I have written quite a bit over the last week about what you need as far as home fitness equipment goes but thought I would just round out this week with an overview of what you should have for equipment. So here is what I think that you should try to accumulate over the next while.
Weightlifting Home Fitness Equipment
Home Fitness Equipment
Mats– The most basic piece of fitness equipment is an exercise mat. You need an exercise mat for doing stretching as well as for doing abs and an exercise mat is always good for lying on when you are tired from a tough set or some cardio
Dumbells – Dumbells are those short bars with the weights on them. Who cares about them all matching but you want to probably have pairs of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 pounds and sometimes even a pair of 3 pound weights are good to carry while you are running or doing other cardio. These all come in handy for lots of your exercises
Barbell – This is just a big long bar. The barbell bar weighs I believe 20 pounds although ones at the gym will 45 pounds. Then of course you need weights to put on this bar. Remember that anytime that you are using a barbell you are lifting more and in the case of bench presses or even military presses you can get yourself into real trouble if you do not have a spotter.
Weight Bench – This is the staple of home fitness equipment. There are thousands of benches both good and bad gathering dust in garages and basements across the country, it should be pretty easy to find a cheap bench and you will use this for flyes, bench press, seated curls, tricep extensions, crunches, one armed rows. I think you get the picture this is a great thing to have around.
Cardio Home Fitness Equipment
This is definitely a personal decision as I have written before. A piece of cardio equipment or two is expensive and so there is a lot of thought that goes into whether you are going to buy one or not. Here are the choices though.
Elliptical Trainer – This is the newest most popular type of home fitness equipment. An elliptical trainer will allow you to work out your arms an legs and is very low impact. I know that Paul Plakas on the TV show X-Weighted though is not a fan of the elliptical trainer though, he says that using it just makes you get at the elliptical trainer. I will have to find out what he means by that.
Exercise Bike – These are great in that you can read a book or watch TV comfortably while beating up on your legs.
Treadmill – This will replace running or walking in the Winter and can be changed up by having weights in your hands that allow you to work your upper body somewhat while getting your leg workout in.
Rowing machine – I have never owned a rowing machine but I know that people swear by them. Rowing machines are a great piece of home fitness equipment in that they work almost all of your muscle groups and the equipment is also really easy to store in a closet or under a bed, very out of sight so you do not feel guilty about not working out today.
This about covers home fitness equipment. Anything that I missed? I know that the first article that I wrote talked about using soup cans and stuff but if you really are motivated to get in better shape this Winter then you can either join a gym or get the stuff that you need at home. One way or another I think that home fitness equipment is a key decision in your quest for a healthier future.