You can find the best home exercise equipment to help you meet your fitness needs by not focusing on equipment as you start your search. Start your search by listing your exercise goals, time available, any health issues you have and physical activities you enjoy. Using this information, you can find the exact exercise equipment that provides the benefits you want.
Step 1
Write down your specific fitness goals in order of importance. This might include weight loss, heart health, muscle toning, muscle building, sports performance or reducing your risk for certain diseases and conditions, such as high cholesterol or osteoporosis.
Step 2
List any health problems you have that might affect your ability to exercise. These could include knee, shoulder, hip, back or joint problems, a heart condition, arthritis, poor bone density, high blood pressure or obesity.
Step 3
Write a list of physical activities you enjoy doing, along with the reasons you enjoy doing them. You might like swimming, cycling, skating, jogging, certain sports or dance. You might find the activities you enjoy doing have something in common, such as competition, the fact they are solitary activities or that they are relaxing or intense.
Step 4
Create a chart that lists the health benefits of different exercise equipment, with a list of equipment running down the side of the page and benefits running across the page. Equipment options might include treadmills, exercise bike, bicycle, bike trainer, elliptical trainer, rower, dumbbells, resistance bands, kettlebell, exercise ball, free weights or other commercial equipment. Benefits might include non- or low-impact, creates cardio workouts, builds muscles, provides workout data, lets you do aerobic and resistance exercises either separately or simultaneously, or builds muscles. Organizations such as the American Heart Association recommend adding resistance and cardio exercise to your personal fitness plans.
Step 5
Include enjoyment as one benefit. For example, if you like to bicycle, an exercise bike or bike trainer might be a good choice for you, if it provides the health benefits you seek. If you are into competition, you might want an exercise machine with an electronic data feature that lets you challenge yourself with distance, reps, heart rates or calories burned during each workout.
Step 6
Examine your checklist to see which pieces of equipment provide the most benefits. You may give more weight to certain categories. For example, if your goal is primarily weight loss, you might give more attention to equipment that provides more cardio or aerobic exercise than muscle building.
Step 7
Narrow your list to one or more pieces that meet your needs. You may want to consider several pieces of less expensive equipment, rather than one expensive machine. More equipment provides more variety, creates more workouts, works more muscles, creates less monotony and provides more enjoyment.
Step 8
Read independent reviews of the equipment on your final list. You may find some of the equipment on your list breaks easily, doesn't do what it advertises, is difficult to use or doesn't burn as many calories as you want.
Member Comments