Basic Fitness Equipments

December 10, 2008

If you want to get fit but do not like going to gyms or have the finances to join one, then it can be a good idea to invest in some small pieces of fitness equipment for your home. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to set up a good fitness plan, but you will need to devote a bit of time and effort to following it, so make sure you are realistic about what kind of fitness plan you are willing and able to stick to.

In terms of fitness equipments, the following basic items are great for starting off :

• Basic Weights – weight training is ideal for building stamina and muscle tone, and also burning fat, and simple exercises with weights are easy to do at home. Select a small, basic weight package, which should contain around 3 sets of dumbbells, starting from around 1.5kg and going up to about 5kg. You should not need anything heavier for a basic fitness plan, and sets like this are available from as little as £15 from fitness shops.
• Steps – step aerobics offers a high intensity weight bearing fitness workout to help you burn fat and increase strength and stamina, and again is easy to do at home. You can buy steps plus video workout guides at very reasonable prices, and it is easy to fit 30 min sessions into even the busiest schedules.
• Boxing Equipment – boxing is one of the best fat burning and fitness developing sports, and you can buy plenty of boxing equipment for the home. If you are more serious about this form of exercise you can set up permanent suspended punching bags in garages and spare rooms, but you can also get cheaper inflatable punch bags that can be set up in anywhere in the house.
• Trampolines – using trampolines is very good exercise, and you can get mini fitness trampolines from most good sports shops for around £20.
• Exercise Bikes – if you do not have enough room for a full exercise bike, then there are some small sized bikes available such as V-Fit Portable Mini Bike (£24.49). Cycling is a great way to burn fat and increase stamina and muscle tone.
• Yoga Mat – fitness isn’t just about losing weight and building up muscle, but also about increasing flexibility and reducing stress. Incorporating a meditative exercise program into your over fitness plan is great for relaxing both the mind and body, and yoga mats plus video tutorials are cheap and easy to buy, and can be easily done at home.

As well as these more conventional equipment options, you can now also get fitness equipment that is integrated into gaming software. The Wii Fit is Nintendo’s fitness package for the Wii Console, and is aimed to make exercise more appealing by presenting it as a new kind of video game. Wii Fit software comes with a Wii Balance Board, which the user can stand on. The balance board can measure your weight, BMI and centre of gravity, and the software has 40 different games based on the board, such as yoga stretches and push-ups. The game will also track each individual fitness program.

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