I am thinking about investing in a home gym machine, is this a good idea?
This is most certainly a bad idea. Home gyms are great but big fancy pieces of exercise equipment of the machine variety are usually a disaster. I believe in spending your money wisely and getting your hands on fitness equipment that has a wide range of applications and can even be taken on the road. Here are some reasons why home gym machines are a bad idea.
- Quality gym equipment is expensive. Chances are you can’t afford the same level of equipment that the local gym can afford. Getting a machine that does everything is a sure way to get a piece of fitness equipment that does nothing well.
- Fitness machines can take up a lot of space, especially ones that do enough to really be effective. Any machine that folds up and stores under your bed will most likely remain under your bed. If you don’t have a comfortable place to set up a home gym you will most likely not use any equipment that you get.
- High dollar machines often focus on isolation movement which is really not the best way to get stronger. Isolation can be good in the beginning or for body building but for getting really functionally strong isolation is the wrong approach. Doing large full body exercise will serve you much better. And, for these exercises you are usually not using a machine.
What you should spend your money on.
You should focus on getting the most for your dollars. This means getting exercise equipment that has numerous uses. I will give a quick list of some of the most important things you can have in a home gym.
- A power rack
- Barbells
- Dumbbells
- A bench
- Push up bars
- A pull up bar
- A jump rope
- Resistance bands
Having all or even some of this exercise equipment will ensure that you can get a great work out anytime and take some of your equipment with you if you need to travel.