Tips for Choosing the Best Fitness Equipment

You’re ready to take the leap and purchase exercise equipment for your at home gym. So, where do you start? Check out these five tips to help you choose the best fitness equipment for your goals and lifestyle.

What do you want to accomplish with your home gym? Some example are losing weight, gaining muscle, or maybe simply having a way to get some steps in when it’s cold and snowy outside. Whatever your goals are, you can get the best cardio workout in at your house!

If you’re looking for low impact cardio, consider a stationary bike or elliptical cardio machine. A less common, but superb machine for cardio exercise is a rowing machine. It will give you a full body workout while sitting down.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying used fitness equipment. Typically, stores do a check to make sure that everything is running correctly and ready to use. Consider buying new if you want the latest and greatest technology. Think heart rate monitors, fancy screens, etc. You might also want new equipment if you’re a germaphobe and the thought of someone else sweating on the machine creeps you out. Lastly, you can buy a warranty for your new machine, but not for a used machine.

When you were at Planet Fitness or LA Fitness, what machine always had the “Out of Service” sign on it? Advice: don’t buy that same machine! Some treadmills are more likely to have the walking belt or stop key break. Read reviews and make sure that the machine you’re interested in doesn’t have a lot of reviews where people are having issues.

Furthermore, always get a warranty on your new machine. That way, if your machine does break, you don’t need to pay the hefty call charge and then the repair cost. A fitness warranty from a company like Upsie will save you hundreds of dollars if your machine breaks.

First off, do you need your equipment delivered or do you have a vehicle that you can use to pick it up? Some stores offer free shipping, while others charge hefty delivery fees. Make sure to check what your store offers before getting too far into the purchase process. Also, decide what pricing tier your equipment needs to fall in before testing equipment. It’s not worth falling in love with a machine if it’s out of your budget.

Leave enough space for clearance for your new equipment. You don’t want a hole in the wall and you don’t want to hit your head on a low basement overhang. Additionally, consider what other fitness equipment you want in your home gym. If you like to use free weights, you’ll need enough space to lift your arms up and lunge from side to side. Or, if you like to do yoga, you’ll need enough space to lay a mat down and do triangle pose without kicking something. (Or to fall out of a headstand… Anyone else?)

Hopefully these five tips will help you choose the right cardio equipment for you. Also, don’t forget to protect your new equipment with a warranty. Now get ready for your absolute best cardio workout at home!