How to buy home fitness equipment?

You do not need to own home fitness equipment to stay in shape! But here are a few good reasons you should consider your very own machine:

Having fitness equipment at home saves you time relative to driving to the gym, changing clothes, working out, showering, changing again, and driving home.

Home fitness equipment allows you to work out indoors so that rain, sleet, and locusts are unable to keep you from your schedule. Keeping a constant schedule is the key to achieving your goals. It is said that if you do something for 30 days it will become a habit. If you rely on an outside activity, such as running, you must battle inclement weather in order to develop a healthy habit.

Many machines have programmable computers. These are helpful if you are a person who needs to have a specific goal right in front of your face at all times.

The "clothes rack" phenomenon is when someone uses a piece of home fitness equipment for one week and then it becomes a lovely clothes rack and is never used again.

Tips to avoid this dreaded situation:

Pick a television or radio program that you watch every day and decide that you will not watch the program without being on the machine. You have already built a habit for the radio or television program. If you combine both activities you are much more likely to continue to use the equipment.

Ensure that you have adequate space near the radio or television for the machine.

Have enough space so that you do not need to store the machine between each use. You know the old saying, "out of sight - out of mind". The added hassle of setting up the machine will hurt your chances of developing a habit.

Attach a work out calendar and pen to the machine. Box the days in the month you want to work out. When you work out put a red "X" though that day. There are few things more satisfying than writing that X!

Since you have taken the time to find this hub it is likely that you will take your purchase more seriously than a person who decides to buy some home fitness equipment based on some infomercial. Your commitment to making a good purchase should lead to a steadfast desire to not let the equipment become the dreaded "clothes rack."

Here are some tips for discovering which type of home fitness machine is right for you:

Go to a local gym with a friend and try out the different types of machines. This will help you discover which type of machine feels best to you and will give you a sense of how a high-end machine feels.

What do you like doing? Do you like to walk, run, bike, row, or ski? If you like one of these activities in the outside world you will probably enjoy the machine equivalent.

Determine what your long-term fitness goals are. If your goals are for becoming a muscle-bound hulk, go with a home gym. If your goals are for aerobic fitness choose a treadmill, skier, rower, or bike.

Print out or write down the models you like.

Take the list and go to retailers in your area that carry the models you are interested in.

Wear gym clothes and sneakers when you go to the store.

Test out the machines you are interested in. Note you already know how this machine should feel because you used one at your friend's gym.

The machine should feel comfortable to you. Every machine will feel different for every person who tries it. If it is not comfortable in the store it is very unlikely that it will be comfortable in your home.

The machine should have a solid feel about it. Occasionally, a loose feel means that the machine does not fit together as well as others. Machines that feel loose are more likely to fail than solid machines.

Be aware of how loud the machine is. If you intend on watching television while on this thing it cannot be too loud.

Try to find retailers with a money back guarantee. Some offer 30 day satisfaction guarantees.