Most people who take their fitness seriously, at one time or another, start thinking about buying home gym equipment for their very own home fitness center. That is only natural. To maintain fitness you need to workout and watch your diet. Without a little work our muscles become weak, we tend to get a little flabby and we just don't feel as good as we know we should.
So we hit the gym as often as we can. The gym has all of the equipment we want to use and it's right there waiting for us. But we still keep thinking about out own gym equipment. Why?
Well, there's the cost of our gym membership. The cost of gas, which seems to be getting higher all of the time, to get us back and forth. Some days we just can't squeeze in the time it takes to get to the gym, dress down, workout, get dressed again and get back to the job or home. We don't want to get out in bad weather. It gets to be a real pain so we slack off and don't get the exercise that we know we really need.
So getting our own exercise equipment to enable us to work out on a more regular basis is a no-brainer. Right?
Wrong!
There is too much home gym equipment just taking up space gathering dust. We should know by now that buying our own equipment is a step that we should not rush into. Many factors come into play in our choice of equipment and if we make the wrong choice, then any equipment we buy will join the other gym equipment simply gathering dust until we can unload at a garage sale, on eBay or on Craig's List.
Okay. Let's assume that you have decided you do not want to work out at the gym for whatever reason; cost, convenience, shyness, etc. There are a several things you need to ask yourself. Do the workouts that I enjoy really need gym equipment? If you enjoy running but cannot stand the thought of running indoors in one spot, that Gold's Gym 480 treadmill is not going to get a lot of use.
Pilates and pure body weight workouts do not require a lot of equipment. Your own body is one of the greatest pieces of gym equipment there is. Pushups do wonders for just about every part of your body. Resistance bands, tubes and mats are inexpensive, offer a good workout and can be used virtually anywhere.
There is no one best home gym for everyone. Whether a particular gym is best for you depends upon what you want it to do, how much room you can allocate in your home for working out and how much you want to spend. They can be broken down into three main types or categories.
Traditional free weight gyms are usually made up of a collection of individual pieces of weight lifting equipment such as barbells, dumbbells and weight plates. Add a weight bench and/or a rack and you have a basic home gym. While basic, many top muscle builders have started out with no more equipment than this.
Power racks are free standing racks which hold the barbell between lifts. The barbell is physically removed from the rack during each set and rests on the top of the lifters back. It is placed back in the rack at the end of the set. Racks are used for heavy lifting such as for dead lifts and squats. Because the weight is free to move they should never be used without a partner or other spotter to prevent accidents.
Power cages are used in a manner similar to a rack but they restrict the lateral travel of the barbell and provide a safer means of heavy lifting.
Home gym machines are basically several different pieces of equipment assembled as a single unit. There are several types of machines.
Traditional home gym machines usually have as a minimum a bench, press, lat pulldown, low row, leg extension, leg curl and a weight stack. These machines are in the whole rugged and hold up well over a long period of time providing a lot of home gym for the money. Some are easily changed from one routine to another and some take a little more effort.
Gravity resistance types of gyms are quite popular and use your own body weight as the resistance supplied against your muscles to force growth. Think "Total Gym". There are other makes on the market and some of them provide a more gym for the money. This really becomes a matter of personal choice. Some are rather more difficult for a person of slight stature to move and store even though the ads all make it look easy.
Power rod, cable or cord machines are typified by the Bowflex style. The rods simulate the resistance provided by traditional weight stacks. The rod resistance can be increased by changing out the rods. Some machines utilize adjustable hydraulic cylinders instead of rods to supply muscle resistance. Less expensive models use bands to provide resistance.
Plate Loaded Machine Home Gyms
Plate loaded machines combine free weights in a home gym machine rather than having weight stacks like a traditional machine. Since they do not have integral stacks the weights must be loaded and unloaded manually just like a free weight gym.
Smith machines are machine forms of power racks and power cages. Plates are loaded on the barbell which travels vertically in a track preventing any movement other than up and down. This provides a greater degree of safety than a standard rack.
Combination smith machines incorporate some features of traditional home gym machine such as lat pulldown and a low row.
Other Styles
You will see many other items advertised as "gyms" that really can't be considered a home gym in any true sense. These may be rope sets, balls, abs devices, etc. These are at best accessories and at worst gimmicks, many of which do more harm than good. Such devices are not included in home gym reviews on this site.
