Many people are looking to buy home exercise equipment these days and find the selection overwhelming and confusing. This is normal, because there are literally thousands of possibilities. The bottom line is that choosing the right fitness equipment depends on your goals.

If you want something to help you lose weight and just help you get a little more fit the product you choose will be vastly different than if you want to start training to take part in a specific sport. Other considerations should include: your age, starting fitness level, your budget considerations, and your amount of storage and set up space.

This overview is designed to give you a general idea of how each piece of exercise equipment works and who it might be best suited for.

Stationary Exercise Bikes

A stationary exercise bike may be an excellent choice for someone who has been inactive and is just starting a workout program. A bike can provide you with low-impact cardiovascular exercise, and burn calories to help you take off those extra pounds.

Using a stationary bike will be less likely to cause injury than using other types of equipment. In addition, they are easy to use and store, and tend to be one of the more affordable pieces of exercise equipment available today.

Stationary bikes come in two styles, upright, which is just like a regular bicycle, and recumbent, which allows people with lumbar problems to sit more comfortably as they pedal.

Elliptical Trainers

An elliptical trainer is an aerobic exercise machine that is used to replace walking or jogging when the weather does not permit outside activity, you simply can’t get away, or you want a low-impact form of walking that is less likely to result in injury.

Because elliptical trainers have different resistance levels it makes a great machine for beginners who plan on continuing exercising and do not want to purchase a new machine each time their fitness level increases. Prices on these machines run from low budget to quite expensive.

Treadmills

Treadmills, like elliptical trainers, offer you exercise in the form of walking or running. They are not quite as low-impact as ellipticals, but can help you to provide you with increasing resistance as your fitness level increases.

Like cross-trainers, they can run from moderately priced to very expensive. Treadmills have been used successful for weight loss as well as indoor training for runners. While most of these machines fold up for convenient storage, some are quite heavy and take up a lot of room.

Stair Climbers

Stair climbers, or stair steppers, are designed to provide a low resistance way to burn off the same amount of calories you would climbing stairs without giving your knees and ankles the pounding climbing stairs would. This machines usually consist of a handrail and two pedal-like steps that you use alternating to get the climbing effect.

Others models in this area are a hybrid of a treadmill and a stair climber, and offer an experience a bit like walking up an escalator. Many people who have tried these kind of machines complain of hip and back pain. If you have been inactive for a long period of time this is probably not the machine for you.

Rowing Machines

Rowing machines are used both for low-impact cardiovascular exercise and for strength-building. Used properly, a rower can strengthen all the major muscle groups. It can also be a fun machine to use. Like other exercise equipment, they run the gamut from quite reasonable to extremely expensive for the models used by competitive rowers.

Home gyms

Home gyms will tone and strengthen muscles. They provide a variety of weight-resistance exercises, which allow you to get a total body workout and burn calories as well.

Home gyms are geared toward people who are serious about exercise and keeping fit and toned. Quality models can be quite expensive and require considerable space.

Resistance Chairs

These specially-designed chairs allow people who have trouble standing for long periods of time to get a cardiovascular workout with extremely low impact. All the exercise is done sitting in a chair so you can use this machine while watching television. It’s a good alternative for people who have been inactive for long periods of time, or for older people who want to stay healthy but have a difficult time using traditional exercise products.

Home exercise equipment can help you lose weight, improve your cardiovascular fitness, and increase your strength. Choose a product that will most benefit you, and remember that while these machines have varying price points, you get what you pay for: a more expensive product is likely to last longer and give you better results.