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Fitness Equipment and Gyms

Your choice of fitness equipment and gymsis an important decision in the goal of reinventing your health after 50 . You want to be equally comfortable with not only the fitness equipment , but also the various gyms available. It’s no wonder these days fitness buffs are moving towards home based gyms. Not only are they economical (some models are in the price range of an annual gym membership) but they are also time savers. The key is to find the right fit for your budget, space constraints and fitness goals, with respect to fitness equipment .

Bowflex offers a good line of fitness equipment and you’re sure to find one that fits your budget. One of their top sellers is the Bowflex Revolution Home Gym . It’s definitely top of the line in versatility with the high quality Bowflex is famous for and takes up very little space . The Revolution Home Gym is designed to allow you to do over 100 exercises with up to 400 variations and gives you a great overall body workout. It uses Spiraflex Resistance Technology which will duplicate the benefits of free weights . The Revolution Home Gyms has 220 lbs . of resistance standard upgradeable to 300 lbs for upper body workouts and up to 600 lbs for lower body workouts . This fitness equipment comes complete with a preacher curl attachment , a foot harness with 5 positions, leg press and hand grips. Complete with an instructional manual and a DVD workout video. These gyms are still available new or you might even locate one on the used market.

If you’re on a reasonably tight budget but don’t want to sacrifice quality in your fitness equipment , a good option is the Bowflex Sport . Priced in the $850 range when they were new a few years back (they have sense been retired from the Bowflex line up, but can be found quite easily on the used market) , the Bowflex Sport was a great compromise to the higher priced Bowflex models. It allows you to do 60 gym quality exercises and comes with an adjustable seat. A few other beneficial features are the Power Rod with 210 lbs of Resistance. This comes standard but is easily upgradeable to 310 lbs or 410 lbs . There is also a seat on a sliding rail for aerobic rowing (this is a fantastic feature), leg press ability and leg curls while seating. These gyms come complete with multiple cable and pulley positions which allows you the flexibility to customize your workout to perform certain exercises according to your height. If you have space constraints , a nice feature of this fitness equipment is the ability to fold it up and store it. When using it, you’ll need a space of 8 ½ feet by 6 ½ feet to get a decent workout. Another great value offered by Bowflex gyms , is the Bowflex Classic Home Gym . It has the same Power Rod Resistance as the other top models by Bowflex and you can do up to 30 exercises . The key to the Power Rod Resistance is that you’re not inclined to feel the joint pain often associated with using the free weights . This model offers 201 lbs of Power Rod Resistance with 201 lbs and the ability to increase, 4”roller cushions that are upholstered for leg extensions, horizontal bench press, hand grips with triple functions for lat pull downs , a rowing station (great for cardio) and evenmore, you can easily fold it up when not in use. Bowflex offers all of this in one package for usually less than $850. Personally, I own and have used the Bowflex Sport for approximately two years during the course of reinventing myself. I have found this style of fitness equipment it to be most effecient and plenty demanding along the way. However, since this model has been rtired as mentioned above and if you can't locate one on the used market or you just want a newer uprgaded version of Bowflex home gyms with all the latest bells and whistles, you might want to consider Bowflex PR3000 Home Gym at Amazon.com. I personally bought my Sport Bowflex through Amazon.com and was very pleased with the price and shipping costs. You'll find their Bowflex gyms range in price from $599-1,299. The Bowflex PR1000 has a lot of nice features and is only $599 at Bowflex PR1000 Home Gym .The cadillac version, the Bowflex Extreme 2 SE is $1299.99 at Bowflex Xtreme 2 SE Home Gym (Refurbished by Nautilus) is a great value. The selections offered from Amazon.com do change periodically, so if you're in the market...don't miss out!

Another model with respect to gyms and in a somewhat lower price range is the Weider Max Ultra (formerly called the Advantage Crossbar and the Crossbow). The Weider Max Ultra offers 65 workouts which, like the Bowflex Sport , is a great value for the money. It also offers convenient storage as the bench folds up. It has 240 lbs of resistance so you can effectively build muscle .Another piece of fitness equipment to consider is the Max Ultra gyms that use a technology they call the CRS which stands for Compound Resistance System . This will give you a full range of motion and increase your strength training. Another benefit of the Max Ultra gyms is the Quick Change Resistance System . Do you want to keep your heart rate up ? This might be the answer due to the ability of the user to move quickly from one exercise to another on this fitness equipment . The Max Ultra also boosts of a lat tower, a leg developer and and integrated rowing seat . Home Gym Reviews gives a good review on this model as well as other home gyms.

For those who are not beginners and can invest a little more on fitness equipment , a good choice would be a home gym model without resistance bars and is a weight stacked machine. A consideration with a good price point would be the Powertech Workbench Leverage Gym WB-LS . While over 20 exercises can be done , (which doesn’t sound like many compared to the Bowflex Sport and Weider Ultra Max ) it still is enough to get some very thorough training. You can lift a huge amount of weight with these gyms and not need a spotter which is a big plus. If your goal is to build muscle, you can do squats as the bench can be rotated 90 degrees . A few drawbacks with this fitness equipment is that you have to buy your own weights and it takes a few hours to put this gyms together as there are a lot of bolts and parts as stated in Home Gym Review.

Most of these gyms can be purchased in the $400-$1000 price range and each has their pros and cons. The key to your success with whatever you choose to purchase is that you use it consistently and you maintain proper techniques to get the best results.

I have included a few other home gym link ideas in case you want some other ideas for fitness equipment . The most important goal is to find a system and stick with it!