Home gym exercise equipments

When choosing what exercise equipment to buy for you home gym, remember that if you start off with the basics you can always add additional equipment later on. This is better than buying exercise equipment that will later be used as a jacket hanger. A very expensive one at that!

Below are some exercise equipments for home gyms that you may want to consider. Read our exercise equipment buying guide for some tips on buying exercise equipments.

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are versatile and are common amongst home gyms. They can be done by almost anyone and it is not overly expensive. For beginners you may want to start with Hex dumbbells. Hex dumbbells are simplest, cheapest dumbbells that are very popular. They are made from iron and coated with baked enamel, these dumbbells are hexed shaped to prevent them from rolling. If you are going to get Hex dumbbells you may want to start with about 4-7 pairs, for optimum results.

Another popular dumbbell type is the adjustable dumbbell. The disadvantage with the adjustable dumbbells though is that they can be time consuming every time you need to change the weights. They are also more expensive, however they are a space saver!

The Bench

The bench is one of the most important exercise equipment for home and commercial gyms alike. It is also the equipment that you do not want to cheap out on. When choosing the bench make sure its sturdy and that it can be adjusted from a flat position to levels of decline and incline.

When purchasing this exercise equipment make sure you test it thoroughly by sitting or lying on it, make sure all the mechanism works properly and is easy to use.

Barbells

Barbells allow you to lift heavier weights compared to dumbbells. There are different types of barbells available such as the standard bar and Olympic bar. For most, an Olympic barbell (which weighs about 45 pounds, about 7 feet) with plates of about (150 pounds) is a good beginning for your weight training programs. Plates for barbells come in weights of 2.5 to 45 pounds, although beginners will rarely use 45 pounds plates.

Other barbells include the standard (20 pounds, 5-7 feet) and the shorter Olympic bar is also available (35 pounds, 5-6 feet).

Exercise Mat

The exercise mat is useful for home gyms. This is especially true if you have decided to locate the home gym in the basement. The exercise mats helps

• Protects floor & carpets from heavy exercise equipment
• Extends life of equipment by protecting it from dust and debris
• Reduces vibrations and noise

It might also be a good idea to place mats in area where free weights might fall. This will protect your floors from accidental drops.

Cardio Equipments

Cardio equipments include treadmills, recumbent bikes, exercise bikes, stair climbers, elliptical cross trainers, rowing machines and more. What cardio equipment you will buy for your home gym will depend largely on how much room you have and how much you can afford. It is not uncommon for machines of this type running into thousands of dollars. If you do not have the room or the money to afford cardio equipments, you can get a good cardio workout by running, bicycling, swimming or rowing.