It Is Easy To DoStrength Training At Home

Ugh! Get up. Get dressed. Shove your gym clothes in the gym bag. Go out and scrape ice off the car. Thread your way through the traffic. Hunt for a parking place. Dig out your gym card. Trudge to the locker room, change clothes, and cram your stuff into that tiny locker. Wait for a bench. And that's all before you can start your workout.

Or … Get up, grab your shorts, pick up your dumbbells, start your workout.

Which would you prefer? Obviously, doing your strength training at home. But is that really a good option? If you are an Olympic hopeful, probably not. But for everybody else, it can be fantastic. Save time, gas, energy, gym fees, and frustration.

What does it take to get started? As a beginner, you only need yourself and maybe a floor mat. A way to watch DVDs or online videos will be helpful, too, as many home workouts are available--often free.

Not far down the pike, however, you will want some equipment. A good place to start is with the light, compact, and effective resistance bands or tubes. You begin with the lightest colors and gradually acquire the darker, the stronger resistance bands as you need them. Some hooks can keep them untangled and quickly accessible.

Eventually, you will also want dumbbells, which come in graduated weights, and are sometimes sold as sets. You will need an increasing number of these and ever more space to keep them in.

A highly effective alternative to multiple dumbbell pairs are the Bowflex SelectTech 552 dumbbells or their bigger brothers the Bowflex SelectTech 1090s. One pair of these gives you as many weight options as at least 15 pairs of regular dumbbells. These high tech plate sets change weights with the twist of a dial--about 20 seconds to change it. A metal clip moves to pick up exactly what you dialed. Click and go. This one set will last most non-professionals throughout a weight training career.

Barbells at home can give you a larger weight range than the SelectTech 1090s, but they take more space and are expensive and dangerous. It is easy to lose control of barbells. You need a spotter to prevent injury, and you are more likely to have one available at a gym than at home.

An incline/decline bench is required to use the barbells most safely. Of course, you can use the dumbbells and bands on a bench, too. You just don't need it for the smaller equipment.

Some people splurge and get home exercise machines. Sure, consider them if you have a large space and budget. But you better get a home trial option to be sure it fits your space and personality. They are also widely available used from people who got them before being sure they would use them. Remember, there can be serious maintenance costs as well as initial purchase price for such equipment.

You can do strength training at home. A gym may motivate you by having classes or competitors, but look at how easy it is to just do the strength training at home--especially in winter!