I thought it would be interesting to see how many of us actually own some form of gym equipment in our home and weather or not the majority of us are actually using it to lose weight or if its just collecting dust.

I, myself have a set of rubber tubing used for flexibility and two sets of hand weights which are sitting in the corner by the tv and i havent touched them yet...My excuse? "I will start weight training after i lose some weight"

Whats your's?

OR...are you vigilantly attatched to your gym equipment at home?

Im just curious to see if 'conveinence" actually helps or hinders?

I have an elliptical machine that i use sometimes. My biggest excuse is that I walk to classes every day...and this campus is not flat! So I keep telling myself that the walking I'm doing is enough exercise, but I know if I added in more it would just speed things up that much more. I tend to cycle through months where I work out every day for a while and then quit for a while. Constantly back and forth lol

I have a spin bike in my living room and I used it all the time until the pedal broke. I really miss the convenience of being able to work out while I watch TV at night. DVDs work for home too, but they're not as convenient.

Boy, we have a ton. My husband was a personal trainer until recently (I was too years ago), and he traveled to people's houses to train them. I have NO NO NO NO excuse to not workout, and definitely don't get to use the excuse "I can't workout cuz I need a gym" because I basically have 1 in my house.

We have adjustable dumbbells with more weight than I will EVER be able to lift (enough to challenge DH, plus).

Kettlebells - 2 of each weight up to 35, plus and adjustable one.

Every color tube available, plus these handles where you can attach several tubes to make the weight even greater, plus those attachments that can attach it to a door.

Bosu ball.

Exercise ball.

A bench.

A few medicine balls.

Pull up bar in the back yard (as if!)

A trampoline (small, 1 person).

A mini stair stepper.

A treadmill.

My brother in law lives just on the next street and has a full squat rack with an olympic bar, ez curl bar, 40 bazillion plates, and dumbbells up to like 80 lbs.

Boxing gloves and hand mits.

And gosh, many workout videos, including but not limited too: Tae-Bo (like a box set), Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, Pilates, Yoga.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some too!

Wow, I'm feeling like a jerk for not working out all this time! Well, at least I am now I guess.

I have a gym quality exercise bike. A good friend of ours owns a company that services gym equipment in rec centres and gyms. A gym had a bike that had nothing wrong with it other than it was loud. They asked him to take it away and he gave it to us.

we don't use it that much

I have the Ab Glider, but i havent yet had the will to get on it. I havent used it for over 6 months!

I have weights, kettleball weights... But, im not sure what to exactly do?


I have weights to put on my legs when i walk, but... i forget i have them.

I have a jump rope, but i feel awkward using it and having my fat bounce around...

I have workout bands, and i actually use those!!!! But, i should incorporate them more

I have a treadmill that gets used 3x a week.

Balance ball - I sit on it when I am sweaty so I don't mess up the furniture.

Yoga mat - used once.

Dumbbells - used them for a few months last year - now they sit on a shelf and look pretty.

Resistance bands - used once.

Mini-elliptical - used 3x a week for 2-3 months (before I got the treadmill) - it's in the donate pile.

Mini trampoline - in the attic.

I actually use most everything I have!

* exercise ball (for abs and pushups, also core exercises)
* recumbent bicycle (use virtually every workout at some point)
* hand weights (use 2x a week)
* yoga mat (use every time I do floor work, as we have tile so not comfy)

The only thing I don't use is:

*small medicine ball thingy (maybe 5 pounds?) mostly because I have no idea what to do with it. I think it can be used for core work while doing situps, but haven't gotten around to googling it yet!

I'm feeling a bit bad here - I only have an exercise bike!

On the plus side, I use it 5x/week, so it doesn't just get used for hanging clothes on or collecting dust. I want to get some weights to use at home, so that's next on the list once I figure out how to do strength training and figure out what exactly I need.

We have this little "loft" area that overlooks our great room. It is perfect for exercise equipment because you can't see what's up there from down below, so it is not in the way. We have a universal weight machine up there, an exercise mat, an exercise ball, a medicine ball, hand weights, a mini trampoline and a mini stair stepper. I do like to go up there for quick 15 minute weightlifting sessions. Longer sessions often get interrupted by thoughts that I need to check my email, or put the clothes into the dryer, or other distractions. It is one of the problems for me working out at home. Everything else seems to take priority over me getting a workout in.

i HATE working out at home. i keep getting distracted - laundry, dishes, "mooooooom!???", and "honey, can you get this?" because apparently i'm the only one in the house who can tell the guy on the phone that we don't want our carpets cleaned because we don't actually have any.

I have a treadmill I was using 5-6 says a week until it just stopped working. My husband has tried to fix it but can't figure out the problem. The convenience definitely worked for me. I'm much more likely to throw on an old tee and a pair of sweats and head to the basement. Plus I'm doing the c25k and I'm not comfortable with the way I run so I'll only walk outdoors. So since the treadmill broke, other than a few walks I've had no exercise.
We just joined the Y so I'll get back at it, but I know I'll miss the convenience of my own treadmill.

I have a treadmill that I've used once because I blew out my knee 3 hours after it was delivered!
I have an elliptical that I never use because I hate it. I bought it years ago because it was cheap and I couldn't afford a treadmill. I used it faithfully for a year, but rarely use it anymore because I just hate it, and it's also a cheap one, so it doesn't work that great.
I have weights that I use when I work out at lunch time (at work) but they've been collecting dust since I hurt my knee almost 4 weeks ago.
I'm almost ready for my triumphant return to exercise though!

I have a treadmill, but rarely use it. I like walking and running outside so much more that it's really only used when the weather is bad.

Haha, what a great thread. A good chance to get really honest with oneself.

I have several dumbbells - not currently using.

I have two yoga mats, both of which I use (hooray for cushioning), though I haven't in a couple weeks.

I have a small stationary bike, which I haven't used in a couple months. My reason/excuse at the moment is that I'm coming back from some severe deconditioning and have some very adverse post-exertional malaise if I exceed a certain heart rate. Two months ago I found that even a couple minutes was provoking a severe response, so I'm walking outside instead.

Even so, I could address this if I got a new HRM and closely monitored it on the bike. And of course, I wasn't using the bike -before- the severe deconditioning event either, and I definitely had no excuses then!

Edit - to answer your wonderment, OP, I think that the convenience of having these at our disposal is definitely an encouragement, but having them near doesn't create or overcome a lack of motivation. If the motivation part is handled separately and good to go, the convenience factor makes it that much easier to stick with it. Hope that makes sense.