!: Home Fitness Exercise Equipment: Choosing the One That's Best for You

If you are looking to buy a piece of exercise equipment for your home gym, you're probably trying to decide between the popular ones like an exercise bike, a stair climber, a treadmill, or a cross trainer. In this article, the pros and cons of each will be covered, along with my personal recommendation.

I've spent a considerable amount of time on exercise machines over the last fifteen years, in my home gym, in fitness clubs and in hotel gyms around the world. I can say that for the most part, I've rarely been bored, and am always able to find a challenging circuit to do.

That being said, there are some types I much prefer over others, so let's take a look:

Exercise bikes:

The main benefits of the exercise bike are that your legs get a great workout and you get terrific cardiovascular exercise. I had a LifeCycle Exercise bike n my home gym for a couple of years and loved it.

I would do anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour on the bike, and believe me, when get off one of these things, you'll be sweating like crazy.

Exercise bikes usually come with a stand that you can put a book or magazine on, and that's great because I found that reading helped pass the time.

But don't fall into the trap of reading all the time, because it's my belief that the body doesn't work quite as hard under these circumstances. So mix it up a bit, some days reading, some days focusing on the workout.

I always found my thigh muscles got a great workout on an exercise bike, and one thing that you should know is that thigh muscles are one of the muscle sets that really burn when worked out hard. So if you want to push yourself, be prepared for a little "pain".

Stair climbers: I've never been a great fan of stair climbers. Don't get me wrong, I think they are great for workouts, possibly providing some of the toughest workouts you can get. I have to say that they do get a bit boring after a while, since you're always seem to be climbing!

Since we're looking at this as being part of a home gym, I wouldn't have it as my first piece of equipment because the thought of climbing stairs each day just doesn't do it for me.

Treadmills: If you like to run, then treadmills may just be the thing for you. You can get the same great cardio workout that you would with running, but your legs won't take the same pounding.

You can park your treadmill in front of a TV and you'll find that time flies. Also, some treadmills can be easily folded up so that they don't have to take up a lot of space.

I have to say that I'm not a great fan of treadmills. The continual thudding of my feet really bugs me, and when I run, I like to be outside in nature and not cooped up inside. Also, I'd prefer to read and you just can't read while running!

Cross trainers: The main benefit of the cross trainer is that you get several workouts all at once. You get the obvious cardio exercise, and on top of that your arms and legs get a great workout too.

You can take your arms off the levers and do legs only, or you can pull and push harder with your arms to increase their workout experience.

Like exercise bikes, they come with a stand so it's easy to read while working out. I usually read the morning paper, so once I've exercised, I'm also up-to-date with the daily news.

Recommendation: Of all the types of exercise equipment, the cross-trainer gets my vote. After using it now for over five years, I'm just as eager to workout as I was on day one.

When you are considering which type of exercise equipment to buy, keep in mind that it can be a significant investment, so you want to be sure that whatever you pick for your home gym, make sure you enjoy the activity it provides and that you'll be challenged each and every day.