Is Buying Cheap Fitness Equipment False Economy?

It looks great on the internet or in the store; a brand new, shiny bit of kit for much less than you expected to pay. But when you get it home will it deliver? Is buying cheap home fitness equipment false economy?

It depends on a number of factors. Firstly if you're going to be using it for an hour every day then a budget model will probably not see out six months - if you're lucky! Cheap fitness equipment is just that because the components are cheap and maybe not put together with the same skill as a more expensive model. They're not really built to last.

If you're only going to use it three times a week for around half an hour then it could probably cope with this but don't expect it to last for more than a year without some part needing to be replaced.

Many people buy home fitness equipment to lose weight. If you're very overweight then a budget model probably won't be able to handle you. Check the manufacturer's maximum user weight before you buy. If you're over it then you'll invalidate the warranty. Talking of warranties, most cheap models will come with only twelve months on them - you can almost guarantee if it sees out the year it will go wrong in the next few weeks!

The more complex the kit the more chance it will let you down if it's a cheap model. Treadmills are a good example. If you think you'll be training for at least seven hours a week on it, expect to pay over $1000 for a machine that can handle it.

Cheap fitness equipment usually doesn't come with the sort of features that will keep you motivated or optimize your training. Features such as pre-set programs or heart rate controlled workouts that help to bring variation to your fitness regime. If you get bored you won't use it and then you don't get fit and you're stuck with some piece of kit sitting in the corner gathering dust. If you try to sell it don't be surprised if you get just a few dollars for it.

There are some good budget models out there but do your homework first and decide what you need from your equipment. If you buy with reasonable expectations of what you're getting then you won't be disappointed.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roy_Palmer 

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