Staying fit and healthy is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only does it make you feel and look better, it can lead to a longer life!
These days, people are more conscious of health and they are well informed about latest fitness trends, thanks to the new developments in communication technology.
Nowadays, people are all aware of the effect of sedentary lifestyle. You are living in a world where you are always at high risk of possible heart attacks, cardio-vascular diseases, respiratory infections and much more.
Unfortunately, many are not able to spare time for daily exercise due to their busy work schedule.
However, most consent to the fact that it would have been much better if they could somehow manage to spare time for exercise, without having to drive to the gym every morning. Convenience is exactly the essence of having a gym at home.
While there are some people who value the formality of going to a gym at a set time each day for their workout, there are some who have neither the time, the budget, nor the inclination to do so. They prefer doing their exercising in the privacy of their home.
With this, let’s find out more the benefits of having a home gym, best exercise equipment for a home gym and how to stay fit without a gym membership.
9 Benefits of a Home Gym
1. In bad weather, you don’t have to miss out on your workout just because you can’t go to the gym.
2. When you’re busy checking emails, you can mount your tablet on the exercise bike or treadmill and read emails while you pedal or run.
3. If you have to watch the kids, you can put the crib or playpen within your line of sight from your home gym.
If you need to supervise your kids as they do their homework, you can do it from the weight bench.
4. If you work from home and you need to be by the phone, you can bring the cordless phone with you and answer calls as they come without missing your workout.
5. If repairs to your home are being done, you can still be physically present and still do your workouts.
6. Some couple time between you and your spouse or partner can be initiated during workouts.
You can be workout buddies and feel closeness and intimacy and talk while working out and getting fit. Two birds, one stone.
7. You can also include your entire family in your workout.
Children can develop good exercise habits when they see their parents modeling exercise behavior and nothing shows a bigger commitment than a home gym.
You can impart life lessons about motivation, patience, industry, dedication, discipline, resourcefulness and goal-setting while you and your children engage in physical fitness exercises.
8. You can have your kids invite their friends over and make fun fitness days.
This imparts positive reinforcement of exercise and therefore, engrains important habits into their lives.
9. You can invite your girlfriends or your sister and other female members of your family for a girls’ workout date at home.
That way, you can bond with your extended family and still do your workouts.
A healthy meal after the workout would be a good way to bond as well, with everyone doing their part to prepare a healthy and delicious meal, which, of course, includes the kids.
All of these are GREAT reasons to build a home gym.
A home gym should be designed keeping in mind the needs of all your family members.
A fitness area at home allows you to exercise in the utmost privacy and comfort of your home, probably while watching your favorite television channel or tuning to your favorite music station.
The best advantage of home gym is that you will be able to use your treadmill or stationary bike at any time of the day, and for as long as you want. The thought of having a gym at home seems to be full of pledges.
However, if you buy fitness equipment without proper planning, the whole thing may not come to practical use.
Prior to investing in your home gym, you should consider your requirements.
Best Exercise Equipment for the Home
First of all, make sure that you have set your practical objectives, as to what you anticipate from exercising at home gym.
If you desire to strengthen and tone muscles, it is best to look for more sophisticated machines than those which abet simple exercises.
A home gym with multipurpose equipment would require a bigger space, though you can design your home gym with a smaller space.
You can opt for foldable work stations to get the maximum utility of the floor area. The choice of home gym would largely depend on what fitness equipment you are going to use.
It is very crucial to plan out the space where large fitness equipment will be installed.
You will be able to find different makes and models of home gym equipment that come in different dimensions.
You should plan beforehand where to place your fitness equipment and make the purchase accordingly.
Next thing in deliberation is the budget. Building your home gym is a one-time investment, as opposed to fitness clubs where you have to pay monthly or annual membership fees.
In return of the upfront investment, you get the continual services from home gym.
However, it does not indicate that you have to go bankrupt in building your home gym.
It is best to invest in basic fitness equipment and gradually make more purchases to make the workout area versatile.
According to professional health experts, equipment for cardiovascular exercises should be an essential piece of equipment in a home gym, though it happens to be the most expensive one.
To cut down the budget, you can invest on inexpensive power training fitness machines, without compromising on the quality of the fitness equipment.
There are amazing ways to get the heart rate going while saving some pocket change if you are so inclined.
Jump Ropes
One of the cheapest things to buy is a jump rope. It gets the heart rate going quickly and can be found in almost any store that sells exercise products.
It’s a great workout for the legs and can be quite challenging, depending on how far you want to push yourself.
Plus, it brings about childhood nostalgia, and what could be better than that?
Resistance Bands
Along the lines of jump ropes are resistance bands. They are extremely versatile and can be used to work out many different areas of the body.
They provide lower impact than most equipment and are small, therefore making them easy to store.
Though resistance bands have been seen stereotypically as a work out for middle-aged ladies, they have become an integral part of professional bodybuilding due to its ability to target many different muscle areas. These bands can range anywhere from $12 to $50.
Exercise Balls
A piece that is not so easy to store is the fitness or exercise ball. Inflated and made of sturdy, puncture-proof plastic. These balls are used for weight training or physical therapy.
Just sitting on them have been known to be a great workout for the abs. It is more fun than an office chair!
Some people enjoy using them so they simply do not have to sit on the hard ground while performing an exercise while others use it to add some muscle strengthening.
Fitness balls come in many different diameters and run the range of $12 to $60 depending upon how much pressure or pounds it supports.
Free Weights
Another great item to have is a set of free weights. Many different exercises can be performed using them, including curls, squats, deadlifts, and lunges, all which trigger different muscle groups.
If you are willing to be very patient and super thrifty, these can usually be found at garage sales or second-hand stores for very inexpensive prices.
Otherwise, a set of Apex Neoprene Dumbbells can be purchased at your local Target store for $35.59.
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are great for building strength and endurance. Originally, a Russian invention and usually made of cast iron, kettlebells have the look of a cannon ball with a handle on top of it.
They range in all different weights and are normally used to build the legs, arms, shoulders and lower back.
Prices of these can be anywhere from $30 to $70 depending upon the style and quality desired.
Treadmills
For those looking to invest a bigger sum of their money in equipment, there are many different large pieces that are extremely useful as well as popular. The most popular and obvious choice would be a treadmill.
Filling gyms across the nation, you can run, walk, trot, strut, and stroll at your own desired pace without having to bother about the weather.
It works up a great sweat and many of the machines will keep track of your distance traveled, calories burned, heart rate, etc.
The cost of a treadmill can run anywhere between $250 and $3,000 but is considered well worth it for many owners.
There are many more options available for working out at home, including, elliptical trainers, exercise bikes, ab trainers, steppers and much more.
Consider the space you have at home, your goals and fitness and your budget when shopping.
Stay Fit Without A Gym Membership
If the global recession is affecting you and you’re trying to cut costs then finding ways to stay fit without going to the gym might help.
Regularly going to the gym can cost quite a bit of money and might be one of your single biggest monthly expenses.
Regularly going to the gym can cost quite a bit of money and might be one of your single biggest monthly expenses.
While you may not want to stop going to the gym forever, one temporary cost-cutting measure is to try and keep fit from home. Here are a few exercise ideas and tips on how to give your home workout program a running start!
Here are a few exercise ideas and tips on how to give your home workout program a running start!
Cycling
If you’ve got a bike then it’s pretty easy to keep fit just head out for a ride! If you usually use an exercise bike at the gym then this is a great alternative, and can be much more fun too.
You get to set your own route, so you can see what you want to see as you get your exercise. You can even vary your route to keep things interesting.
Bench and weights
If you’ve got a bit of spare cash you can buy a bench and weights for a home workout. You can pick these up pretty cheap probably for the same price as a single month of a gym membership, and maybe even less!
With these, you can do nearly all of the exercises that your gym weights machines do, without paying a single penny more than it cost to buy them. Not only that, but you can use them anytime you want not just during gym opening times.
Yoga
One of the cheapest forms of exercise to do from home is yoga. Although yoga isn’t for everyone, it’s incredibly popular and is a great way to stay healthy when taken seriously.
To do yoga you really need nothing more than your body, but you might want to get a yoga mat too. That’s all you need to start doing your own home yoga program.
If you’re not already familiar with yoga practice, then you can pick up DVDs on yoga instruction for next to nothing, and the internet offers loads of free yoga explanations too.
There’s no reason to spend loads of money on yoga classes if you haven’t got the cash!
Exercise with NO equipment
The most obvious kind of exercise that requires no equipment is running. However, there are a variety of other exercises that are easy to do with nothing besides your own body.
Press-ups and sit-ups are classic examples. Pull-ups are another. Using exercises like these it’s possible to cover nearly every muscle in your body.
It’s also possible to use makeshift equipment in place of the “real” thing. For example, you don’t actually need dumbbells to do weights. All you need are heavy objects that are easy to lift.
For light aerobic training, you can just use food tins like baked beans. For heavier weights, try using large bottles of mineral water. Both are just as good as real weights but cost nothing extra than your shopping bill!
Tip 1: If the gym forms a central part of your social life, then stopping your regular gym attendance might not seem like much of an option.
But it is possible to get your gym buddies to come and train with you from home, so don’t rule it out altogether.
Tip 2: Staying motivated during home workouts is one of the toughest things. However, there are loads of ways to keep your motivation up.
One of the best ways is to find buddies to work out with from home a go for a run with your gym pals or get a friend over for a yoga session.
Another great way to stay motivated is to reward yourself for every workout. You can do this with small gifts.
But more than anything else don’t forget that your own personal fitness and well-being is enough of a reward!
Exercising from home also means that, if you’ve got music or a TV on hand, it’s your choice what to watch or listen to as you exercise.
Together, these things should be able to keep you motivated and maintain your fitness even without heading to the gym regularly. Just remember not to let yourself start slipping!
As you can see, there are no excuses to not be fit. Whether you are in the gym or not, having equipment or not there are still many ways to be active and do some exercise.
It is your personal choice how you accomplish your fitness goals whether it is at the comfort of your own home, in the outdoors or in the fitness center in your area.
Be open to possibilities, try other options available. Aside from the location, try other equipment.
The fitness world is broad and diverse. There’s no need for you to be stuck in the same routine of exercising.
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