A to Z of home exercise equipment

What home exercise equipment to buy

Not everyone enjoys outdoor activities, communal workouts at the gym or exercise classes but that doesn’t mean that the door is closed to you for all the health and fitness benefits that exercise brings. Exercising at home can be very rewarding and there is a vast range of home exercise equipment available, from fitness club standard multi-gyms, to much more basic, yet functional kit.

We’ve taken the sweat out of choosing home exercise equipment and given you the low-down on functional products that’ll improve your fitness but won’t worry your bank manager. If you like to workout far from the madding crowds in a more private environment, then this article is for you and includes advice on:

• What to look for when shopping for home exercise equipment
• Best buys — what exercise equipment is hot and what’s not
• realbuzz.com ratings for a vast range of equipment

 Home exercise equipment — what to look out for

When choosing home exercise equipment, there are several points to consider before you buy:
Durability of exercise equipment. By definition, anything that you are going to exercise on or with is going to take some wear and tear, so before you buy, consider how frequently you intend to use the equipment (for example, daily, weekly or less frequently) and whether it will withstand your usage.
Size of exercise equipment. There are many extremely effective items of training equipment that you can easily use at home, such as dumbbells and exercise mats but items such as treadmills, bikes, rebounders etc. take up space which you may not have available. That ‘all singing and dancing’ multi-gym that looks great in the department store will need a dedicated room and even a rowing machine typically needs substantial space.
Suitability for your exercise purpose. The home exercise market is huge with a wide range of manufacturers producing equipment. Many items are extremely functional, but there is also a ‘fad and gadget’ market producing kit that purports to bring amazing benefits yet fails to deliver. Beware of wild claims from exercise equipment sellers and consult the following table before you buy.

The realbuzz.com home exercise equipment A to Z

Get to your nearest department store and you’ll be faced with a wide choice of exercise equipment. However, before you buy, consult the A to Z guide below in conjunction with our ‘best buys’ and you’ll ensure that you not only get good value for money — you’ll get good quality exercise too. The realbuzz.com rating is evaluated with respect to the following criteria:

• Effectiveness (training benefits)
• Ease of use
• Durability of exercise equipment
• Size (for home use)
• Value for money 

The realbuzz.com product test system
 Every realbuzz.com product test is carried out by our team of specialists from the relevant field, who comprehensively assess each product across a range of categories, assigning a star rating from nil to five stars for every category under review.

Entirely unsuitable
Poor
Below average
Average
Good
Excellent

Key:
RT = Resistance Training
FT = Flexibility Training

Equipment	Description	Cost (£)	CV Training	RT	FT
Abdominal cradle	A tubular frame to help exercise stomach and oblique muscles.	15-30
Rating for abdominal cradle:
Cross-trainer	A machine with a unique non-impact action for CV training.	50-3,000
Rating for cross-trainer:
Exercise mat BEST BUY!	A wipe clean padded mat to carry out exercises on.	5-20
Rating for exercise mat:
Home dumbbell set BEST BUY!	A small, lightweight set, typically comprising three to five pairs of weights.	10-20
Rating for dumbbell set:

Equipment	Description	Cost (£)	CV Training	RT	FT
Mini stepper	Micro version of a stepping machine, usually portable.	25-30
Rating for mini stepper:
Multi-gym	A large, multi-function piece of resistance training equipment.	150-5,000
Rating for multi-gym:
Pedometer	Not strictly a piece if exercise equipment, monitors how many steps you take per day.	4-15
Rating for pedometer:
Rebounder	A mini trampoline for CV exercising.	20-40
Rating for rebounder: Key: RT = Resistance Training FT = Flexibility Training Equipment Description Cost (£) CV Training RT FT Resistance bands Elastic ropes of varying strengths for resistance training. 5-15     Rating for resistance bands: Rower An indoor machine that replicates the rowing action. 50-1,000   Rating for rower: Skipping rope BEST BUY! A simple item, providing an excellent CV workout, also helping coordination. 5 (max)     Rating for skipping rope: Stability ball BEST BUY! A large inflatable ball to train core muscles and do a wide variety of exercises with. 10-20   Rating for stability ball: Equipment Description Cost (£) CV Training RT FT Stationary bicycle Indoor cycling 50-3,000   Rating for stationary bicycle: Step An adjustable height plastic step for carrying out aerobic exercises on. 10-40     Rating for step: Toning belts An abdominal belt which electronically stimulates muscles to tone up. 30-100     Rating for toning belts: Treadmill A rolling road (usually motorized) for walking, jogging or running. 80-5,000     Rating for treadmill: Home exercise training Whilst it’s very easy to spend many hundreds or even thousands on home exercise equipment, a far more modest outlay can give equal and frequently greater training benefits. If you’re looking to splash out on some items for exercising at home, £30 to £70 will provide you with everything you need to get started and enjoy comprehensive, total body training sessions, covering CV, flexibility, resistance training for toning and coordination. Some basic dumbbells, an exercise mat, stability ball and skipping rope provide a cheap, simple ‘home gym’, on which you can always expand at a later date. It doesn’t have to be hell to be healthy and it needn’t cost a fortune either. Choose your equipment with care and you’ll have all the ingredients to construct a balanced, all-over-body training program — and all in your own lounge, spare room or garage. http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/a-to-z-of-home-exercise-equipment/#pagination-top