Can't decide whether to join a gym or buy home equipment? You probably got the pitch at the gym. Here's the other side.

You notice the elaborate machines at the club. Why would the gyms have such equipment if you didn't need it? The answer is so that they can convince you that you need to buy a gym membership. Most prospective gym members should be asking themselves: What equipment do I really need? Can I buy it most of it myself and save money at the same time?

A big advantage of most gyms is that they are big! They can fit in a variety of machines for many different exercises that you probably don't have room for at home. However, a home gym can allow you to do many different exercises on one piece of equipment in a relatively small area. Thus, if you have space for a home gym and know what equipment you need to do the exercises you want to do, that may be the better alternative.

Then there's that consideration we all care about - money. Gym memberships vary widely in cost, with all sorts of deals for the "last day of the special low, low price." Let's say you are serious about getting in shape and would pay $400 per year for a membership. Would you stop after the first year? What if you got low on money? Compare that to buying a $700 home gym that you could use for many years into the future. Financially, you'd be far ahead buying the equipment. That's what gyms do and that's how they make money!

Let's not forget your real reason - time. How long does it take to get to and from the gym? If you're close, its 15 minutes each way. Half an hour per day, three times per week, 50 weeks... that's seventy-five hours per year! If you make $20 per hour, that's worth $1,500 per year to you. Hmm... doesn't look so good there, either. Not to mention, how else could you spend that time? If you work out at home, you could be watching TV, waiting for that phone call, watching the kids, and listening to whatever you want to on your sound system. Convenience!

And now that we have dispensed with the logical reasons, we are left with perhaps the most important reason people would rather work out at home. They are reluctant to be seen in their unfit condition! That's not you, of course, but perhaps you'd like to be in better shape before showing your body off, eh?

What kind of machine you should buy depends on your budget, space available, and what you want to accomplish with your exercise routine. People who like running tend to buy treadmills. People concerned about their joints tend to buy elliptical machines. A common decision is to purchase is a home gym that allows multiple exercises PLUS buying either a treadmill or elliptical. This allows both weight-bearing muscle training and cardio-vascular training.