Buying the Best Home Gym Equipment for the Money

The number of choices available can easily overwhelm those seeking to buy the best home gym for the money today. With prices, styles, and quality varying greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer (and model to model), it's no wonder that finding the best home gym equipment can be so complicated. However, with just a few pointers, even a gym novice can find a gym that suits them in both price and function.

Begin by deciding exactly what you want to accomplish with your gym. Even the best home workout gyms can't live up to unrealistic expectations. Are you looking for a basic machine to tone muscles and provide a nice, steady workout? A "bow" or resistance system may work best for you. Are you a hard-core weightlifter looking to bulk up? Sturdy stack systems with at least a 200lb stack-such as a Smith home gym system-will probably work for you.

Even if you can't afford the best home gym on the market, you should still keep several factors in mind to ensure a safe and productive piece of equipment. First, can you target specific areas during your workout? If a machine doesn't adjust to isolate specific muscle groups during your workout, then it probably isn't the best home gym equipment for you.

In addition, make sure to look at the number of exercises available. Standard gym equipment should offer at least 20 different exercises, while some of the best home workout gyms offer as many as 50. Also, not all gyms come with the same weight stacks or resistance levels (for bow machines). Do you routinely lift over 100lbs? Make sure your gym comes with a weight stack that can challenge you.

Finally, consider how much you are willing to spend. Some of the best home gym equipment can run in the thousands of dollars. However, spending lots of money doesn't always guarantee that you'll buy the best home gym for you if it doesn't have the features you need. Likewise, less expensive models simply may not offer the bells and whistles that experienced lifters are looking for. Some machines to keep in mind are:

· Hoist V5: Known as the "Cadillac" of all-in-one weight lifting machines, this system costs around $3000 and comes with a 200lb weight stack. It includes a lat pull-down bar, chest press, leg curl, and a chest-high cable for a core-conditioning and dumbbell-type exercises.

· BodyCraft Family Xpress: If you like to exercise with a partner, this may be the best home gym for you. Available for around $2000, the BodyCraft system comes with dual 200lb weight stacks, in addition to an adjustable cable system for dumbbell-type exercises, an abdominal crunch station, and an optional hip station or knee raise/dip station. The leg press offers up to 400lbs of resistance.

· Weider CrossBar: Priced at around $500, this bow system shows that you don't need to break the bank to buy the best home gym equipment for you. Using bendable metal bars and cables (instead of weight stacks), the CrossBar provides a good workout-despite feeling a little "rough." Overall, the CrossBar is very comparable to Bowflex, making it one of the best home workout gyms for the money.