Home Fitness 101

I plan on buying a home gym to use daily. I know Bowflex is very reliable and works well, but what are some other home gyms that are really good to purchase??? Im not too concerned with price range. Preciate the help guys n girls

Power Rack
Flat/Incline Bench
Pull Up Bar
Dipping Station
Dipping Belt
High Row/Low Row Station
Both Olympic and Standard (CAP) weight sets

At school, we are working our muscular endurance in the weight room. This is the only time I have to work out in a gym. I don’t have access to a gym, I can’t use the school gym (I don’t do sports after school, so I can’t use the weight room), and I don’t have my very own gym at home OR any equipment. I would love to have gorgeous abs and pumped up pecs, but I don’t know what to do or where to start. What exercises can I do at home without weights or any of that high-end gym material to give me amazing abs and a great pair of pecs? I wanna get ripped, but how? Someone help me, please?

I’ll start with abs, since those are the easiest to explain. You can look up all these exercises if you don’t know what they are

ABS
– Crunches (Lots of repetitions with just body weight, and low repetitions while you hold a heavy object)
– Sit ups (same as above for weight)
– Leg lifts (if you wanted to be daring you could put weight on your shins/ankles while you lift your legs)
– Bicycles
– Planks
– Push-ups
– Captain’s chair

Pecs— you need weights lol..

i want to get a home gym to put either in my room or basement. it needs to be under $300. i want it to work my whole body too. any suggestions?
EASY 10pts!

$300 isn’t a lot to spend on exercise equipment, but you can find exercise machines at Walmart in that price range; just be sure to go online and look at the customer reviews before you buy. Anyway, it depends on what kind of workout you’re looking for. You could get an elliptical machine or a treadmill for cardio, and get some adjustable free weights for weight training. If you want to focus more on weight training, there are some "Home Gyms" and weight benches at Walmart for less than $200 with 4 or 5 star ratings. Then, you could get a jump rope or walk/ride through your neighborhood for cardio.

I have a decent size room in my basement and want to make it my home gym. What bowflex model is the best. What are some other good things I can put and not exceed my budget of 3000 dollars.

WEIGHTS MAYBE A BAR THAT U CAN DO PULLUPS WITH TREDMILL BIKE AND MAYBE A FEW FANS JUST IN CASE OR AIR CONDITIONER

Any suggestions? Website links would be great also!! Is there any moveable product that imitates a bench press?

Not quite sure what your looking for, just a bench press type deal or an all over versitile peice of machinery?
a cross bow folds in and can easilly be moved with a pickup. would be a bit bulky going through door ways though. This would allow virtually any exercise.
for smaller equiptment, a work out ball would allow pushups which are simular to the bench press. there are also cable stretch cords, door hanging cords, spring pulls etc.
I’m sure you’ve already thought of all this, but just in case.
Is there really a need for this service? I was thinking of starting my own gym too, but never thought anyone would have use for a service like this outside of rehab patients when they get sent home.

From your experience? Such as…the gazelle, a treadmill, elliptical, bike, just when I’m not in the mood to go to the gym and for the winter months.

treadmill, or elliptical. They both provide complete workouts, and target all major leg muscles. I like ellipticals better, since they are easier on my knees.
Even better, get an elliptical with handles (cross-trainer) or a nordic-ski machine, and you’ll get a complete workout. The gazelle is not stable enough, so it’ll need to be tightened often, and I don’t really care for bikes since they don’t target my butt.However, if more than one person will be working out, bikes or treadmills are the best, since they are the sturdiest, and guys sometimes feel weird using ellipticals b/c of the angle of motion. Bikes require the least amount of fixing, they break very rarely, and they last the longest.
So, if it’s just for you, I’d suggest a cross-trainer or an elliptical, but make sure you read the instructions to know how to fix it if it breaks.
If you’re going to use it a lot, and don’t want to invest in repairs, get a bike, since they are the sturdiest.
Also, invest in a yoga mat (or just get a thicker old towel) to do sit-ups on, and get some free weights for toning exercises You can get a complete set with various weights for less than $50 in most stores.

I go to work an hour late so I can go to the gym in the morning. There always seems to be people who just drape themselves on the gym equipment and chat with their neighbors, while neither one of them is actually using the equipment. Then there are the people who do their reps and wait for like 10 minutes before they do the next set. Then there is a guy who sits on one of the machines and looks at himself in the mirror.
I can understand if someone is old or convalescing. But that doesn’t usually seem to be the case.
This is the only time I can get to the gym and I only have an hour. Does anyone do these things where you work out? How do you handle it? Thanks for your help.

I have the answer for you! I can speak with authority on this subject. – I’ve trained and competed in natural bodybuilding so I was always very focused and driven to complete my workouts at a steady pace with no interuptions. I’m always conscience of the machines I use, and the time I’m on them. I wiped stuff down, will work in with people when necessary. .I don’t hog a machine or claim something with a water bottle or towel or something.. OK – to answer your question -
Whether your working out to compete or working out within an allotted time like you do and you are in the gym for no other reason than to work out and get the heck out of there you need to go in with the following mindset:
**You are not there to make friends so do not worry about offending anyone. If someone is on a machine and they are not using it tell them straight to their face – "Do a set or get off, I ‘m trying to workout here"… something like that – 9 out of 10 times that person will immediately move.. if not – complain to the staff at the gym.
** Even if being assertive is not in your personality you need to take on a different mind set when working out. For guys it may be different, I’ve had arrugments with people and I’ve seen other guys actual get physical about this stuff. For a female that approach probably won’t work.
Remember – your position/issue one this is the winning one – you want to work out while the other person are screwing around… try this approach.
Conduct yourself as if you owned the gym. It is your gym.. you want to keep it clean, organized and keep people moving..
If you have a lot of crumbs that do this in your gym and there is no other equipment to use to keep your workouts moving, you might want to find another gym.

Good Luck,
Chris

I want to buy a fitness machine but there are so many options. I want one that tones pretty much your whole body (stomach, thighs,buttocks,arms,legs…etc.) and if not tones as mmany parts possible. What would you guys recommend treadmill,elliptical trainer, rower…etc and if you guys know other types can you tell me the name of the machine and what it does and what part of your body it tones.

Thanx guys.

I’m gonna be traditional here, and tell you about a miracle exercise that is absolutely free:

Running with weights.

Now, running on its own is a joy within itself, but add some weights to your arms, and viola! works your entire legs, butt, stomach, arms. In addition, you can put on some tunes and just keep going and going…

I like the bowflex commercials and so forth for example. Plus the pilates gym stuff looks good and then the treadmill or cycles look good. I see them for sale everywhere! Qvc has some of the same products as advertised on the products own webpage for example. So where is the best place or store to buy equipment from? I see many at Wal-Mart, Sears, online… everywhere. I want one for strength training/toning and one for cardio. I don’t want to spend a fortune, but I want to invest in something that will last and give me good results.

I needed cardio with little to no impact so I purchased a Gazelle Elite Glider (Fitness Quest) I really like it & I can do toning on it as well.
My husband really likes his Total Gym Platinum because it uses his own body weight as resistance.
He almost got the Bowflex, but they were recalled because the bows had broken of some of them & they are big & bulky. They almost need a room to themselves.
As for choosing the right one, I think it is up to you & what you are looking for in the equipment you buy. Also, the room you have to accomodate the equipment. And price of course….

Just had a baby a few weeks ago and am looking into buying an exercise equipment. Not sure which of the two is better for toning up the entire body (abs and legs primarily).

Elleptical’s advantage is that it’s without shocks on the joints and will help for people who are really overweight or suffer from arthritis. For normal people, threadmill allows a more natural movement and will cause less fatigue.