Click here to visit the new home of that's fit!

Hot on HuffPost Healthy Living:

AOL.com
MAIL

En Español

That's Fit

Send Feedback

Be Realistic About That Home Gym

Posted on Jan 16th 2009 6:00PM by Bev Sklar

Filed Under: Fitness, Motivation

I'm looking at it right now. The empty wall in our family room that used to hold a love seat. My fitness soul is tingling at the thought of placing a treadmill right in that spot. Or maybe a rower or elliptical? I've wanted an at-home cardio machine for years, but never had the space. Instead I happily head to the gym on my calmer days or drag my feet to the gym on those 'if only I had a treadmill at home' days.

But what if I'm one of those people who's at-home gym gathers dust? NYT's Tara Parker-Pope recently shared this study tidbit: while people with home exercise machines were 73 percent more likely to start exercising, by the end of the year they were 12 percent more likely to have quit than same-study participants who didn't own a home machine. I guess treadmill shopping adrenaline is not infinite.

According to this new research, a good way to make a more realistic home gym purchase is to first estimate how often you'd exercise over two weeks in ideal conditions (plenty of time, motivation and physical ability), then ask yourself again how often you'd really jump on the thing. Being more realistic will help you from overpaying for a cardio machine you end up hanging your clothes on. I'm still staring at that space, but our finite checkbook keeps my treadmill realism in check. Heading to Craigslist now, a great spot to score dusty, at-home equipment for cheap.

Source

5 Comment

Tags: Bev-Sklar, home-gym, home-gym-motivation, home-gym-purchase

Around the Web

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Brian 1-16-2009 @ 8:51PM

The only way to exercise is go to the gym. This equipment people will give you for free because they don't use it. It's best to work out when are with a number of people.

http://www.losemystomach.com

margaret 1-16-2009 @ 9:12PM

I think you'll work out at home if you get the right equipment for your needs. I just decided to quit the gym because their hours don't suit me... and I know I'll exercise at home because I've told myself that I won't perform well at work if I don't do strength training... so I got kettlebells and I love them because they're fun and I can do a workout in 5 mins... and I got a bosu balance trainer and it strengthens my legs for standing all day at work... and it's fun and only takes about 5 mins out of my day... and lastly the rower which I use every other day for 30 mins. I love it because after standing all day at work, it's a comfortable workout. I'm seated in a comfortable position and I can watch tv and not think so much about the workout. It's calming and doesn't feel like exercise. I know I'll keep using these items because I thought about what I needed before I purchased them.

u262f 1-17-2009 @ 4:20PM

Everybody's different; to each his own. I would never, ever exercise if I had to do it in front of other people. 12% is tiny. Statistical noise. Basically, people who have home exercise equipment and those who don't are very close to equally likely to stick with it after a year.

The big difference is that people who don't own exercise equipment are more likely to never have started exercising.

Bev Sklar 1-17-2009 @ 1:16AM

Brian, of course I want both the gym and that at-home machine. Margaret ... you've got me really thinking about a rower.

Yet I remind myself -- realistically, how often will I use it? No sense in overpaying. Unfortunately I had to settle for handweights and planks tonight, when I really craved cardio ... Bev