Today’s San Francisco Chronicle ran an article on how to select home exercise equipment, as well as which health clubs have the highest member satisfaction. It’s a good review of the options, and refers to recent consumer reports testing.  The link is below.

And, I thought I would add my two cents.

I have a home gym, and love it, and I also belong to a gym - 24 Hour Fitness.  What do I recommend?

Home Exercise Equipment

You know the cliche. We buy it in January, and use it as a coat hanger from February on.  Nevertheless, many people do find that having a home machine is a great option, and they do use it.  What’s the differentiator?  There are two.  Firstly, don’t assume that just having the machine will make you use it. It won’t. You have to have the committment first.  Second, if you buy, buy quality.  If it feels cheap and awkward to use, then you won’t.  Remember, this is something you want to be a regular part of your life, like your sofa. So invest in something that feels good to use. I’m especially thinking about cardio equipment.  If you can’t afford new, or simply want to get a deal, troll craigslist.org, ebay, for second hand, and sign up for freecyclel.org, if it’s active in your area.  A friend of mine got a great folding treadmill for free on freecycle!  And by the way, the key to using cardio equipment is to keep yourself entertained.  And I know you, dear listeners, know a great way of doing that…

Gym Memberships

I have one criterion for chosing a gym. Location.  That’s it. It has to be convenient. Towel service is nice, but I won’t even think of towels if I’m not there.  I used to be very picky about equipment. I wanted only the original Nautilus weight training machines (they are wonderful). Consequently, I didn’t have a lot of options.  Now I will work out on any machines and free weights.  It’s more important to do something rather than nothing, so as long as it’s a gym, and it’s convenient, I’m happy.

If you are fortunate enough to have multiple convenient gyms, think  about what you like to do. I like my gym because they have unlimited exercise classes available with my ridiculously cheap membership. So I can spice things up by going to Step class on Saturdays, and once in a long while, lunch time yoga.

Here’s the link to the SF Chronicle article by Kathleen Pender:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/01/17/BUHKUGB4S.DTL

And Consumer Reports can be found at www.consumerreports.org.

Enjoy!