Fitness equipment buying guide - learn how to find the best fitness equipment for your home gym vs. buying a gym membership. Buying a treadmill, elliptical, weight machine, or exercise bike? Read our buying fitness equipment article!

Congratulations on your decision to make an investment in your health!  Buying home fitness equipment can be fantastic for both your figure and pocketbook.  A well researched and planned fitness equipment purchase can save you the cost of a monthly gym membership, as well as potentially saving you money on clothes as you will be able to fit into those smaller sizes hanging at the back of your closet.  Now, what should you consider before buying fitness equipment?

Research, research, research

Fitness equipment should not be purchased on a whim.  That's how the late-night infomercials succeed - they catch you off guard, sweet talk you, make promises, and before you know it you're picking up the phone.  Don't buy something you don't like and won't actually use.  It should go without saying that if you hate rowing, you should not buy a rowing machine, even if your friend who has amazing shoulders has one.  However, this is where the research comes in: not all rowing machines (or treadmills, or ellipticals, etc.) are created alike.  If you hate your friend's treadmill because it does A and B, or didn't come with C, with proper research you can mostly likely find another machine that will fit your needs.

How will you use it?

Some machines were just not built for daily, vigorous use.  Plain and simple.  The needs of a person who plans to use the equipment two or three times a week vs. those of someone who is training for a triathlon are very different.  When researching exercise equipment keep in mind how the machine will actually fit into your routine and how it will hold up to your workouts.  Also, make sure and consider how the equipment will fit in your home.  Do you have space for it?  Should you consider a compact or folding machine?  Will it be somewhere that you'll feel comfortable spending a good deal of time every week, year-round?

Where should you buy?

This goes back to the above two points.  Depending on your needs, a specialty fitness website might make sense.  For others, a big box store may have equipment that will be sufficient.  Research.  Read reviews.  Once you have zeroed in on particular machine, shop around.  Don’t be in too big of a hurry, but at the same time be careful not to pass on a good deal.  

Should you buy online?

Buying fitness equipment online can be a fantastic idea if you’ve done your homework.  For one, online shops will ship right to your home, so you don’t have to worry about fitting something large and cumbersome into your vehicle.  Online retailers are also very competitively priced and often run specials that offer free shipping!  Most online retailers also don’t charge any sales tax.  You may be thinking that you want your equipment now and don’t want to wait for it to be shipped.  Consider that if you were to buy from a local store, you may be stuck paying delivery charges and sales tax on top of a higher price on the equipment itself.  Bottom line: it pays to shop around.

Another perk of buying online is you’ll be more able to be a careful buyer.  You’ve done your research and you can continue to easily compare specs on different machines and models, prices at different stores and so on.  No need to drive your car from store to store to compare their recumbent bicycles.  Do be wary, however, of buying used fitness equipment online.  Even an add that contains pictures and a “guarantee” that the equipment has been lightly used can be very deceiving.  For your own safety, it is generally best to avoid purchasing used items, sight unseen. This is particularly true of larger items.  It’s one thing to buy used free weights, quite another to buy a used treadmill.  Additionally, if the manufacturer offers any kind of warranty, you may be out of  luck if the machine breaks and you had purchased it used.  You know what they say: buyer beware and if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.