If you are looking to buy a piece of exercise equipment there are a few factors you should consider before you part with your hard-earned money. You to need to decide if you are going to buy old or new, what your goals for the equipment will be, how much space you have for the equipment and how much you can afford to spend. Once you have worked through these factors you will have a clearer idea of what equipment you should purchase.
Old or New?
Everyone loves a new toy but just remember a lot of toys get used for a bit and then forgotten. If you're buying new, the equipment should come with a warranty and should be from an established provider. If you decide to buy second hand search around for user reviews on the product, pick up any reported defaults or problems people have had, and weed out the bad ones. Establish whether there is still any warranty left on the equipment and check for general wear and tear. If it's motorized or has moving parts, check how they operate and that everything is working well, as second-hand products are often "sold as seen."
Weight Loss
If you are looking to lose weight, typically a piece of cardiovascular equipment should be your first choice. Treadmills, rowing machines, indoor bikes and elliptical trainers fall under this heading. Cardiovascular machines work to increase your aerobic ability, burn calories, increase metabolic rate and improve energy levels, according to dothealthclub.com. They provide an effective way to improve your overall fitness and help you lose weight all in one go.
Increase Lean Muscle
For those who want to increase lean muscle mass, resistance training is the way to achieve this goal. Many manufacturers, such as Golds Gym, Trojan and Life Fitness, offer multi-purpose weight training machines that are suitable for use at home. They combine multiple exercises into the one machine, allowing for a total body workout in the comfort of your own home. If you increase your lean muscle mass you will also increase your metabolism, improve cardiac function, increase bone density, reduce stress and start to reduce the signs of natural aging, according to ablemart.com.
Space
You also need to consider where this piece of equipment is going to be used. Any piece of cardiovascular equipment or weight training equipment is going to need an ample amount of space to be used effectively and safely. Some newer equipment can be folded up and stored away, but you still need to have space for it when it is in use. Look at the space where you want to use the equipment and measure the dimensions; use these dimensions when you look at any piece of equipment to check that it will fit before you buy.
Budget
You know how much money you have to spend and you must stick to this budget. You have established your goals and how much space you have; now you must find how much your money will get you in the marketplace.
If you're buying new, search for "special offers" or "reduced to clear." These are often pieces that have recently been superseded by newer models and offer better value for your money.
If buying second hand, haggle. There are plenty of bargains out there; look around in the second-hand websites and columns in your local newspaper. Many people before you have bought equipment with good intentions and never used it. You may be the same, but at least get it at a knockdown price. After all, it reminds the seller of the money he wasted and the storage space it's taking up, and he will be happy to get it sold.
Alternatives
Alternatives to the regular cardiovascular and resistance training equipment are available on the market at a fraction of the cost of their bigger and bulkier counterparts. Manufacturers realize that we are not always at home, or we do not have adequate space at home and have offered products like the TRX to the market place. Coach Seiji of RacerXVT states that the TRX "honestly blows me away in its functionality and the benefits it can provide," and "it’s also portable and inexpensive." The TRX and other portable pieces of exercise equipment are worth considering if space, money and a busy travelling lifestyle must figure into your current exercise equipment conundrum.
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