8 Most Popular Home Fitness Equipment

Nowadays we are given a lot more options when it comes to
the fitness equipment that we use at home. In the past,
unless we had a lot of space and money, we might just have
been able to use a fitness video, basic exercise bike or a
rowing machine. Now, there is a world of choice when it
comes to choosing machines and equipment that can help us
get fit.

The kind of equipment that you choose to help you get fit at
home may involve one simple machine or a range of equipment.
What you choose here usually depends on what you want/need
to do to get fit, how much space you have at home to store
equipment and how much you can afford to spend on equipment
in the first place.

Some of the more popular choices here at the moment include:

1. Home gyms/Multigyms - this kind of fitness equipment
brings together a variety of exercise options and machines
into one useful fitness station. This kind of machine may
best suit people who spend a lot of time and effort on their
fitness levels and those who like to use cross training to
get the desired results.

2. Exercise bikes - an exercise bike is a stationary bike
that gives you all the advantages of cycling without the
need to go anywhere! A recent popular variation on this
theme is the spin bike.

3. Treadmills - treadmills are machines that have a
mechanized or manual belt operation. The belt moves as you
walk or run on it. Home options here include manual
treadmills where you make the belt move as you move and
mechanized treadmills where the belt runs automatically.

4. Rowing machines - a rowing machine is a piece of
equipment which allows you to simulate a rowing action. As a
sport rowing has a lot of general fitness and endurance
benefits and a rower is the preferred option of choice for
many home fitness users.

5. Cross trainers/Ellipticals - these machines give a good
all round workout. They work on the basis that your feet
push pedals and your arms push handles at the same time and
you use resistance forces to maintain/improve fitness.

6. Weights and benches - if you prefer weight training as
your fitness option of choice then weights and a bench may
be your best option. You can use free weights here or bar
weights depending on your preference, or both.

7. Steps - in recent years the step has become a popular
form of home exercise following on from its phenomenal
success in the gym. Here you use the step to maintain 'step'
exercises.

8. Small fitness equipment - many people also opt to use
smaller pieces of fitness equipment available today. These
include items such as resistance bands and exercise balls.

Do remember to think hard about what you want from fitness
equipment at home before you go out and buy a load of
machines that you will not use. It is better in some ways to
start off with one or two pieces of equipment here and then
to ramp up your purchases as you get into a regular fitness
regime and as your development progresses.

Six Pack Abs - How To Get Them

If you ever happen to turn on the television in the middle
of the night, you'll notice a flood of infomercials selling
the latest in home gym technology: machines that guarantee
you'll have a sexy, slimmer body with washboard abs by
working out for as little as 5 minutes a day.

Sadly, a lot of these machines can be misleading, like those
abdominal gadgets that promise you a six pack in just two
weeks. Contrary to most peoples belief, doing crunches won't
make you slimmer, it will only give you stronger abs. It
doesn't matter what kind of machine you're using, because
those strong abs are buried under those layers of fat, and
the only way to get rid of those are by doing cardiovascular
exercises.

In order to get the look you're after you need to
concentrate on: 1. Have a healthy diet. 2.
Increase your metabolism. 3. Follow proper abdominal
exercises.

No matter what abdominal machine you're using, or how
expensive it is, you won't see any results if you don't
follow the above routine. It's easy to buy into the glitzy
infomercials on TV, especially when you see attractive
models with hard bodies using the products, while promising
you the same kind of success. All you need is a five
minutes.... Walking to the other side of the room is five
minutes, and you're obviously not losing weight from that.

If you really want to get a flat stomach or rock hard
abs, you need to learn about the proper way of losing weight
and building muscle tone.

Here's one tip on how to effectively burn calories: HIIT, or
High Intensity Interval Training. What's that, you say?
It's a combination of high energy sports such as sprinting
or exercise bike sprinting. You do a sustained 30 minutes
of biking or running, alternate it with 2-3 minutes of
jogging or slow pedaling. Do this alternately for 20
minutes.

This type of training, combined with 5-6 small meals a day
every 2.5-3 hours, will effectively burn the calories from
your body. Having a diet rich in protein, complex
carbohydrates, and omega 3 fats, and doing away with less
saturated fats, and you'll be on your way to getting that
perfect washboard abs.

How To Set Up A Home Gym

So you've made the decision to set up a personal gym in your
home. Good for you! There are lots of home gyms out in the
market that also doubles as functional trainers. But what
exactly makes them better than just the average home gym
most people have? Well, let's find out.

Most functional home trainers are much easier to use than
traditional home gyms. It's intuitive designs make them
easier to figure out, as opposed to your regular home gym
machines that take a lot of time to get used to.

Functional trainers significantly lower the learning curve
required to adapt to a regular home gym, and also offers an
assortment of charts showing several easy exercises to start
you off. You can also increase the difficulty in these
exercises as you progress.

Another advantage is that most functional trainers are a lot
more compact than your average home gym. It makes it easier
to store in closets or small spaces, which is ideal if you
don't have a lot of free space, as in a condo.

Functional trainers also offer a lot more diversity compared
to older, more traditional home gyms. It offers a wider
array of exercises, unlike older home gyms that only lets
you do regular exercises like chest presses, leg curls, etc.
A functional trainer, with it's added handle and cable
settings, will allow you to customize your own set and type
of exercises. The different handles also allow you to work
your muscles in a multitude of ways.

And best of all, functional trainers also give you a better
deal for your money, compared to older, more traditional
home gym models. A functional trainer may retail at just
about the same price as a standard home gym, but just the
fact that it is more compact and lets you do more types of
exercises is ideal. You get more for your money for the
same price.

So there it is, why having a more modern functional trainer
is a better investment than traditional home gyms. I hope
these tips will help you make better purchasing decisions
next time you want to buy something at the fitness store.