Setting up a home gym, can be a good way to keep your fitness level up, as long as you can motivate yourself to use the equipment. 

The following should be guidelines for choosing gym equipment.

1. Identify your fitness requirements: 
The equipment should suit the interests and fitness level, of as many members of the family as possible. Your chosen activities should be enjoyable and yet challenging enough that your able to progress to higher levels. If you find the equipment boring, you won't use it, remember to look at the section on staying motivated within this site.

You should be able to increase the resistance, incline or duration of a given piece of equipment. 

For best results both aerobic and strength training equipment should be purchased in order to achieve all round fitness.

My advice for all round fitness is to purchase a machine, which will work your heart and lungs, and at the same time, work your muscles. The machine that springs to mind is the indoor rower, such as the Concept 11.

Running machines, exercise bikes and skiing type machines are all good for improving your aerobic fitness, however remember, all you need, to be able to run, is a good pair of trainers, and a surface to put your feet on to.

If your goal is an aerobic workout, then the equipment's resistance should be low enough to maintain for at least 20 minutes of smooth continuous motion. This type of exercise is what is needed to improve your aerobic fitness and burn calories for weight management.

If your goal is muscle strengthening, then considerably more resistance is required. Multi-weight style pieces of gym equipment offer the beginner a good selection of exercises, and lower risk of injury, however they can be space consuming. 

Free weights such as dumbbells, and resistance bands can easily be stored and provide a vast selection of exercises.

Gym manufactures can sometimes make poor claims about their equipment, such as "burns calories five times faster than running", "or will turn you into Hercules in just over 5 weeks".

2. The big factor, (How Much):
The number one rule here is that you generally get what you pay for. Keep in mind that high quality equipment that works reliably after several years of heavy use can't be manufactured cheaply.

Remember if you're on a budget, a skipping rope, resistance band and exercise mat, may set you back about £20.00. This and a little knowledge is all that you will need to get in shape, plus this gym is portable.

Used equipment can be a good option, as long as you know what to look for, as some people will try and sell damaged equipment as good. My advice here is to ask somebody who knows, to go along with you when you buy, or purchase from a dealer who can give you some kind of guarantee. 

Look around, as for most things you buy, somebody, somewhere will be selling what you want at the price you want to pay.

Take into consideration when buying, if a product is cheap, there is normally a reason, find out what it is. 

3. Where will you put the equipment?
Many areas need to be looked out; it is not just a case of sticking the equipment all in one room. The main area is your safety, make sure the room is safe.

• No low ceilings, or obstacles, which can be hit if lifting weights.
• The floor is secure if having heavy weights, especially free weights. Avoid having weights in an upstairs room.
• There should be good lighting and a fresh airflow.
• Keep electrical cables and pipes tidy.
• The floor should be non-slip, and clean at all times.
• Aim to have a power supply, so you have music or air conditioning fan working when you require them.
• Plan for at least as much open space as equipment space. 

Use the following guidelines to determine how much room you'll need: 

• EQUIPMENT SPACE
• BIKES 10 SQ FEET
• TREADMILL 25 SQ. FEET
• ROWERS 15 SQ. FEET
• FREE WEIGHTS 35 SQ. FEET
• RESISTANCE BANDS 12 SQ. FEET
• SKI MACHINE 20 SQ. FEET
• CLIMBER / STEPPER 15 SQ. FEET
• WEIGHTS MACHINE 25 SQ. FEET
• MULTI STATION 50+ SQ. FEET 

4. Testing the product: features, design, manufacture, safety, and serviceability:

Your body should move in a manner that is correct and safe. 

The equipment should be adjustable, comfortable, easy to learn, and able to fit users of various sizes. 

Parts should be easily removed and replaced. The device should be space efficient, and the components should be the highest quality in the price range.

Think about the advertising claims. They should be backed up by solid research. Look for reviews by objective consumer publications. 

Moving parts should mesh well. Welds should be clean and smooth and the frame should be sturdy. 
Check out the safety features. There shouldn't be any design flaws or weaknesses that increase the risk of injury.

Look for features that enhance safety. For example, weight stack guards or any guards that protect moving parts; safety switches on treadmills. A complete users guide or instructions video, showing correct use.

5. Assess each piece of equipment with the following check list:
 

EQUIPMENT []	POOR	AVG.---	GOOD	EXL'T-
COMFORT	-	-	-	-
SAFETY	-	-	-	--
PRICE	-	-	-	-
MOTIVATIONAL	-	-	-	--
DURABLE	-	-	-	-
QUIET IN ACTION	-	-	-	-
EASY TO USE	-	-	-	-
SIZE OF MACHINE	-	-	-	-
RECOMMENDED	-	-	-	-
GOOD WARRANTY	-	-	-	-
DELIVERY / INSTALLATION	-	-	-	-
SERVICE CHARGES	--	-	-	-
OTHER 1	--	-	-	-
OTHER 2	-	-	-	-
TOTAL SCORE =	-	-	-	-

You can give each piece of equipment a scoring system, say 1 for poor and 4 for excellent, however the main areas that I would suggest that you look at, are comfort and enjoyment. There are too many pieces of home gym equipment, which are used as coat hangers, due to people finding them too boring or uncomfortable to use. 

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Aerobic exercises Fitness equipment Fitness exercises	Fitness Motivation tips Stretching	Fitness tips Fitness tips for men Fitness tips for Women