Fitness Equipment: What To Get And Where To Put It
 

Many of us are cutting out the expensive gym memberships and looking to home based fitness programs.  Investing in some home fitness equipment can be an affordable way to get you on the road to healthy, fit and toned!  But, it is important to put some thought into your purchases. Here are a few tips to help you before you buy.

Even if you do not have much room there are ways to maximize your floor space to squeeze as much in as safely and effectively as possible. There are many choices out there from rowing machines, treadmills, elliptical machines and bikes and it can be rather overwhelming.

All in all there are three areas to think about when designing your home gym. First, consider what your physical fitness goals are for your gym. Is your aim to tone, build cardiovascular fitness, build up muscle or lose weight? These factors will depend on your sex, age and your health and fitness levels and social factors like whether you have a partner or family.

Second there are some real 'must haves' in the range of home fitness equipment like free weights, at least one cardio machine, and dumbbell sets. Look for equipment combinations that are most suitable for your home gym while considering your personal fitness goals and the practical things like your budget and floor space.

Third bear in mind the floor plan and layout you would like. Consider things like which pieces of gym equipment fit together in dedicated workout areas, floor space requirements, window positions along with mirrors and other exciting accessories.

So let's look in more detail at the three main areas above.

Regarding your physical fitness goals, consider the areas of cardio, fat burn and weight loss and assess how overweight you are, if at all. It may be helpful to take a look at some height and weight charts to determine the type of aerobic and cardiovascular exercises suitable for you and how much weight training equipment is needed.

Notice how your weight is distributed. Are you top or bottom heavy? For example, if you are bottom heavy, focus on exercising the legs, so a bike or treadmill is better than an a cross trainer. If your weight is pretty much balanced, then having a general range of equipment is best.

Other things to think about regarding your objectives for your home fitness equipment are whether you have any injuries, your current level of fitness and who else will be using the equipment. Also, it is important to be clear about your objectives when you go to the store or buy online so you stick to your plan and are not influenced!

Regarding layout, basements are ideal as they can support the heavy weight of gym machines and weights. Be sure that you have enough space to stretch in all directions for mat based workouts. Keep cardiovascular equipment next to windows that you can open to get fresh air while you work out. Have the step, bench mat and weight rack in the same area.

It is a good idea to use mirrors in your gym and in fact is it essential when using free weights to ensure a good posture, so mount them on as many walls as possible. Put a full length mirror in your stretch area. Mirrors help to ensure you keep good posture at all times.

These are great starting points to consider when designing your own gym at home. Assessing your own individual objectives further will help you to decide what kind of home fitness equipment you will need to create your ideal home fitness empire!