PDF ISSA’s Jack Barnathan Outlines What You Need to Bring Your Workout Home
Home gyms are a growing trend and more people are looking to work out without leaving the house. Before investing in your own home gym, consider these essentials for beginning a personal path to fitness.
When considering a home gym, many people invest in devices that combine multiple exercises in one machine. Although this can be an expensive choice, multi-style home gyms, like Bowflex and Body-Solid, have gained popularity. These types of systems allow the user to perform lat pull downs, leg extensions, bench press, and other exercises associated with training in the gym.
Before you invest in a multi-system unit, imagine yourself actually performing each exercise properly in your home. Make certain your home has room not only for the dimensions on the box, but also for the dimensions of your elbows, knees, arms and legs when engaging the device. You don’t want to be knocking a hole in the dining room wall when you perform a shoulder press or pulling out ceiling tiles to properly perform lat pull-downs.
But do you really need to buy an all-in-one device? Some find the ease of lying on a bench, performing the exercise, and walking away to be of great convenience, and if time is money in your life, an all-in-one system could be a compelling choice. Prices range from $700 to $7000 depending on how fancy you want to get. Some, like the Total Gym, use the body’s own weight as resistance with two pulley systems and can be folded up and moved into a closet or under a bed if space is an issue. Consider how much space you have to spare along with how much cash you’re willing to spend.
And how much of a beginner are you? Safety is always an essential concern. For beginners starting on the path to fitness, safety is important whether in the gym or at home, and for good reason.
What do you think was the number one accident in health clubs, requiring hospitalization, last year? You might think the number one accident involves some powerlifting move with heavy weights and complicated technique–but you’d be wrong. It was broken fingers and toes!
If accidents happen in gyms across the nation, it’s a safe bet that an ounce of prevention will be well spent at home. If you choose “lower end” fitness technology–the dumbbell, barbell and bench–make wise choices with regard to safety. Many dumbbell and barbell plate sets are designed with a synthetic coating or rubber bumpers that can cushion any unexpected impact. Purchase floor mats to protect against any dropped items as well. Protecting your toes, and your floor (and maybe your downstairs neighbor’s ceiling) is a good first step. An easy way to protect those toes at home is to wear workout footwear when training. For many who like to stroll around the apartment in socks, it’s tempting to work out with your feet exposed to potential injury. Keep your toes protected in case the unexpected happens.
If you are a very enthusiastic beginner, you could greatly benefit from hiring a coach to get you started on your home training regime. Many people with home studios hire ISSA Certified Fitness Trainers to help them develop a safe and effective program. Once you have developed sufficient skills, your trainer evolves into more of a coach who returns every few weeks to reevaluate your progress and adjust your program to take your training to the next level. This is a unique variation on the trainer-client relationship, but one that is increasingly popular with the home enthusiast.
And yet many see that the fastest results come with both the educated suggestions combined with the motivational encouragement that only an ISSA Certified Trainer can give, and find that the investment of a full-time trainer is worth the money and time saved in achieving goals promptly.
Essentials for Home Training:
Growth comes from challenging the body, which engages the brain to begin a remarkable hormonal / neurological / physiological cascade. This results in the body responding to the resistance (weight), and growth (size, speed, power.) is the end result. What do you use for this desired resistance? The easiest choices for beginners are:
Tubing. Resistance Bands or Tubing will offer you a low-cost device that will not only take up little space, but can travel with you. Most resistance tubing sets offer charts or simple DVD instruction on how to work most major muscle groups to stimulate growth. The downside? Tubing offers variable resistance, which means that the user controls the amount of resistance. This is not as complete as other options, but it is a good starting point for the beginner. If you want to combine it with something that will fill in the gaps and complete the workout, you’ll also invest in.
Free weights. What a remarkable technology the dumbbell is! You can work virtually every body part with a more constant resistance (as opposed to tubing’s variable option). Dumbbells are low cost, and for most people you can start with one easy-to-use weight and then increase the weight as you progress. Combine free weights with a resistance band for a total body challenge. For the larger muscle groups in the leg, chest and back, you can invest in the…
Body-Bar. For larger movements (squat, bench press) the body-bar is an excellent option. When finished you can stand it easily in any corner. These have become much more popular in recent years as opposed to the old barbells. Body-bars have replaced the need to remove a locking device and slide plates on and off. (Ok, it’s not that hard but again, you’re building a home gym for convenience, right?) Two or three body-bars of different weights should cover all your needs. But now it’s time to tighten up those abs. You can get on the floor for some old fashioned crunches, or invest in a…
Swiss Ball. Swiss balls are inflatable balls that vary in size (check the size chart on the side of the box to make sure yours fits your needs), which can be used for abdominal work, and for more advanced home trainers, as a bench for dumbbell presses both lying and sitting. The ball fits into the curve of your back, offers a comfortable surface, and depending on the angle (easier if your “behind” is closer to the floor) a variety of levels of difficulty. Be certain to buy a puncture resistant ball up to at least 800 lbs for obvious safety purposes.
Yoga Mat. The fastest-growing, 5000-year-old “overnight” success story is the explosive popularity of Yoga. This, along with other mind-body resistance choices (Pilates, KiaMichelle Movement etc), is increasingly popular for those looking for a challenging workout, a time for focus, and very little equipment. This “gym” is as simple as you and a mat. What better resistance than your own body weight and gravity? You might want to consider placing your mat in front of the television if, like many home enthusiasts, you are learning through instructional DVDs. Many Yoga studios offer students homework that they can do between studio visits to refine their skills. Again, starting with a Certified Trainer who can guide or “coach” you is the best way to begin.
Commitment. Commitment is essential for any fitness success. Before investing in an expensive cardio device, prove to yourself that you are serious about commitment. If you can power walk around the block three times a week, for four to six weeks, you can prove to yourself that you have enough commitment to invest in home cardio equipment.
Sadly, enthusiasm is often lost if the home athlete is too ambitious and tries for too much, too soon. Frustration from not being able to master challenging techniques (or installation instructions!) can cause you to give up on yourself and your goals all too soon. Begin simply with exercises and devices you understand fully, with a carefully thought out plan, and add equipment, as you progress–not before. And don’t be afraid to ask the advice of certified advisors who can save you time, money and injury by guiding you to the right technique and technology choices to achieve all your fitness desires, right in the comfort of home.
