Tools for Exercise

If you have never done exercise with weights before it would be wise to familiarize yourself with the tools of exercise and read some instructions on how to correctly use the equipment and do the exercises so you don’t accidentally injure yourself and set back your progress.

Soon, I plan to write several blogs about various exercises and how to perform them, so you can get the maximum benefit from your exercising.

Of course you might be thinking that there is a multitude of ways to exercise besides weights and you are correct. You can play team sports or go out with the family bowling or an infinite variety of activities to improve your health, but the proven fact is the best way to a fitter body is a combination of resistance training and cardio training.

Think about it this way. When you consider the best athletes in whatever sport you like the most, you can be certain that those athletes use weights and cardio to improve their sport. Weightlifting and cardio are the basic building blocks of any sort of fitness.

Going to a gym versus having a home gym

When it come to where to exercise you have two choices. You can either join a gym or exercise at home.

First, let’s look at the pros and cons of going to a gym.

The cost of a gym really depends on your budget. There are gyms that are cheap like Planet fitness which is famous for their starting cost of only $10.00 a month.

I have been a member at a few of these gyms over the years. They have plenty of cardio machines and weight machines. They also have some free weights (dumbbells and barbells), though some times that area can become crowded.

The average gym runs between $30 and $60 a month. Gyms in this price range like Gold’s Gym offers everything Planet fitness does with added features such as group cardio classes, personal trainers and day care for parents.

Then you have the high end gyms that can run from $100 and up. These gym offer even more amenities such as indoor pools and basketball or racquetball courts.

The real benefit of going to a gym is the variety of exercises you can choose from to get a workout done. You can definitely feel you have had a full workout when you walk out the doors of the gym.

The downside is the travel time. It takes time and initiative to leave the house, drive to the gym, then change in the locker room if you aren’t already dressed to workout.

Then there is the fact that you don’t want to look out of place at the gym so you may need to get clothes to wear at the gym. The gyms do frown upon wearing street clothes while working out. Things like belts can damage their equipment.

Also, depending on the time of the year, the gym can be a very crowded place and you may not be able to go straight to the equipment you want to use.

Because of the cost and time constraints I personally prefer my own home gym. I tend to keep myself rather busy so it is easier to workout at home for an hour than go to a gym which would take at least 2 hours.

I also like that fact that I don’t need to worry about what I’m wearing. I can get treadmill done wearing my street close if I want, or I can just wear sloppy clothes because there is no one who will see me.

At home I don’t have to worry about whether or not there are a lot of people and if I will be able to use a machine or piece of equipment. It’s my choice.

I can listen to music or watch a video undisturbed while working out. The long and the short of it is at home I’m in control.

The only two drawbacks I see for working out at home is this. One, it takes a little more imagination to come up the variety of exercises that comes automatically at the gym. The other is the discipline to actually take the time at home to workout.

Some of my equipment I had for 8 years, but only them used sparingly until I became serious about getting in shape 3 years ago.

If you want to set up a home gym there are a few basic pieces of equipment you should think about getting. Let me share with you what I have and maybe it can give you a few ideas for yourself.

The basic tools for a home gym

Weight bench

The first thing that you need in a home gym is a solid weight bench. There are a lot of basic cheap benches on the market, but if I were you, I would buy something that you know is going to last.

I bought my bench 8 years ago. It’s a Weider Pro 340L. I don’t think they sell that model anymore, but Weider products I have found are generally well made.

The moment I saw it I knew it was the right bench for me. I has a sturdy frame and the paddling is firm and can hold up to a lot of usage.

What really sold it for me was the bench and the weight rack could be separated, so you could use the weight rack for standing exercises like squats or you can pull the bench away from the rack and use dumbbells in a full range of motion without bumping into the rack.

Barbell and weights

Of course the whole object to resistance training is to lift weights, so you will need a barbell weight set.

My set I have pieced together over time. I started out years ago with a plastic set of weights filled with concrete but I wouldn’t recommend that now. Over time they crack and the concrete breaks loose inside. It’s much better to get a solid metal set such as the Cosply 110 lbs. set sold at Amazon.

As you get stronger you may also want to get a few 25 and/or 45 lbs. plates which are sold separately.

Dumbbells

A pair of dumbbells normally comes with a weight set. They tend to be used more than the barbell because there is a lot more variety of exercises. In fact, you could just use dumbbells and not even touch the barbell and get a good workout.

The problem with dumbbells though is the ones you get in sets take time to change the weight. You can spend as much time changing the weight between the exercises as you spend in the actual exercises.

I got tired changing the dumbbells every time I need to adjust the weight. Some time ago I saw a set of adjustable dumbbells. With a flip of a tab you can change your weight.

I got myself a set of Weider adjustable dumbbells. It adjusts from 10 lbs. to 50 lbs. in 5 lbs. increments. It has really been worth the investment.

EZ-Curl bar

This is a special bar that comes in handy for a few vital exercises. Some exercises such as barbell bicep curls turn your wrists in an awkward position. I use to have pain in my wrists whenever I did that exercise.

Once I bought the EZ-curl bar I didn’t have any wrist issue because it allows me to hold the bar with a more natural grip.

You may not use it every day, but it is well worth the investment.

Resistance bands

This is a fairly new tool for me but it is becoming a favorite. I originally bought my set of resistance bands when I was taking a 3 week holiday to the Philippines and wasn’t sure I would get to a gym. I bought my set from Amazon from a company called Fitness Insanity.

I used the bands a few times while there, but not being accustomed to them, I wasn’t sure how best to use them. After I returned home they sat in their bag for a year.

At that point I was looking for some variety in my exercise. I looked up what I could potentially do with the bands. I found an app that showed a lot of various exercises for every body part.

One thing that didn’t really sink in while I was in the Philippines was how versatile the bands are. They come with 5 bands; 10 lbs., 20 lbs., 30 lbs., 40 lbs. and 50 lbs. depending on how you combine the bands you can have resistance from 10 lbs. to 150 lbs.

Now that I have learned the potential benefits of using my resistance bands I have incorporated them in most of my workouts.

Treadmill

For the aerobic portion of my workout, I have not found anything more effective than the basic treadmill. It may be just my personal preference, but it is very handy to have one in my home.

If the weather is good, there is nothing better than going outside for a walk, but what about when the weather is bad. I’m not a fan of cold weather and it’s cold where I live about 6 months a year.

Some days even when it’s warm it can be rainy. When the bad days come the treadmill is the ideal piece of equipment to have.

The price of a treadmill can vary greatly depending on how many whistles and bells you want it to have. You can get a basic one for about $200.00 or you can spend well over $1000.00 for a top of the line home treadmill.

My treadmill is a lower end model by Exerpeutic. I cost under $300.00. What I like about it is the machine is heavy duty. It was made for heavy people which I was surprised some treadmills cannot handle. That was important to me at the start of my journey.

I didn’t mind that the maximum speed was 5 mph because I’m a walker, not a runner. Also I didn’t care that it didn’t elevate because I never used that feature anyway. If you need or want these features you may need to get a more expensive treadmill, but for me the trade off of these features for a cheaper treadmill was fine.

I have used it 3-5 times a week for over 3 years now and have not been disappointed.

Exercise Mat

This is my newest piece of equipment. Some exercises are best down on the floor and some of the resistance band exercises require getting on your knees.

After years of being overweight my knees are not as healthy as the rest of me. They are definitely better than they were, but I need to take care of them, so a little padding on the floor is helpful for me to do these exercises.

Weight Rack

The last piece of equipment in my gym is my Gold’s Gym weight rack. The free weights for my barbell and EZ-curl bar needed a place to stay so that the room doesn’t look messy. The weight rack is the ideal thing to keep things organized. The rack even gives me a place to put my EZ-curl bar.

So that is my entire list of tools for my gym. It is not something I put together overnight. I collected it piece by piece. I probably put a little over $1000.00 into acquiring it.

That may seem to be a lot of money to some, but think about how much you could spend year after year at the gym. I read the average gym membership is around $40.00 a month, that’s $500.00 a year. A home gym like mine pays itself off in 2 years, so in the long run it is cost effective as well as convenient.

Consider your own home gym. Start off small, maybe with some resistance bands and see how it feels. You can always expand from that point.

Hopefully I’ve given you some ideas for you to pursue.

Have a wonderful and blessed day.