For Celebs And Non-Celebs - home gyms - Brief Article

Ebony, Sept, 2000

A healthier lifestyle and a lifetime of fitness are just steps away if you equip your home with exercise gear.

Not only are celebrities making space in their homes for exercise equipment, but exercise rooms are also a mainstay in the homes of non-celebrities, a testament to the rising popularity of health and fitness.

But you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on your exercise room, or on expensive gym memberships or on dozens of sessions with a personal trainer. You can exercise your way to a better body simply by making an investment in a few key machines and accessories.

Exercise rooms vary from the professionally installed equipment in the homes of stars like former baseball All-Star Cecil Fielder. Famed attorney Johnnie Cochran works out with a personal trainer in a special room in his home, and model, actress and The Price Is Right hostess Kathleen Bradley also has an exercise room to help her stay in shape. Some celebs have even installed basketball courts in their homes to get a more entertaining workout.

A 1997 study by the Fitness Products Council found that home exercise equipment is regularly used in 33 percent of the households in the United States. And in 1998, Americans spent roughly $5.5 billion on home workout machines. The upward trend will only increase, experts say, as people figure out that home exercise equipment is a cost-effective way to achieve fitness for the entire family, and as they make healthier living a top priority.

But before you go out and purchase thousands of dollars worth of equipment, there are several things to consider, specialists say.

First, you have to determine what kind of exerciser you are. Are you good at going solo, or do you need others around to motivate you? If you're a self-starter, then you may be able to build a home-gym and use it without a hitch.

But if your motivation comes from knowing that other people around you are exercising, then you may want to consider keeping that gym membership. And although some people buy home fitness equipment to avoid the often-high cost of gym memberships, it's also OK to have both. You can choose to exercise at home on those days you don't feel like going to the gym. Home exercise rooms are a convenient alternative to fitness centers.

Another aspect of home fitness to consider is location. Finding the best place for your home-gym equipment may seem as simple as clearing out the basement and setting up the stationary bike. But you have to consider what your body needs most when you're exercising--air.

"You really have to consider space and ventilation, that's important," says Becky Singleton, a Boston-based exercise physiologist. "If you're working up a sweat, then you need to bring in the oxygen your body deserves."

Make sure your exercise equipment or home-gym is in a well-ventilated space with sufficient sunlight so that you can exercise properly and without injury. Instead of a damp, dark basement, you may want to consider setting it up in a spare bedroom, or incorporating the equipment unobtrusively in the den or family room.

And in some cases, you don't even need expensive, space-eating equipment, according to experts. You can look like a million bucks by spending a few dollars on exercise videos, a pair of dumbbells or a resistance band, which may be all that you need to meet your fitness goals.

Before making any major investment, however, specialists suggest that you consult your doctor and perhaps a personal trainer to find out what equipment will best fit your needs.

A personal trainer can also make sure you're using the equipment properly and will help you find machines that will stand the test of time, Singleton says. Singleton's best advice about buying new exercise equipment for your home-gym? "Get yourself something that's not going to go out-of-date," she says.