Best Exercise Equipment For Home Gyms

Staying fit and healthy is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only does it make you feel and look better, it can lead to a longer life! Some people like to work out at the gym, others only exercise through recreational activities, while some prefer to sweat in the comforts of their own abode.

Not only do you not have to drive anywhere, there is a convenient non-public shower available for you when finished!

There is no denying that exercise can be expensive, especially when equipment is involved, but there are amazing ways to get the heart rate going while saving some pocket change, if you are so inclined.

Best Exercise Equipment For The Home 

Jump Ropes

One of the cheapest things to buy is a jump rope (less than $10). It gets the heart rate going quickly and can be found in almost any store that sells exercise products. It’s a great work out for the legs and can be quite challenging, depending upon how far you want to push yourself. Plus, it brings about childhood nostalgia, and it's a lot of fun!

Resistance Bands

Along the lines of jump ropes are resistance bands. They are extremely versatile and can be used to work out many different areas of the body. They provide a low-impact workout, and are very small and light, therefore making them easy to store. Though resistance bands have been seen stereotypically as a work out for middle-aged ladies, they have become an integral part of professional body building due to their ability to target many different muscle areas. These bands can range anywhere from $10 to $50.


Exercise Balls

A piece that is not quite as easy to store is the fitness/exercise ball. Inflated and made of sturdy, puncture-proof elastic, these balls are used for weight training or physical therapy. Just sitting on them have been known to be a great work out for the abs (more fun than an office chair!). Some people enjoy using them so they simply do not have to sit on the hard ground while performing an exercise; others use them to add some muscle strengthening, or balance conditioning. Fitness balls come in many different diameters and run the gamut from $12 to $60 depending upon how much pressure or pounds they can support.

Free Weights

Another great item to have on hand is a set of free weights. Many different exercises can be performed using them, including curls, squats, dead lifts, and lunges, all which trigger different muscle groups. If you are willing to be very patient and super thrifty, these can usually be found in garage sales or second hand stores for very inexpensive prices. Otherwise, you can find dumbells at discount stores for $20 and up.

Kettlebells

Kettlebells are great for building strength and endurance. Originally of Russian invention and usually made of cast iron, kettlebells have the look of a cannon ball with a handle on top. They come in many different weights and are normally used to build the legs, arms, shoulders and lower back. Prices of these can be anywhere from $30 to $70 depending upon the style and weight desired.

Treadmills

For those looking to invest in a larger piece of equipment, there are many different large pieces that are extremely useful as well as popular. The most popular and obvious choice would be a home treadmill.

A staple in gyms across the nation, you can run, walk, trot, strut, and stroll at your own desired pace without having to bother about the weather. It works up a great sweat and many of the machines will keep track of your distance traveled, calories burned, heart rate, etc.

The cost of a treadmill can run anywhere between $250 and $3,000 but they should last for many years, and can provide a great workout in a home gym, and you can use them while watching TV or even catching up  on your reading.

Final Thoughts

There are many more options available for working out at home, including elliptical triners, exercise bikes, ab trainers, steppers and much more. Consider the space you have at home, your goals and fitness and your budget when shopping.

Video: Weight Training Workout for Fat Loss

This 30-minute workout works your entire body, toning and strengthening your muscles, so you'll burn more fat - even after you're finished with the routine!* Free weights (dumbbells) are needed for this workout. Free weights can help with fat burning, as they will challenge and use more of your muscle groups for each movement, creating more calorie burn, and also a more balanced physique than working out with a weight machine. Not to mention, they take up a lot less room in your home!

Use whatever weight works for you - but be sure to pace yourself, as it's a fairly long weight routine. You may want to start out with heavier weights, then switch to lighter ones as your muscles start to get tired, so you can avoid injury. Also be sure to warm up and stretch before doing this workout as this is not included in the video. Be careful, pay attention to the instructions, and listen to your body.

Now let's get ready to get our burn on!

* Note: Be sure to consult your healthcare practitioner and/or trainer before beginning any new workout routine, especially if you are at a low fitness level.

Weight Training Workout for Weight Loss - Fat Burning Functional Strength Training Workout
Find out how many calories this burns @ http://bit.ly/JRoua7

4 Benefits of Using Free Weights As Part of a Weight Training Program

When you decide to embark on a weight training program, one of the first questions you will have to address is, "Do I use machine weights or free weights?"

Beginners will tend to gravitate toward machine weights, because they do not have to worry about balancing a set of dumbbells through a range of motion, and they can just focus on feeling the burn.  And that's okay.  However, as you progress and become more comfortable with a weight-training program, consider incorporating free weights as they have many advantages.

So what are the advantages of using free weights in comparison to machine weights?

Dumbbell chest fly (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. By using free weights, you will innervate many more stabilizer muscle groups as you work to balance the weight through your range of motion.

* The fact that machine weights are supportive is actually their hugest downfall.  They are so supportive that you only need to use a few major muscles groups for any given exercise.

* In contrast, when you use free weights, you are targeting extra muscle groups.  This will help to burn more calories than with machine weights alone - and will balance your muscles and help avoid injury.

2. Using free weights allows you the flexibility to change the path that you will take when performing an exercise.

* Unlike the singular, repetitive motion of a machine that targets the same muscles over  and over, varying the path of your dumbbells will work different muscle groups.

* Dumbbells and other free weights have a tremendous versatility that machine weights cannot match.  You can use any given dumbbell to work out almost every different area of your body.

For example, in addition to doing bicep curls, a dumbbell can be used: 
o in a bench press
o it can be held against your chest during a series of crunches
o it can be pressed over your head to work out your shoulders
o it can even be held between your feet during a hamstring curl.

* Using machine weights for all of these exercises would require multiple machines.

Free weights (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3. Free weights take up much less space when compared to the size of a typical machine system.

* Further to this, since machines usually boast of attachments and the latest technology, they inevitably cost many times more than what it would cost to equip yourself with a basic set of free weights.  Cost and space are two key factors when people choose any workout equipment.

4.  Free weights do not allow your stronger side to compensate for the weaker side.

* Weight machines focus on working out both sides of your body in tandem.  The pec fly machine is an example.  If you have one side of your body that is stronger, which is often the case, the machine will allow your stronger side to work harder and compensate for the weaker side.

* As a result, machine weights will often hide your weaknesses on one side, however small they may be.  This cannot happen with free weights, because if your left side cannot push out that last rep, your right side cannot help it at all.  This allows you to develop more evenly balanced strength.

In summary, a weight-training program does not have to be one dimensional – only machine weights or only free weights.  It can be a combination of both.  However, definitely consider letting free weights play a significant role in your weight training, as the benefits to using them are numerous.

Weight Training - Free Weights vs. Machines

Something you need to keep in mind when exercising is that you are training for life. You may spend an hour a day in the gym, but that will still leave another 23 hours or so for your muscles to function without using any fancy equipment.

Image via WikipediaWhenever you do any type of exercise, the movement of your body during the exercise is known as the range of motion. The more difficult the range of motion is, the more effective the exercise will be, because your body has to work harder to perform the movement.

Most of the time, when using machine weights, you will always be limited in both your range of motion, and what type of exercise you can perform. Unlike free weights, machine weights offer a certain degree of resistance which you set via the machine.

One of the best thing about using a weight machine is the fact that you just move a little chuck around to select the weight you want to use. Instead of dragging a weight over to your exercise area, you simply select it on the machine. When you are tired during a workout, this can be a blessing.

Image via WikipediaA lot of people argue in the fact that free weights are the best for your body. While this is normally true, many people out there prefer machine weights. There are pros and cons with both techniques, although free weights have been around a lot longer and have been proven time after time to achieve dramatic results.

Body builders for example, have used free weights over the years to build very impressive bodies. If you ask most of them about machine weights, they would probably laugh at you and tell you that you need to quit joking around.

In a nutshell, free weights will use more of your muscles than the machines do, which makes them more effective overall. This doesn't mean that the machines are a waste of use, as they offer some great advantages. In some cases, it is best to stabilize the muscles that are being used in a movement, which is where machines are the best to use.

The decision on which to use for you should be based on what you hope to achieve with lifting weights, and where you plan to use the equipment, such as home or at a gym. Both systems can be beneficial, but in general, free weights are best to use if you want the best possible workout for both your bones and muscles.

A Few Weight Training Tools: