3) What's your budget for the workout equipment
in your home gym
When I set out to shop for some workout equipment
for my home gym, I initially planned for about $800 bucks, and
maybe up to $1000 if there's something I really liked. I didn't
want to go all out and spend over $2000 bucks for a fully loaded
workout station, since I was going to the gym regularly anyways.
My main reason for shopping around for some
home exercise equipment is that I'm too busy sometimes to get
to the gym, and I don't want to miss a workout. So I needed something
convenient (like in my home), and which allowed me to do exercises
that doesn't need a spotter.
Again, the power rack was my "workout equipment
of choice" for the versatility it offered, and the safety
bars on it sealed the deal. :) With it, I can do some pretty basic
power exercises like squat, bench, etc... even without a spotter.
Of course, the range of movement is a little limited because of
the safety bars. :) Still, I ended up not getting the power rack,
because I first need to shop around for a bigger place. Haha...
:-)
If it's mass and strength you're after, I think
the power rack is one of the better choices for home workout equipment,
even though it is quite large. Read
this article about power racks.
Sorry, back to the main topic, :) Figure out
how much you're willing to spend for your home workout equipment.
There's really no point looking at a $2500 machine when you only
plan to spend $1000, or plan to spend $2000 when all you need
is a set of barbells and dumbbells to get started. In short, think
about what you want to accomplish, what workout equipment is required
to accomplish that goal, can you stick to a regular exercise schedule,
and keep in mind the factors to consider that we have listed in Part 2: Choosing A
Home Exercise Equipment.
4) What workout equipment should you choose:
free weights vs. machines
I'll be straightforward on this, if you're after
muscle, muscle, and more muscles, then go with free weights. Machines
are great, no doubt, but nothing compares to what free weights
can do for your strength and muscle gains. But then everyone has
different set of goals, so it's very much dependent on that.
For someone who's more after overall fitness
and toning, I would think perhaps machines will provide a better
and fuller set of exercises and workouts than free weights. One
of the major benefits of workout stations is the numerous exercises
that can be done with them. You can pretty much workout your whole
body.
Having free weights is slightly more troublesome
as you have to keep on adding and removing the plates from the
bar. That's a good reason to join a local gym. :) Wondering why
free weights will do you good more than machines? Here's simple
example:
Let's take bench press (on a machine) compared
to dumbbell press for example, done with 2 dumbbells. Even though
I've always made dumbbell press a regular part of my workout schedule,
I never focused on it much - until 2nd year university when I
had a new workout partner. At that time, my bench seem to have
plateau ed at around 180 (I weigh around 135 to 150), and I decided
to focus more on dumbbell presses. For about 6 weeks, I banged
away with dumbbells, starting of with only 40's. Near the end,
I was up to 100 pounders, which is 200 total. I was very excited
needless to say. Then I tried for a 1 rep max bench, and did 225!
A 45lb increase. :-) (I think creatine and whey protein helped, even though I've always cycled creatine)
So why the dramatic increase? Really, I'm not
100% for sure, but I know doing all those dumbbell presses helped
a lot. One of the major reason (at least from what I speculate),
is that when you're doing a bench press rep, your arms and shoulders
stabilize against each other, because it's just 1 bar involved.
So when you have a "weak spot" somewhere in your upper
body, (ie. shoulders, chest, or tris), this weakness is compensated
by the stabilization effect created by using a single bar.
This is even further heightened through the
use of a machine, when you're not only stabilizing against yourself,
you're now also stabilizing against the concrete solid steel machine.
Also, the range of motion is limited by what the machine is capable
of.
But with dumbbells, you no longer have the stabilization
effect, and each side is left to fend for itself. (This is one
of the major reasons why most people have a weaker dumbbells press.)
This is also where you find your weak spot. With dumbbells, you
can effectively work it to strengthen your weak spot.
Ok, I went a little over-board with that example,
but it gives you a good idea of what you can achieve with free
weights that you can't with machines. Just something to consider.
If you don't wanna do all the reading, and are
eager to find workout equipment best for your home gym, take a
look at bigfitness clicking on the link below. They offer free
shipping within the U.S. and monthly payment plans are available
with them.
