Purchasing a Home Gym: 2. How much can you spend?
One rule that seems to hold true for many items is "you get what you pay for." I truly believe in this. If you purchase a cheaply priced treadmill, cheap is exactly what you will get. Keep in mind that high quality equipment usually can't be manufactured for a cheap price.
If you find yourself on a budget then you can always buy something like resistance bands, aerobic tapes or some light dumbbells. You are better off starting out with simple items such as these rather than buying a cheap piece of equipment that may fall apart, or worse, get you injured.
The opportunity is always there to purchase used equipment. Make sure to test it out, or better yet, go online and do some research on the exact make and model to see if it is a quality piece of equipment. In regards to exercise equipment, the American Council on Exercise, one of the leading exercise certification organizations in the country, encourages you to "try it out before you buy, especially when a significant financial investment is at stake."
At one point in my career I decided to put together a personal training studio in my finished basement. It was an ideal solution because we never used the basement and it had a lot of square footage to work with. At the time one of the clients I was training at the local gym told me she had a multi-station weight machine that she never used. Seeing this as a great opportunity, I thoroughly looked it over and took the time to test it out. In my opinion it checked out well. It turned out I had good judgment and the machine worked perfectly for the use I intended it. The best part about it is that I traded the woman personal training sessions for it, so it didn't cost me a dime.
If you look hard enough there is a good chance you will find the right piece of equipment. But, be careful you don't buy on impulse simply because you are anxious to get started. Do your homework!
