Around this time of year, a lot of people are looking into getting home gyms, or home exercise gyms, and I’ve reviewed a few home exercise gyms here, so please have a read here on some background information that will help you make a good buying decision should you decide to go ahead and purchase a home exercise gym.

Some of the most common home exercise equipment reviews cover exercise bikes, home gyms like Bowflex or Total Gym and abdominal workout devices because these are the most common types of home exercise equipment being ordered today.

But which of all these home exercise equipment is right for you?

1. Treadmills and abdominal machines are for people who want to lose weight as the primary workout focus.
2. People who buy home exercise gyms like the total Gym or any of the Bowflex gyms or mini-gyms have toning their muscles or enlarging their muscles as their primary focus.

So before you decide on what kind of home exercise equipment is right for you, you might first state your goals clearly, THEN make a decision on which to order (and hopefully use a lot).

The following is a cheat-sheet of Home Exercise Gyms, some mini-reviews and the editors top 4 picks

Total Home Gym:

Total Home Gym

In my opinion and experience, the Total Gym has a way to fulfill all your work-out needs, especially if you’re unsure what your goals are right now and you just want to work out a little bit here and there. The Total Gym can provide intense cardio-vascular, heart-pumping experiences for you because it uses your body weight as its own exercise machine.

A lot of people don’t want to accept this fact, but push-ups, free-standing leg squats, sit-ups and pull-ups (chin-ups) are some of the best exercises you can do to increase your stamina and tone your body quickly.

The reason those are some of the best exercises you can do (anywhere) is because they use your body weight as the resistance force, just like the Total Home Gym uses a pulley system and your body weight as the resistance force that strains your muscles and turns flab into toned muscle.

The Weider Home Gym

Weider Home Gym C720 system

The Weider Home Gym system uses flexible rods as part of its compact home exercise gym set up. With varying levels of rod flexibility and intensity, the Weider Home Gym system allows you to modify your workouts easily and it focuses on stress-resistance as the way in which you tone your muscles.

Weider has several different home gym models released, all with varying price levels and features, and the most popular Weider Cross Bow model now is the Weider Home Gym C720 system.

The Weider Home Gym C720 system pictured here comes with instruction manuals, some exercise charts, workout routines, a free standing area to do leg squats in, adjustable bench, preacher bar for curls, lat bars (for back exercises), 250 pounds of weights, and more…

Parabody Home Gym

parabody home gym CM3

Parabody has a set of home gyms and different models, too. As you cna se eif the picture on the left it’s a bit more compact than other home exercise gyms and has the unique benefit of taking up a lot less space than other home exercise gyms.

Parabody Home Gyms come with top quality pads and padding that won’t have to be replaced for a long time, are designed with rust-resistant heavy duty steel tubing, and come with cast-iron weight stacks that give you the “at-the-gym” feeling.

The PARABODY GS4 GYM system is the most popular model being sold right now and comes with workout routine, instructions, and even a mat for avoiding floor damage.

Home Exercise Gyms Reviewed in this article:

Power Tech home gyms

Parabody Home Gyms

Body Solid Home Gyms

Bowflex Revolution home gym

If you decided that it is time to get back into shape but are not quite sure that he wants the joys of signing up for and then paying a monthly gym membership then perhaps it is time to consider some type of home gym solution. One option is Powertec Home Gyms.

There are many different options for you should you decide to go this route, however you need to make sure that you pick the right gym for your needs and of course that you have the space for it. Having a home gym (although a good idea) could be a tough sell if you are in a one-bedroom apartment. That said, one of the options that you do have our counterattack legends. These gems are specifically for those that are serious about massive weight gain and muscle building. They are not like some of the other home gyms you may see on the market. They look like they belong in a high-end fitness club and having tested the quality I can say that they do.

Consider for a moment that these types of gyms are larger than other options such as Bowflex for instance. They take up more floor space due to the way that they are constructed and as such you need to properly measure the area in which you want to place it before you buy it. In short, you need to do your diligence before buying Powertec home gyms. Something else you want to consider of course is the price. Although there are other options that may have better marketing is because of this marketing that the price is generally several hundred dollars more than what you would expect with our technical gyms. When I first saw the price I was surprised that it was not two or three times more expensive.

One of the thing you want to consider is that these type of Powertec home gyms are plate based, which means you will be guiding weights like you would see in the gym as opposed to some of the other options such as resistance bands this also means we will need more room to store extra weights you will have to get as your muscles grow.

Finally, one thing you also need to consider is whether this is a quick fix or a long-term investment, as that will determine not only how much you are willing to spend but how much use you will ultimately get out of it for the price you pay. Powertec home gyms should be considered an investment in your health.

Parabody Home Gyms

If you have been looking to get back into shape, then you know that one of the best ways to do it is to get Parabody Home Gyms. Although you can of course get a membership to a health club, ultimately these are very expensive especially if you find that you do not have the time to go every week.

Another option of course is a personal trainer that here again there is an expense and if you find you cannot keep to a schedule, then this may not be the option for you. With a home gym like Parabody home gyms you will be able to work out whenever you want and to be able to set your own schedule with regards to your exercises.

Something to consider with Parabody home gyms is that unlike other options there are no more than that you can pick from and they are all multifunction gyms. What this means is that while you may need pay a little bit more than with other lower-cost options, you will find that your choice is much easier to make. You will still need to consider your overall fitness goals however; it is much easier to choose between five home gyms that it is to choose between home gyms, free weights, and multi-gyms.

For instance, with the G1 home gym you have a functional and space saving design that allows you to kick the major areas such as abs chest back and legs without taking up much space. For something a little bit higher when it comes to Parabody home gyms, you may want to consider something like the G6 which has many more exercises that you can do but is also more expensive and a little bit larger. Ultimately it comes down to how much variety you want in your workout as well. It also comes down to how you view your home gym purchase. Do you view it as a short term purchase or are you in this for the long-term and ultimately want to get as much out of your investment as possible? The answer to this question will allow you to pick exactly the Parabody home gyms that are right for you.

Body Solid Home Gyms – Three Things to Think about before buying

Bowflex Revolution home gym

How great it would be if they could get the experience of the workouts in the gym by staying at home! Well if you picture a room full of cumbersome gym equipments, you are still a long way to go. All you need is just the Bowflex Revolution home gym, the compact and most versatile equipment in the industry which offers as much as 100 exercises with 400 variations for the entire body muscles with numerous variations and accessories.

This great equipment is manufactured by Nautilus Inc. who are in the industry for more than two decades. Bowflex Revolution home gym is a simple machine with adjustable arms, removable seat, back pad and three pulleys that are located at the base of the machine. It comes with an instructional DVD in which a personal trainer explains the various exercises, workouts, and weight loss and diet information. Every part in this machine is adjustable enabling you to work in every plane of motion which offers a perfect and functional training. The additional accessories like the lat tower, rack, Ab back pad are also available at extra cost. The workout space of just 7’ * 5’4” is enough for the performance.

The package includes preacher curl attachment, 5 position foot harness, hand grips, leg press plate, instructional manual and DVD workout video. You can perform any workouts whether for upper body or lower body or core and abs or cardio, the Bowflex Revolution home gym comes with a complete exercise system. IT duplicates almost any exercise that is available in the local gym. Preacher curl attachment isolates the biceps and work the upper arms more efficiently than the weights do. It has a built in rowing machine that burns the extra calories, warming up and cooling down the cardiovascular system.

The price of this product is $2,999.00 which may appear to be slightly higher. But the fact that it is a one time investment should not be forgotten. It offers a 100% money back guarantee for a period of six weeks and it is backed by a strong 10 year limited warranty that covers material or manufacturing defects. They boast of offering the same benefits of consistent resistance that the astronauts enjoy. Even the toughest exercises are made smooth without the inertia and Bowflex Revolution home gym indeed is a great way to build slim and strong muscle fast.

I’m always looking to save a buck, but on the other hand I consider exercise an investment in my SELF, so I’m OK with doing more than just spending money on a gym membership or even staying at home and using  home exercise gyms.

One of the drawbacks ot training by yourself is falling into a routine.  We as humans like stability and comfort, but it doesn’t really do us much good when we’re trying to lose weight or enlarge muscles, muscle groups, or tone thing sup or down.

Personal trainers and cross fit trainers will both tell you that Routine Is The Enemy Of Progress.

When working out, you have to shock your system, your body, in order to see results.  That’s part of the reason why calorie shifting works, to a certain degree….  Calorie shifting is a diet that’s meant to help you lose weight by shocking your metabolism, or in better words, to trick your body into making the metabolism work harder, by making it work differently.

Suffice to say that, knowledgeable trainers know that shocking your system is what leads to results.

Now…here was my question to my personal trainer the other day,

“If cross fit and your personal training philosophies are both the same, in essence, with that philosophy at its base being that routine is the enemy, then why do I need a personal trainer?  Why can’t I just go to a cross fit class, and let them guide me through the workouts and push me towards my goals?”

Some of her answers were technical and had to do with how cross fit classes like to perform exercises with a longer, fuller rang eof motion, whereas she likes to work muscle groups using a shorter range of motion.

For example, the squat exercise….cross fit will have you doing deeper movements until your butt is touching your calves, almost.. whereas she likes to work the muscle groups in a more focused fashion by only having me do squats until my legs are parallel to the ground.

The philosophy is the same, routine is the enemy and to work different muscle groups in every workout, but here’s the REAL difference between using personal trainers, which cost more, and doing cross fit classes…

Personalized attention

Cross fit classes emphasize a fuller range of motion, and there’s usually one trainer per group of 10 or more people.

Personal training is a one on one relationship, and if your trainer is a good one they’ll be watching your form closely, at all times.

My trainer knows how to do workouts, she’s a pro with a graduate degree in nutrition and something else, I forget… and she went to a cross fit class and injured her hip!

Now tell me, how is it that someone who definitely knows how to do ALL exercises properly could still get injured during a guided, instructor led exercise regimen?

And that my friends is the difference between cross fit workouts and personal training.

With personal training you get more attention given to you so your form is perfect, and that injuries are avoided.

Get a personal trainer, spend the extra dollars if you can afford it, it’s your health so why try to cut corners?

Poor posture is a common problem all across this country and across the world. People spend so much time typing that they often develop back injuries far before their time. Doing jst a few exercises to improve posture a day might not seem like that much, but it really will make a difference. Improving your posture means maintaining it one day at a time. You might be surprised by how quickly you will feel the health benefits of having a comfortable, strong back.

One of the best exercises to improve your posture is to do crunches. A lot of the research suggests that our posture is linked to the strength of our core muscles. A strong core leads to a healthy back, and that leads to better overall health as we get older. Strengthening the stomach muscles is one way to improve your posture.

Of course, you should do some other exercises to improve posture that target the back muscles as well. If you only target your stomach muscles, you’ll have an imbalance in the muscles that support your posture. One of my favorite posture exercises is to use a balance ball and lay forward on it so that it is in the middle of my stomach. My knees are flat on the floor and my hands extend forward in front of me. I then repeatedly let my self down and pull back up using my back muscles. This has a similar effect to doing crunches, except that it works the back instead of the front.

Another great exercise to improve posture is leg lifts. There are probably dozens of different leg lift exercises, but you should be sure the ones you do balance each other out. I usually use two of them. In one, I lay on my back and raise my legs in the air repeatedly. In the other, I stand on all fours and kick my legs out behind me one at a time. These exercises are always helpful in relieving back pain and stress.

Finally, there are exercises to improve posture that specifically target the back. One of my favorites is the cat/cow stretch. Basically, you stand on your hands and knees and alternately flex and arch your back. You do this slowly in harmony with the breath for several minutes. It is amazing how quickly it will provide relief from chronic back pain. It can make you feel better almost instantly sometimes.