 |
Best Home Gyms - 8 Key Features That Make Up The Best Home Gym For You
Author: Kathryn Oneill | Posted: 25-06-2007 | Comments: 0 | Views: 27 | 
Looking for the best home gym? Home gyms come in many different sizes and varieties - so much so that it can get confusing.
While there's never been a better time to buy - you want to make sure you choose a home gym that will get you where you want to go, without wasting your time or money.
Everyone is different and needs different things in a home gym.
This article will lay out the 8 key features that make up the best home gym for you. Keep these things in mind when shopping and you'll easily be able to select the optimal piece of equipment for your needs.
The best home gym has these features:
1) Meets Your Goals
Not every type of home gym will get you where you want to go - you need one that will give you the results you want. For example, if you're looking to get ripped and build an Arnold-type body, you might want to consider plate-loaded machines or even leverage machines like the Powertec brand.
If you're looking to simply tone up and burn fat, you might want a power rod machine like a Bowflex.
If you're somewhere in the middle - you want to build muscle but don't necessarily want to go into bodybuilding, you might want a traditional weight stack machine like those made by Bodysolid or Bodycraft. The best home gyms will help you reach your personal goals quickly and efficiently.
2) Fits Your Workout Space
Gyms come in all different shapes and sizes. When shopping for a home gym, consider how much room you have available. Note the length, width and height of the room where you plan to place your gym. Some gyms are quite high or have a large footprint.
Also, when you look at the footprint of a piece of equipment, make sure you add at least 2 to 3 feet on either side of it for room to move, and an additional 12 to 18 inches in height (if it has a stationary chin up/pull up bar).
If the machine has a low pulley row station (particularly those gyms with plate stacks or free weights) and does not have a sliding seat (like some of the Bowflex machines), note where it is located. If it's located on the outside of the machine (so you are sitting away from the machine), you will need to add at least 6ft to that size of the machine for workout space.
3) Lightweight/Easy To Move
If you're going to be moving the gym equipment around, you'll want to look for a home gym that is either foldable and/or lightweight. Many weight stack machines and plate loaded machines are not lightweight.
However there are other gyms like the power rods gyms that may fold up or are lightweight and easy to move around. These would be ideal for small spaces like condos, apartments or a smaller home gym.
4) Number of Exercises
When looking at equipment, keep in mind the number of exercises it can do. If you are a beginner, it's important that the machine can give you a good total body workout (chest, shoulders, back, arms, legs), and the number of exercises isn't as important.
But as you become more experienced, you will need to change those exercises and workout routines to prevent your body from plateauing (adapting to your training, and stop growing), as well as to fight off boredom.
5) Workout Routines
Some home gym manufacturers provide complete workouts for beginners, intermediates and advanced. As a minimum most of the manufacturers provide you a basic guide for each exercise. Some even add in DVD workouts to help you get started on their machines.
6) Weight Resistance
If you are new to strength training, you may find a typical 200lb stack or resistance more than enough to train with. But as you become stronger, you will either have to increase the number of repetitions (the number of times you do a particular move) or increase the weight.
That's why it's usually a good idea to pick up the additional weight if a manufacturer offers it.
7) Cardio Station
Does the home gym have a cardio station (usually a row station)? If you want a complete body workout (cardio and strength training), either make sure it has a row station, or look to adding either skipping, running, or a cardio session (kickboxing, etc) in your workout.
8) Warranty
A good warranty gives you an idea of the quality of the parts used in construction. This is important especially if you have a lot of moving parts, or parts that might not be available easily.
As machines become more digital, pay attention to the warranty. If they run on a digital system this piece of machinery may breakdown and make your equipment useless, unless you get it fixed. So you want to make sure the digital portion of the machine is covered by a lengthy warranty.
So those are 8 key features that make up the best home gym for you. Keep these things in mind when buying a home gym and you'll save time, money and loads of frustration. Rate this Article:
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/best-home-gyms-8-key-features-that-make-up-the-best-home-gym-for-you-170471.html
|
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free! |
|
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Milpitas Fitness Centers
By: AnnMilpitas | 05-05-2008
What are the advantages and disadvantages of joining the various Milpitas fitness centers?
Can I chew gum instead of eating?
By: OriginalJoe | 05-05-2008
Will I lose weight if I chew gum (sugar free) instead of eating? Is this diet going to help me lose the weight quickly?
Would you try to fly a jet pack?
By: NoWayOut | 05-05-2008
Would you try to fly a jet pack? Isn't it dangerous, or is this sorts of the point? Has anyone ever tried flying this way before? I always thought it was a cartoon way of flying, but who says life can't imitate the movies?
"Intensive Fat Loss Training"
By: shobbs | 04-05-2008
What magazine can I find the article title, "Intensive Fat-Loss Training"?
Squeaky Pink Machine!!
By: docsince93 | 03-05-2008
Okay---I am old, I admit it! But sometime back in the late 60's or early 70's, I ordered---from some True Story magazine or somewhere--a breast exerciser that was pink and used compression (by your hands) to build (supposedly) breast fullness. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of that contraption! I can see the manual and the exercises in my mind---but just cannot come up with the name:( Help anyone???!!!
Secret way to gain weight?
By: bazw | 02-05-2008
Is there a secret way to inexpensively gain weight? All I hear is eat eat eat. Is there something besides steroids that will cause the body to put on weight. I'm not interested in 5 or 6 expensive milkshakes every day or the phrase "JUST EAT". There's got to be a substance out there that will contribut to weight gain. I'm 180 I would like to be 190 - 200. I lift weights take protein, creatine etc.
Q&A Powered by: 
Latest Non-Fiction Articles
I Hate the Color Orange
By: John A. Lewis, Jr. | 13/05/2008
This is a short autobiographical story about sexual abuse and its effects on an adult. The story is harrowing, but true. It would make an excellent editorial for magazines/books dealing with the trauma of childhood abuse and the long healing process.
Get a Cast of Characters to Help You Write A Book
By: Joan Clout-Kruse | 12/05/2008
You can get help with your writing just ask around! Here are some resources for helping you get your book on the way: writing buddies, book and publishing coaches, cheerleaders, interviewers, researchers, bookstores, reviewers, experts, authors, speakers, testimonials and bloggers, just to name a few. Just imagine you could have all these people rooting for your success!
Teena
By: SreeLakshmy | 11/05/2008
Teena had a bad life from her birth. none cared her. everybody ran behind money, even her parents. when her husband died, she decided to live a life like her wish.
How to Stay Motivated While Writing Your Great Book
By: Joan Clout-Kruse | 09/05/2008
Get acquainted with some important elements that can help you keep motivated to write. These elements include, but are not limited to: being in a positive environment, listening to music, writing in a clean work area, having a plan, limit distractions, and attending a writer's retreat. With this in mind, and writing about what you love, you will be sure to stay motivated to finish your book.
Scribbles and Margins
By: Elea Almazora | 09/05/2008
Even though it may not seem like it, the times wherein I have the opportunity to write – simply write! – for my own pleasure, for the sheer love of it, have been getting fewer and fewer as the days go by. It used to be that I had the time and the energy skip over to the nearest coffee shop (Starbucks is a preference, of course) with a pretty hard bound brown paper journal and my trusty fountain pen with brown ink.
The Camping Trip
By: Tahtimbo | 24/04/2008
This is a true story of what occured on a camping trip.
How to Write a Best Seller
By: Joan Clout-Kruse | 18/04/2008
Learn the formula for a best seller. Some of the tips are: Have an attention-getting title, attractive book cover design, sales information on back cover, testimonials, terrific titles for your Table of Contents, and of course good content. You'll see that you too can write a best seller by simply following a few key writing tips.
Write an eBook - Make Money
By: Joan Clout-Kruse | 18/04/2008
There are thousands of articles on the Internet that show you how to write an eBook, but very few that tell you what you need to do to market and sell your eBook online. Some marketing tips include: Doing research, building a website, building a list, writing a sales page, having a Paypal account, promoting online, writing articles, and joining joint ventures.
|
|
Writing 
