I am trying to get a jump start on the winter for everyone by finding some great articles on how best to look for and buy exercise equipment for your home. Most people will just join a gym to use expensive exercise equipment but really there are many reasons to instead buy fitness equipment. I have a few pros and cons on this.

Buying Exercise Equipment

Buying exercise equipment is not for everyone and can be expensive. First things first, I do own some exercise equipment. I have written about this before but I have a exercise bike and a elliptical trainer and these are trade in used exercise equipment that we got from trading in our older, other equipment that we bought years ago. It seems to be a great way to me to buy high quality equipment and then trade it in for other equipment when you are bored of it.

OK, so how much will it cost? I think that a good piece of exercise equipment costs between 500 and 1,000 dollars so this really is a big expense for most people. I remember getting crappy stair climbers in the 80s and they just ended up being good clothes hangers just as my elliptical trainer is but at least the elliptical trainer gets used for working out as well.

Priority of buying cardio equipment

The key to buying and using cardio exercise equipment is the schedule and commitment to use the equipment. I hate to say it but if you pay a bundle of money for exercise equipment it will be a motivator to use the equipment, not only that but the equipment will be smooth and comfortable to use. Find a daily time that you will use the treadmill or bike. I think that if you do not use the equipment in the morning then try to use it in the evening while you are watching TV. It is good exercise and the scheduling will force you to commit.

One last thing. Using cardio equipment over time can become really boring for most people. The best way to use cardio equipment is to get a distance goal to hit. Pull out a map and look at some distances that would be fun to drive to that you can simulate with your new or old exercise equipment. Maybe a roadtrip of 100 miles this month or a great roadtrip trip over the course of a year.

So for the rest of the week I am going to scour the internet for some great buying guide type articles, stuff that I will learn from as well as you so that the next time that we go out looking for exercise equipment we will be able to make better decisions.

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I wrote a post last week about buying used exercise equipment because at this time of year it is much easier to by exercise equipment then it is at any other time of the year and to save money to boot. Anyway in all of the equipment that I mentioned I never did mention the best piece of cardio exercise equipment and that is the rowing machine.

Rowing machines are a bit more complex and a bit harder to use than the standard stair machine, exercise bike, or treadmill. A rowing machine is a much better piece of equipment if you are looking for a new piece of equipment because it does a lot more for your body. With a bike you work your legs mostly and your abs a little and with a treadmill it is only a leg workout for the most part but with a rowing machine you work a lot more body parts.

Rowing machines work nearly all of the major muscle groups with work done by your quads, hamstrings, back, biceps and abs. There is no better exercise for the entire body than a rowing machine besides maybe swimming.

Lastly, most rowing machines take almost no space. A good quality rowing machine is very flat and can fit under a bed or up against a wall and for this reason alone it is much easier to contain a rowing machine in an apartment or small house then it is to have a treadmill or exercise bike.