness goals. Are you trying to lose weight, burn fat, increase your fitness, get more energy, or a combination of the above?
Knowing why you exercise at home goes a long way to helping you choose the best home exercise equipment for your needs. Quality exercise equipment isn’t cheap. You don’t want to end up spending $1000 on an exercise bike when what you really need is a home treadmill. Likewise, there’s no point buying dumbbells, kettle bells, medicine balls, a punching bag, a fit ball and/or a workout bench if you’re not wanting to do any strength training.
WHAT ARE THE BEST HOME EXERCISES
We have long been big supporters of body weight workouts – that is, exercising without any kind of weights or exercise machines. Body weight exercises are easy to learn, cost nothing and are amazingly effective. Everyone should consider learning to do push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, squats, chin-ups and planks before they go buying any machines or weights. You should also get fit enough to be able to do a fairly intense interval workout with running and sprints.
It costs nothing to lace up your shoes and go for a run. It costs nothing to find the longest flight of public stairs in your neighborhood and climb them. It costs nothing to fill a backpack with bags of sand and walk up a hill. There are hundreds of body weight exercises you can do at or around your home that will burn fat, build muscle and increase your health and well-being. You just have to do a little research and learn a few basic movements to make a start.
WHAT’S THE BEST HOME GYM EQUIPMENT?
When most people talk about home gyms, what they really mean is a bench, some dumbbells and an exercise bike in the garage. If you’re lucky enough to be able to build a house with a dedicated home gym, then you might be able to deck it out a little more. We expect you’re probably not in this category, so here is our list of the best home gym equipment for people looking to just get a couple of things to get started.
DUMBBELLS
Dumbbells are small weights held in the hand. Usually used in pairs. Great for strength training.
KETTLEBELLS
Kettlebells are used to perform ballistic exercises. Combines cardio, strength and flexibility training.
MEDICINE BALLS
Medicine balls are weighted balls (about the size of a basket ball. Used in rehabilitation and plyometric weight training.
PUNCHING BAGS
Punching bags are sturdy bags filled with grains, sand or rags. Punched to toughens hands and develop upper body power.
EXERCISE BALLS
Exercise balls are large inflated soft elastic ball. Core muscle strengthening through instability.
YOGA MATS
Yoga mats are soft non-slip mats. Provides cushioning during floor exercises and stretching.
WEIGHT BENCHES
Weight benches are an fixed or adjustable bench with cushioning. Aids form and balance when lifting weights.
WHAT ARE THE BEST EXERCISE MACHINES?
There are two basic categories of exercise machines: cardio machines and resistance machines. There are also some cross training machines that combine a bit of cardio and a bit of resistance. The best exercise machine is the one that best suits your individual needs. Exercise bikes are lower impact than home treadmills and therefore would be more suited to anyone with hip, knee or ankle injuries. Rowing machines are great for intense training, but not good if you’re just wanting to move around a little while you’re watching TV in the living room.
CHOOSING THE BEST EXERCISE BIKE
How do you choose the best exercise bike? Do you want resistance on the wheel? Pedal backwards? Fancy electronic programming?
CHOOSING THE BEST HOME TREADMILL
How do you choose the best home treadmill? Do you want different inclines and speeds? Do you want programming?
EXERCISE EQUIPMENT REVIEWS
You may have noticed that we’ve been careful not to mention any brands, makes or models of any of the equipment we’ve discussed in this post. We’ve done this on purpose. The fact is there are simply too many brands and models to cover here and too many variables, when it comes to you, to point you in the right direction. The best thing we can do is help you identify the best kind of equipment for your needs.
One you know you want a yoga mat an exercise ball and an elliptical trainer, for example, we then recommend you talk to a local fitness equipment retailer to get advice on the best make and model for your needs. They are in the best position to help you because they can meet you, show you what’s current and explain what each make and model can do. You can also try it out and see if you like it. Also, if you buy from a local retailer you’ll be more likely to get good service if anything goes wrong with your equipment or your machine.
BUYING EXERCISE EQUIPMENT ONLINE
Sometimes you can find a great deal when you buy exercise equipment online. You just have to be able to trust that you’re dealing with a real, authorized distributor or an online retailer with a proven track record when it comes to customer service. We recommend you consider Amazon.com for buying exercise equipment online. Amazon sells the best home exercise equipment at great prices, but most importantly their reputation for customer service and complaints is excellent.