I'm so fortunate right now to have access to a gym with great childcare, good location, good hours, affordable membership dues... etc.
In September I'm moving back to Hawaii and all of those things go *poof* .
I'm thinking of turning the garage in the new place into a gym, so I can work out with the kids at home.
I lift weights, and use the treadmill, elliptical, and bikes. I don't have unlimited funds... so how/where will I get the best bang for my buck? My daughter is at a rough age. Too old to ride in a jogging stroller, too young to keep up if I want to ride an actual bike, or trail run... so all of that is out . My son probably could, but he'd probably hate me for it!
Craigslist? I've seen friends get some good deals on used stuff that way, especially since people tend to buy gym equipment and never use it (so it's often just about brand new). Otherwise some stuff like pull-up bars and dumbbells are pretty cheap on amazon.
I'm probably going to be in the same boat when I start looking into moving out...I want a home gym.
There's a chain of stores here (Ontario) called Play It Again Sports that sell used fitness equipment; maybe something similar in Hawaii? (Wish I was coming with you!!)
What about doing a payment plan? Not layaway, but a lot of places now have like a monthly no-interest plan that can help towards paying off a piece of equipment...otherwise, I'd try ebay or craigslist.
You can always start with one thing (elliptical OR bike OR treadmill) and eventually add the others. I like having a variety but am also able to get a great workout on my elliptical.
Thanks everyone! (I'm a girl Nathan, but I'm WAYY past resistance bands.)
Money isn't so much the problem as I'd like to compact what I get into as few pieces as possible. I'm just not sure what would be most beneficial to have at home. I'll definitely keep my eye on Craigslist and the classifieds. I'm sure people are practically giving stuff away all the time!
My husband wants a Bowflex... but I'm kind of anti machine weights... so I don't know. We do have a weight limit when we move... so acquiring thousands of lbs. of Olympic weights probably isn't in my best interest either.
I would stay away from the bowflex. I tried one out that my girlfriend's DH had and it was so boring. I love free weights and got my squat rack and weights on ebay, many years ago. They are still as good as new.
I've added my eliptical, stationary bike, bosu, etc. one piece at a time over the years until I have a really complete home gym now. Nothing like getting up in the morning and working out in your PJ's.
If I were in your shoes I would be looking into a suspension system/rotational body trainer and treadmill or eliptical to start off with then build from there. I am really thinking about adding a jungle-gym to my box of toys.
I have the Bowflex Selectech dumbbells and they are a huge space saver. They're expensive but I'd start watching Craigslist for them because they are a fantastic addition to a home gym especially if you have limited space.
But I gotta admit- if I lived in Hawaii I'd be doing the bulk of my fitness routine outside.
In Az, as well as other states, we have a store called Play it Again Sports and it's all used sports equipment for sale. Much cheaper and in good condition. I have many workout videos that I can do at home with my kids around. Just some suggestions Good luck and enjoy beautiful Hawaii
I have a bowflex. In terms of use of space and the machine not being that heavy, it is good. I can't say whether free weights are more fun or more effective, because my husband bought the bowflex before I started trying to lose weight, and it just sat in the basement untouched, so it didn't make sense for me to buy anything else when we already had that.
I'll admit with everyone here going on and on about free weights, I've thought about buying those now too, but financially can't justify it when the bowflex is working for me fine right now. I have read reviews about the rod resistance being much less than the weight it is labelled with, so since I know you're all about heavy lifting, if you do consider it, you'll probably want the additional rods. Right now I'm not close to maxing out on anything, but I have been making progress and feeling stronger, which is enough for me for the time being.
Garage Gym?
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