3 Important Tips on choosing the right weight training equipment
No CommentsIf you’ve decided that your home is the best place for you to go through your exercise routines, the next step is choosing the right weight training equipment to start building your home gym. Deciding on what equipment you need depends on what your weight training goals are, but in this article we’ll assume that weight training will be at the center of your weight training program.
Tip #1 Ask yourself what you want to achieve first
Although it’s tempting to get into weight training equipment head first and buy whatever you think looks good, it makes little sense. Sit down for a second and:
- Think about what you want to achieve and set your goals
- Consider what level of commitment you’re willing to put in, in terms of time and money
- Decide what type of exercises you require: Is it your intention to lose weight, to maintain a healthy fitness level, do you want to keep your body in shape, tone muscle, or do you want to bulk up?
- Are you familiar with gym equipment and do you know which ones are likely to bore you and end up collecting dust?
Formulate an answer to these questions and then look into the options that are relevant to your choice.
Tip #2 Sometimes simple is better
If you plan on keeping up a level of general fitness, manage your weight, tone muscle and flexibility then there’s really no need to go all out when it comes to weight training equipment. You could simply choose to go for:
- A step
- An adjustable bench (adjustable to incline/recline)
- Two sets of dumbbells, a heavier set for exercising larger muscle groups (such as squats and lunges) and a lighter set for lighter exercises (such as overhead and side lifts)
- A stability ball and mat
Even if you add a few smaller items such as resistance bands and tubes, you have a good set of equipment for less than $400 usually, which is relatively little for weight training equipment.
Tip #3 – A home gym does not necessarily require a lot of equipment or space
The term ‘home gym’ has two interpretations. The most obvious is simply the place where you exercise and do your weight training, but ‘home gym’ can also refer to a compact unit of weight training equipment which is designed to cover many different exercises. Such home gyms are often referred to as ‘multi gyms’ – Compact equipment that can easily be placed in a spare bedroom, basement or garage, for those of us who don’t have the amount of spare space it takes to build a home gym made up of several machines.
The most popularly purchased multi-gyms are usually made up of the following:
- At the center of the multi-gym is an adjustable bench to sit on, which can usually be adjusted to recline
- As with popular gym machines, there are stacked metal weights with a pin selection that allow you to change resistance
- Pull-down bars, mainly used for the lat pull-down back exercise
- Press bars, for pull and push exercises for shoulders, arms and back
- A leg curl system, covering the hamstrings at the back of the thigh
- A leg extension system, covering the front of the thigh
- A seated cable row system, covering the back and arms (mostly biceps)
Although multi-gyms may not be the cheapest weight training equipment out there, there’s a lot of sense in going for this type of home gym:
- You save precious space at home
- You can cover a large number of exercises and muscle groups
- You save money when compared to buying weight training equipment for individual exercises
Buying weight training equipment can be tricky, so first determine what you really need before spending your cash. Consider how much equipment you really need and don’t forget that a home gym doesn’t necessarily need to be a hall full of equipment.
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