More home exercise machines

Treadmills aren’t the only home exercise machines you can buy. Elliptical trainers, exercise/spinning bikes, weight machines and ab machines are also good options for fitness equipment.

Treadmills, ellipticals and exercise bikes are all cardio equipment, meaning you will get a good workout for your heart (and you’ll sweat a lot) but you won’t build a lot of muscle. Ab machines and weight machines (and free weights and resistance bands) are meant for building muscle and getting stronger. The best fitness programs incorporate both kinds of exercise, plus stretching.

Elliptical trainers

Elliptical trainers (some people call them elliptical treadmills) are similar to treadmills in that you are simulating a forward motion, but whereas treadmills are meant to replace the ground (instead of you moving over the ground, the ground moves under you) for walking or running, you make a different kind of movement, one that is unique to the machine. Your feet go onto two small platforms and you move them in a circular (“ellipical”) motion, either forward or backward.

The advantage of an elliptical trainer over a treadmill is that it is low impact, so good if you have knee problems, for example. But some people find the motion on an ellipical machine awkward and prefer the natural walking or running workout they can get on a treadmill.

Exercise bikes

Exercise bikes, also sometimes called spinning bikes due to the popularity of “spinning” classes in gyms, are another good option for home exercise equipment. Choosing between an exercise bike and a treadmill will depend on whether you prefer to walk and run or bike. You can get upright exercise bikes, which are similar to your standard bicycle, or recumbent exercise bikes, in which you lean back.

If you’re not sure whether you would prefer a treadmill, exercise bike or elliptical machine, try them out at your gym. If you don’t have a gym membership, most gyms will let you have a trial membership for free and you can experiment with the different fitness equipment before you buy a treadmill.

Weight and ab machines

If you really want to get in shape, you should do ab work and lift weights so that your muscles get strong. This is especially important as you get older because unless you do “resistance training”, your muscles will get weaker over time.

The simplest way to do weight training at home is to buy exercise/resistance bands or free weights, which you can get for cheap, and work out with them. But if you want to go fancy, you can buy weight and ab machines for your home. The advantage of machines is it’s more difficult to injure yourself as the weights are attached to the machine and you will probably have better form. But weight machines are a larger investment than free weights.