If you’re thinking about creating a home gym, you’re probably wondering what types of exercise equipment are best to start with. For anyone who isn’t a fitness expert, this question can be baffling. You probably see advertisements for all kinds of gimmicky exercise contraptions, and you may be tempted to believe the hype. But the fact is that most of these products are too specialized to be part of a daily, full-body fitness routine, so they usually end up lying around unused.

Exercise First, Equipment Second

The best approach is to start with the basics. Don’t think about what equipment you need just yet. Instead, map out what types of exercise you need to do, and make your choices based on that. In other words, start with the exercise, not with the exercise equipment.

And what types of exercise do you need? The answer is basically the same for everyone: You need:

· cardio,

· muscle-strength training,

· and bone-strength training.

Furthermore, you need a variety of activities to help ensure that you get balanced training throughout your body. Certain exercise equipment makes this possible.

Start by thinking about which activities are best to give you these types of training. Walking, jogging, and running are perfect, as they accomplish both cardio and bone-strength training. Thus, a treadmill is a great place to start. You don’t need anything fancy—just a working treadmill that gets you moving.

Strength-training Equipment

Second, you’re going to need to work your muscles. It’s good to have some light weights that you can pick up and work with at any time, but you may want to get a little more advanced with some exercise equipment that lets you work your arms and legs in a way that not only tones them, but builds them. For this purpose, invest in an all-purpose weight machine. There are many on the market, so choose the one that best suits your needs and fits best into your home space.

The Little Things

And when you have your treadmill and your weight machine, don’t forget the basics. It’s easy to forget the little things, but they’re essential parts of any exercise regime. For example, some small-to-medium free weights are always good, and you may also want an yoga mat for your stretching activities, a simple stability ball for balance and core exercises, and some exercise bands for stretching out your back and shoulders.

If you’re ready to invest in some exercise equipment for your home workout room, stay away from the overhyped products that promise big things but deliver sketchy results. It’s best to start with equipment that’s reliable and proven. For now, stick with the home gym fitness equipment that you know will have results. Later, once you have your workout room set up, you can start looking into the more specialized types of equipment.

To get started, here’s what you do.

Establish your budget: As you may know, home gym fitness equipment is not always cheap, and it’s important not to drain your bank account on expensive products that don’t necessarily work better than the cheaper versions. The smartest approach is to set aside a certain amount of money for exercise equipment, and to make your purchases with this budget in mind.

Set your goals: What is it that you want out of your exercise equipment? Do you want to build muscle, or do you just want to be toned? Do you want to be skinny, or do you simply want to reach a healthy, balanced weight? Do you value flexibility? Do you want to have stamina? All of these things are important to consider, and they should go into your decision-making process when it comes time to make purchases.

Shop around: Stay away from impulsive purchases. There are many types of home exercise equipment that look great at first, but which actually don’t work as well as advertised. So before you buy anything, make sure you read a variety of reviews on products, and weigh your choices carefully. Also, the price for a given piece of equipment can vary wildly from vendor to vendor, so it can’t hurt to take the time to compare prices.

Try things out: Of course, there’s no better way to shop around that to give things a whirl yourself. If you don’t mind being a little sneaky, get a trial membership at your neighborhood gym, and test out as much of the equipment as you can during your trial. When you’re done, let them know that you’re not interested, and you’ll now have a much clearer idea of what type of home gym fitness equipment you need.

Don’t forget the little things: Be sure to set aside a portion of your budget for the simple pieces of exercise equipment. You’ll needs weights, mats, exercise clothes, and maybe some educational books and videos on exercise methods. 

If you think you need to lose a few pounds, take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone. In fact, millions of us are in the same boat. Modern life is hectic, free time is hard to come by, and exercise is hard. After a long day of work, most of us would rather relax and unwind than work out. These feelings are understandable.

Home Exercise Advantages

But there’s a way around it. With home fitness equipment, you can unwind while you work out. Yes, it’s true that you’ll still have to put some solid effort into your workout, but at least you won’t have to throw away a huge of chunk of your day on the gym, and you don’t even have to go outside if you don’t want to.

I know lots of people who work out with home exercise equipment, and most of them have found a way to incorporate other activities into the workout. The most obvious one is entertainment; people watch TV, listen to music, or even read books while they’re exercising. Others have their home exercise time double as family time.

While these things are important, there’s one big reason that makes home fitness equipment the best way to work out: convenience.

Most of us know that in order to be healthy, we need to work out at least 5 times per week. And while this doesn’t seem too bad in theory, especially when you have exercise equipment at home, in practice it becomes almost impossible. With most people, it’s usually only a couple of weeks before they run into a hitch in their routine, which can lead to long-term lapses in exercise.

Home Exercise Keeps you Going

In other words, it’s important to keep your momentum going. Many people find that when they stop exercising for even just a few days, they can already feel their muscles and metabolism deteriorating ever so slightly. And rather than making them feel motivated to exercise, this often makes people feel demoralized, thus less likely to keep exercising.

That’s why when you choose your home fitness equipment, you have to choose the right equipment for you. Don’t just think about what will get you fit. Think about what will be fun, easy, and convenient to use. Treadmills, for example, are a popular choice because they’re simple. You just switch it on and go until your done.

The best choices vary for everyone, so take a look at what’s out there, and remember that the best exercise equipment should make your workout less like work and more like play.

If you’re creating a home gym, you’ve probably discovered that many types of exercise equipment can get quite expensive. For example, there are some relatively cheap treadmills and exercise bikes, but if you want the really nice ones, you end up paying hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

But when you think about it, this is just ridiculous. Yes, if you have a lot of extra money lying around, this expensive fitness equipment can be a great investment. It makes exercise a little bit more fun, which might give you that little bit of extra incentive you need to stick to your daily workout.

Don’t Believe the Fitness Equipment Hype

That being said, when you don’t have extra money to spend, expensive exercise equipment is just a waste. No matter what the advertisements and the hype might try to tell you, this equipment doesn’t make exercise any easier. No matter what you do, exercise is supposed to be hard work. It’s not supposed to be a breeze, and no amount of money spent is going to change this.

And here’s what the fitness equipment industry doesn’t want you to know: You just don’t need fancy stuff to get fit. All you need is will power, determination, and a well-planned fitness routine. If you have all of that, you’ll get fit no matter what you have in your home gym.

It’s not about getting machines to quickly and easily whip your body into shape. No, it’s about working that one machine that really matters—your body. The fitness equipment you use is just not that important, and no amount of money spent will change this.

Keep Things Simple (and Cheap)

So, what do you really need? Basically, what you need is the right kind of exercise. You need to get some cardio, which can be easily accomplished by going for a nice walk or jog every day. And if your neighborhood or local park is not the best place for these things, you can get cardio at home by doing aerobics. No exercise equipment is needed for that—just perhaps a couple of helpful aerobics videos.

And you also need to get strength training to tone and build your muscle. This is not hard to do. Just get some simple things like free-weights, dumbbells, and stretch bands. To be honest, much of your strength training can be done with no fitness equipment at all. You can get all you need with a fitness mat, a wall, and a little bit of yoga knowledge.