Home Exercise Equipment

I have had exercise equipment that I have never used. I have worked out on equipment that I could never hope to own. A professional athlete will spend up to 15% of his time just trying out new gear.

The time you spend shopping can be well worth it. Your home gym must be durable and easy to use without taking up too much space, depending on how much room you have.



Portable Closet Equipment

You want to try a lot of this type of home exercise equipment. It will fit in a drawer or a closet or under a bed. I have had tons of this kind of stuff. I have my favourites that I will always use and some have been sold at garage sales with hardly a print on them. You will develop your own favourites.

• Dyna-Flex wrist exerciser
• Foam rubber balls and grips
• Spring grips
• Rubber Band equipment
• Sit up aids
• Marcy Wedge Forearm exerciser

Weight Training Equipment

There is a lot of variety of weight equipment. Start with free weights. Free weights are dumbbells (the short ones) and barbells (the long ones). Buy steel weights and don’t buy the big heavy plates, say greater than 20 pounds. Get a bench with wide uprights. You will need a minimum 10 foot by 10 foot space for this equipment. Start small. Get a starter set and add 5 pound plates and 10 pound plates as you need them. Use small dumbbells and buy larger ones as you need them. Adjustable dumbbells can be a real hassle or very expensive or both. I have purchased non adjustable dumbbells and over the years have collected increments from 10 pounds up to 40 pounds. It is unlikely that you are going to need anything greater than 40 pounds, unless of course you get into body building. Start with Super Sets.

Commercial Equipment.

My favourite example of how home exercise equipment purchases can go wrong is this. Don’t purchase any treadmill because you see treadmills in the fitness clubs. There are treadmills that are designed for the person that uses them for three months and then never use them again. You don’t want one of these and there are many. The heavy duty stuff you see in the clubs is designed for a lot of use, and they can still break down. If you really want a treadmill or other piece of commercial equipment (rowing machines, elliptical machines, and exercise bikes) then take the time to go to the club and really put some mileage on equipment to find out what you like.