Fitness Equipment Questions and Answers

So you want to start your own home gym, or add on to what you’ve had, but you’re not sure what the best choices are to buy. Here are some helpful tips to answer four of the most common questions when it comes to purchasing home gym equipment

1. Home Gym or Functional Trainer

The home gym is a traditional fixture in a weight room, with weight stacks and fixed arms or handles to push or pull on lifts. Common exercises are bench press, shoulder press and chest or leg extensions. For beginners or less athletic people, a home gym is a good choice because exercises are simple to perform and follow a fixed plane of movement. However, many types of people will be able to get a good isolation of certain body parts in the home gym.

The functional trainers are getting increasingly popular and take up less space in a gym but are alot more expensive. They use cables with different shaped handles that can allow for a lot more variety in the lift because it’s not on a set path. For instance, you can pull the cable to simulate a golf swing, or pitching a baseball. These machines can be more complicated to use, so proper training is a necessity.

2. Treadmill or Elliptical Trainer?

Treadmills, like the home gym, have been around a lot longer than elliptical trainers. Treadmills offer great versatility for anyone from a rehab patient to elite athlete trying to push themselves in high-impact running.

Ellipticals follow a set pattern and since the feet are placed on pads, you don’t get the shock on knees and ankles as coming up and down on a treadmill. Ellipticals can be good for someone looking to change up their workout or get more motivation as it’s a different type of movement than walking – something we’ve all done for as long as we can remember. Elliptical handles also allow for more upper body involvement. Older people or those looking for a new twist to their workout might like the elliptical better, but whatever direction you choose both pieces of equipment offer an excellent way to improve cardio health and tone muscles.

3. Upright bike or recumbent bike?

Upright bikes are like the bikes we grew up riding, with no back support and a great way to work out the legs, especially the quads. For avid outdoor cyclists, during the cold months they’re the next best thing to riding outdoors. Recumbent bikes offer a back rest with curved lower-lumbar support and put more emphasis on the hamstrings. If you have had any back trouble, a recumbent bike might be the best choice because of its added support. When choosing a a stationary bike, comfort is a big key.

4. Dumbbells or Kettlebells?

Dumbbells are much more common and considerably easier to use. They follow a start-stop motion and are excellent for isolating a certain body parts, such as the biceps curl or triceps extension. With a handle directly in line with the wrist, dumbbells are easier to use than a kettlebell that requires training to understand how to perform lifts.

Kettlebells are becoming increasingly popular in Australia after being imported from Russia, where they’ve long been a staple of people’s workout regimens. A full body motion is used with kettle bells and a great aerobic benefit can also be realized.