Atlanta Personal Training: Essential Home Gym Equipment

Nutrition tip of the Week

Mood Eating

Most people eat based on their mood and/or some subjective feelings of hunger. They don't eat based on what their bodies need. Think of it this way: you're about to take a long drive on a stretch of highway with no gas station. Do you fail to stop for gas before you hit the road because you're 'not in the mood?' Of course not. Think of eating in the same way. Eating fuels your metabolic engine. So it's time to start feeling like eating so that you can stop feeling like you're scrawny. by Dr. John Berardi

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Monday, October 8, 2007

Essential Home Gym Equipment - Part 1

Essential Home Gym Equipment #1 - Adjustable Dumbbells

Want to workout at home but not sure what you will need for an effective home gym? Take a look at this article and future post to help clarify what equipment is necessary for a productive home gym.

If I could only have one single type of equipment in my home gym, it would be a good set of adjustable-weight dumbbells. The variety of exercises for every single body part with just a simple pair of dumbbells is endless.

Getting adjustable dumbbells means you can very easily change the weight you're working with while still not using up a whole lot of space in your home gym. If you have pre-made dumbbells, you have to set aside space (or get a good dumbbell rack) for rows of individual dumbbells.

If you've GOT the space (and the money!), pre-made dumbbells are certainly more convenient to use. But if you're tight on room, lining up your dumbbells may not be an option. And, of course, the pre-made dumbbells are going to be a lot more expensive to get a decent range of weight for.

When it comes to adjustable dumbbells, you've got several options. By far, the most convenient are the Powerblock style of dumbbells (Bowflex and Nautilus also have products like this).

With this style, all you have to do is basically flip a switch to set your weight on the dumbbell. The whole thing is interlocking - they fit into the space of just two dumbbells and give you a good range of weights to work with.

The other main options are the "make it yourself" free weight dumbbells. With these, you've basically got weight plates and posts. With a good selection of weight plates, you can make a great range of weights.

This style of dumbbell will be a good deal cheaper than the Powerblock style but, on the downside, it does take more time to put the dumbbells together and the weight posts sticking out can be a bit awkward. But overall, for the money, this style is still a very good investment, especially if you're looking to make some heavy dumbbells. Heavy Powerblock dumbbells can be quite expensive (they have expansion sets that go up to 130 lbs) but even then, are still a substantial savings over the equivalent amount of pre-made dumbbells.

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