Boca Raton Personal Trainer - Boca Raton Personal Trainer

What Fitness Equipment Should I Buy For My Home Gym?

Hey guys! For those of you who are new here, welcome to my Blog! My name is Raz Petrea, I’m a Personal Trainer with Proactive Fitness Solutions and today I want to answer one question that a lot of my clients ask me.

What fitness equipment should I buy for my home gym?

Let’s face it! Going to the gym can be time consuming. You have to get dressed, you have to get in your car, you have to drive to the gym, you have to park, you have to check in, and you might need to change again before you actually start working out. If it’s crowded, and most gyms are during peak times, you have to wait in line for equipment. After you finish the workout, you have to shower, change, get back to your car and drive back home. That can easily take 2, maybe 3 hours, depending on the distance you need to cover and traffic.

Think about how much time you would save by training in your own home gym. This is one of the reasons most of my clients train in their home. It’s convenient! That’s one of the reasons I’m building my home gym as well.

So, let’s get down to it! What should you buy?

First, you want to start with the space itself. Based on how much space you have available for your home gym, you can decide how many pieces of equipment you can fit comfortably in that particular area. Most people use their garage to set up a home gym, but again depends on the size of your house or condo and overall layout.

The second thing you need to figure out is your budget.

Based on that, you will know what you can afford to buy. Maybe you can start with a few pieces of fitness equipment and add more to your gym as the time goes by. Maybe buy everything at once, set it up and get it over with. Again, you can decide based on your budget.

Most home gyms have 3 parts: a cardio area, a stretching area and a weight training area.

In this article, I will go over the cardio and stretching areas.

The first thing I recommend you buy is an Elliptical Machine. I’ve been using Ellipticals for a long time myself. I always use the Elliptical Machine before I workout with weights as a general warm up. Somedays, I use it just to do my cardio. What I like about it, is that it’s easy on the joints. I’m a big fan of low impact aerobic exercise. The motion itself mimics jogging and it’s a great way to warm up or do cardio exercise.   You can buy one from Amazon HERE.

The second piece of equipment I recommend you buy is a Recumbent Bike. I usually use the Recumbent Bike as a specific warmup before I train my Legs. Very easy to use and again very easy on the joints. Sometimes, I use it to do my cardio. You can buy a Recumbent Bike using this link: Cybex 750R Recumbent Exercise Bike

The third piece of equipment I recommend you buy is a Treadmill. I usually use Treadmills to do my cardio and I like to mix it up. Sometimes I might go for a walk up-hill on a 7.5 incline and 2.5 maybe 3 mph speed. Sometimes, I might go for a jog or a little sprint. I prefer to do my own workout on a Treadmill, but many Treadmills have preset workouts that you can choose from. You can buy a treadmill by clicking this link: CLICK HERE

I usually do lower intensity aerobic workouts for a longer period of time (no more than one hour) except when I work the Boxing Bag. Boxing is a high intensity workout and I keep it shorter in duration. I usually do 3 Rounds of 3 minutes each.

The fourth piece of equipment I recommend you buy is a Boxing Bag. A Boxing Bag is a fantastic training tool that I’ve been using myself for a longtime. It’s a high intensity workout that is action packed. Get ready to sweat! I prefer to use a Heavy Boxing Bag that weighs 250 lbs. I feel this the weight that I need in order to develop some real power in my shots. 250 lbs. might be too heavy for you so I would suggest you buy a bag that weighs 150 lbs. You can ask someone to hold the bag for you, if it moves too much when you hit it. If you don’t know how to use a Boxing Bag, I suggest you hire a Boxing Coach to teach you how to use it. There is a certain technique and rhythm that you need to have in order to maximize your efforts and prevent injury. I see a lot people hitting the bag too hard and with improper form, mostly because they don’t know how to use it. You can start with one or two rounds if you’re a beginner and work your way up. You can buy a Boxing Bag by clicking this link: Buy Boxing Bag

Now that you have a Boxing Bag it’s time to buy some Boxing Gloves. I use 16 oz. gloves in sparring, so I prefer to use the same size when I train on the Heavy Bag. There are many brands out there, but I prefer buying Rival Boxing Gloves. The quality and craftsmanship is absolutely fantastic. I used many brands in the past, but nothing compares to Rival. I recommend you the Rival Boxing RB11 Evolution Hook and Loop Bag Gloves. You can buy Boxing Gloves by clicking this link: Buy Boxing Gloves

Now that you have Boxing Gloves, it’s time to buy some Hand Wraps to protect your hands. Boxing has a pretty high impact on your hands, so you want to protect them as much as possible. You can buy hand wraps by clicking this link: Buy Hand Wraps

The last piece of cardio equipment you should buy is a good jump rope. It’s a fantastic piece of equipment that will give you an amazing workout. Sometimes, I use it to warm up for a few minutes before I train with weights or to finish my cardio workout. The jump rope goes well with the Boxing Bag. You can warm up for a few minutes with the Jump Rope, then you can do 3 or 4 Rounds on the Boxing Bag. A short, crisp, dynamic workout that you can do in 30 Minutes. You can buy a good jump rope here: buy Jump Rope

Now, you have everything you need for your home gym as far as Cardio Equipment. Cardio is something you can do everyday so now you have a lot of options to choose from. For instance, Monday you can train on the Elliptical, Tuesday you can ride the Bike, Wednesday you can walk or jog on the Treadmill, Thursday you can use the Jump Rope and Friday you can hit the Boxing Bag. I’m a big fan of mixing things up in order to avoid boredom and keep my workouts fresh and I suggest you do the same thing.

Again, you can start with one piece of equipment based on your space and your budget and add more to your home gym as the time goes by. Now that you took care of the cardio part of your gym, it’s time to focus on stretching. Flexibility is a huge component of Fitness and you can stretch every day.

The first thing I recommend you buy is a Pull Up Bar. You can attach it to your ceiling and grab the bar with a shoulder width grip and hang there for about 10 seconds. I have days where I drive a lot and hanging helps me decompress my spine. Also, it’s a pretty versatile tool because you can do certain exercises like Pull Ups, Chin Ups or Hanging Knee Raises. I usually stretch on the bar after I warm on the Elliptical, but you can stretch on it anytime you feel like it. You can click here to buy a Pull Up Bar: Buy Pull Up Bar

The next piece of equipment you should buy is a Stability Ball. It’s a great tool not only for stretching but for various exercises as well. You can watch a YouTube Tutorial on how to stretch on a Stability Ball. I usually stretch on the Stability Ball after I hang on the Pull Up Bar, but again, you can stretch whenever you feel like it and you can do it daily. You can click here to buy a stability ball: Buy Stability Ball

The last piece of equipment I recommend you buy is a Yoga Mat.
There are different stretches you can do on a Yoga Mat along with certain bodyweight exercises like the Plank. By the way, “The Plank” is the number one Ab exercise in my Ab exercises arsenal. I recommend you give it a shot! You can watch a tutorial on YouTube and learn what kind of stretches you can do or take some Yoga classes. To buy a good yoga mat, use this link: Buy Yoga Mat

Now that you have all these pieces of equipment, your home gym is almost ready. In my next article I will go over what equipment you should buy for the weight training area of your home gym. But until then you can start training and work on your cardio and flexibility.

If you need more help on how to use the equipment you can hire a Personal Trainer and work with him until you’re comfortable on your own.

Until next time, I just want to let you guys know that I (Razvan Petrea) am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to https://www.amazon.com/

The product links in this article are affiliate links and if you click on the links and buy something, I will receive a small commission. If you found value in this article feel free to share the article with your friends and family and also leave me a comment or question in the comment section below.

Feel free to connect with me on my Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ProactiveFitnessSolutions/

Also check out some of my videos on my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChampionMindset

For any specific questions or if you’re interested in one on one Coaching, you can reach me at: razpetrea@gmail.com

Until next time, Get Out There, Attack The Day And Make It Happen!

                  

MYTHS OF AEROBIC EXERCISE AND WEIGHT CONTROL

MYTH: Aerobic exercise is all the exercise you need to effectively control your weight.

FACT: A review of the available data strongly indicates that, in general, combining a conventional aerobic exercise program with a calorically restricted diet does little to help you preserve lean body mass during your weight reduction efforts. It is important to keep in mind that the lower your lean body mass is, the lower your resting metabolic rate (i.e., the calories expended by the body to maintain life and normal bodily functions such as respiration and circulation) will be.
As a result, it is more likely that you will regain some or all of the weight you lost.

On the other hand, if you engage in an exercise program that is designed to improve your level of muscular fitness and weight loss, you enhance the likelihood that you will be able to maintain your level of lean body mass. Accordingly, the optimal exercise prescription for sound weight management is one that combines aerobic conditioning and strength training. Such a prescription will allow you to expend a relatively large number of calories, while simultaneously preserving or increasing your level of lean body mass.

MYTH: You can burn fat from specific regions of the body by exercising those areas.

FACT: Contrary to what anyone may want you to believe, the “phenomenon” of spot reduction has absolutely no factual basis. When you exercise, you utilize energy produced by metabolizing fat from all the regions of your body – not just the specific muscles involved in the exercise. Performing sit-ups, for example, will not trim the fat off your abdominal region any more rapidly than off your buttocks or thighs. The exercise may firm up the area but will not make it disappear.

MYTH: Losing weight is extremely difficult.

FACT: Statistics indicate that during any given time period, approximately one quarter of all men and one half of all women in the United States are dieting to lose weight. For the majority of these individuals, losing weight is not the problem. Losing weight, for most people, is relatively easy – keeping it off is their ever present challenge. Estimates indicate 75% to 90% of all dieters who lose weight can expect to regain all of the weight they lost within one to three years of “completing” the diet. The tendency for weight regain among dieters is not only demoralizing, it also can be very hazardous to your health (weight cycling has been associated with increased risk of heart and gallbladder disease). Your weight control efforts should therefore include not only a sensible plan for getting those pounds off, but for keeping them off.

MYTH: Muscles will turn to fat when you stop exercising regularly.
FACT: Muscles cannot turn to fat. Muscle and fat are two separate and distinct tissues. They simply do not have the physical capability to change from one type of tissue to another. In reality, muscles have the unique property of “use it or lose it”. If you don’t use a muscle, it will literally waste away (atrophy).

This process is perhaps best illustrated when someone has to wear a cast on a broken leg. When the cast is eventually removed, the relatively unused leg muscles are considerably smaller than they were prior to the injury. If muscle could turn into fat, you should see a veritable “fat ball” when you take the cast off an injured limb, not a significantly atrophied set of leg muscles.