Exercise Equipment

[Arcilux]

In the market for a house and one of the things I am considering is getting some exercise equipment. I know you can make do with really basic things, but if everything aligns well (= we get a house with a large enough basement and we have the money) I wouldn't mind having some actual equipment.

Basically, I was thinking:

Stationary Bike
Basic Free Weights (The little neoprene ones most likely, not an actual bench/barbell)
Medicine Ball
Balance Ball
Exercise Mat

And maybe:

Elliptical
Treadmill
other?

For the actual equipment (bike, treadmill, ellipitical) I have seen everything from about $300 to $3,000. Is there really any strong benefit for the expensive things? What should I really be looking for? And is there anything I am really missing for a home gym?

[Neazy]

It really depends what you're going for. If you want to lift weights, I'd recommend a flat bench and barbell and a power rack with maybe another barbell (or you can just use one barbell for both if only one person is ever working out at a time). Add some plates and you can do all the major workouts--squat, deadlift, bench, standing press, power clean--plus some ancillary ones like curls and laying triceps extensions. You can get dumbbells in addition to that if you want, but definitely get the barbells before you get anything else.

If you want to run, you don't really need any equipment unless you live somewhere where it's fucking cold. If you do, get a treadmill. If not, don't bother. Running outside is less boring anyway.

Medicine balls/etc I guess you can get if you're fucking old and you're into that kind of shit.

[tyciol]

Weights wrapped in neoprene tend to be pretty light, ranging from 1 to 10 lbs. While I did buy some (I thought they were pretty) most will quickly outgrow them in major compound lifts like rows or presses. Even in isolation movements like bicep curls, tricep extensions or lateral raises for the shoulder most people will reach 10 pretty quickly.

On the plus side, light weights like this are pretty cheap and can be good for high rep stuff while watching TV (like how I plan to watch the 2nd half of the Third Season of The Walking Dead in 10 minutes) or when rehabbing injuries. If you do get some, I'd recommend working on bent-over rear delt flies to strengthen 2 of the rotor cuff muscles (infraspinatus and teres minor) which are often neglected. It is also a great stretch for the hamstrings and can build endurance in your lower back.