Home gyms - Ask the Experts

• “Everyone at home knows how fat you are, no need to try and hide anything!
• No driving to the gym means less wasted time on the road.
• No more athletes foot for those that need to shower at the gym.
• No more searching for parking.
• No more break locker thefts.
• No more waiting for treadmills and equipment during the peak time rush.
• And you get to train in the most comfortable environment you know.”

“When looking at what to buy for a home gym and we consider that over all fitness would be the goal of the user, then there are a couple of things you can look at. Over all fitness would of course include strength, stamina, power and flexibility. Your basic home gym will then need to cover those four categories of fitness.

• Cardio equipment is a good place to start, like the treadmill. More people are used to running or walking as a cardio exercise.
• Strength training as everyone knows is about training all of the muscle groups in the body with certain movements and some type of resistance so that the body can improve and gain strength. Multi gyms are great equipment for strength training. The user gets to train on a machine that is designed to train all of the major muscle groups. 
• No home gym will be complete without some free weights. This would include dumbbells and barbells. The best advice for someone who is training at home would be to get a set of adjustable dumbbells and barbells, meaning you can adjust the weight by adding or removing weight plates. Free weights also allow you to do very important strength exercises like the bench press, the squat and bent over rows. An adjustable bench would help to train more effectively with the weights.
• Power exercises have for most of the time been used for sports men and women to improve there performance. Power exercises need to be done explosively for example boxing, jumping or sprinting. For the home gym a very basic item that would help with this type of training would be a punching bag. A punching bag is not only great for improving power in the limbs but can also be a very good cardio workout.
• It is very easy to find a basic item for your home gym when it comes to flexibility. The gym ball has so many uses. Not only can you use the shape of the ball for stretching but you can also use it for stability exercises. This ball combined with a yoga mat should give you the tools you need to stretch and keep your body flexible.”

“Any home gym should ideally consist of machines that are able to give you a total body workout, but at the same time need to be compact enough to be able to easily fit into any room in your home. Any comprehensive training program should include resistance training, core training, conditioning, and flexibility work. The equipment needs to easily “fold away” and needs to be simple enough for any user to use. Any bulky equipment needs to have wheels so it can be easily manoeuvred around the house.  

AB workout equipment is an essential. Every guy wants a six pack and every lady wants firm, toned abs. Home gym equipment also needs to be cost effective. Users will essentially weigh up the cost of a gym contract against that of home gym equipment.  Equipment also needs to be safe, sturdy, and able to withstand heavy use without injuring the user. Home gym equipment should carefully be selected. Users will be in the comfort of their own home which is fantastic, they will however not have the assistance of personal trainers available to ensure that they are performing their exercises in the correct way. It then becomes essential that when purchasing a machine, the customer ensures that the product has been expertly tested, and that it comes with a workout programme or instructional boo klet / DVD explaining in detail how to use the product.”

“When going out to get items for your home gym there is a couple of things to keep in mind. Asking yoursel f the right questions will help you to spend your money wisely.

• First thing to think about before you even start setting up a home gym is to make sure that you are the type of person who will train at home. This might sound ridiculous but so many people set up gyms at home that end up being unused space because they realized they prefer training in a big gym or they prefer training with a partner or even that the whole idea was a phase and not really part of their lifestyle.
• When choosing to buy something to train at home with keep your fitness goals in mind make your objective clear and then go out and buy. As an example if you are someone who enjoys running outdoors a treadmill might not be the best option but an indoor cycle might be a good choice to supplement the running and take some strain off the joints.
• Make sure you have enough space at home.
• Do some research, the equipment you use in a commercial gym are different from equipment you buy for home use. As an example of this you will get commercial treadmills with a 4hp-motor and a home use treadmill with a 2hp-motor, you are not going to buy a new commercial treadmill at the same price as the smaller home use model.    
• Make sure you know how much you are willing to spend, if you want that big solid leg press machine you should expect a big solid price tag.
• If you already have a workout routine it will help you decide on what to buy. The items can be linked to the exercises you do in your workout, that way you know that you will definitely use your home gym.”Q: What must readers always keep in mind when exercising at home?

Lloyd Tonkin, BodyQuip:

• There are a lot of people who don’t even break a sweat when they are training. Keep in mind that your heart is also a muscle and a very important one, so you will have to work in a little bit of cardio exercises into your routine.
• Breathing is very important. Your muscles need the oxygen to keep going so breath through your sets. Inhaling through the nose will filter the air more than inhaling through your mouth; this also helps to provide your lungs with cleaner air.
• Keep yourself hydrated; you lose a lot of water and minerals through perspiration. You can counter this by sipping water during your workout and by eating something like a banana that is filled with potassium after a workout.
• Train with the right clothing and shoes; don’t restrict yourself by wearing clothes you can not move in. If you run with the wrong type of shoe you just might get injured so these little things are also important.”

Now that we’ve heard the experts’ opinion and advice, we just have to get the best equipment available on the market to ‘furnish’ our state of the art home gym. Watch this space to find out more about the latest products on offer in the next few days.