Home gyms keep improving in quality, sophistication and options and people are taking notice.
While still not as popular as lifting free weights, home-gym use has grown 980 percent since
1987, according to the sporting Goods Manufacturing Association. This increase has attracted
new manufacturers to the market, giving the consumer more opportunities than ever before to
find a system that perfectly fits her or his needs. Unfortunately, it also makes the search for
one that much more difficult.

The options seem endless, and a little research before venturing out to the fitness specialty
stores could save you a lot of time in the long run.

Weight-stack machines are the old standbys of the home-gym industry and consist of blocks
or disks of weight attached to a lever or pulley system. Changing the amount you lift is easy.
You just move a pin in the weight stack in most machines or add another plate in plate-loading
models.

Using a weight-stack machine has several advantages. It looks and feels more like models you
find in gyms, a definite plus for those who have lifted in the health-club setting. Weight stacks
give these people a point of reference; non-weight-stack models may turn them off because
of their different feel. Weight stacks also let you know exactly how much you are lifting. Many
non-weight-stack machines make you guess at the amount, making it difficult to track progress.
Be advised , though, that lifting 100 pounds on one machine may not feel the same as lifting
the same amount on another. The different pulley systems on the various models often cause
the actual amount you are lifting to vary slightly. Many weight-stack manufacturers have
transformed their machines in the past few years to address this. Changes include protective
shrouds over the weight stack, ergonomically sound seats, the ability to accommodate large
differences in body size and easier changes from one weight to another. Manufacturers have
also refined the pulley and cable systems to reduce noise and improve smoothness. They have
tried to reduce the floor space weight stacks occupy without compromising the number of
features as well.

FIT AND FEATURES

Buying the right home gym for your needs, within your price range, can be very difficult. A wide
range of products of varying quality confronts you. Two seemingly similar home gyms can be
very different from one another when you begin looking at them closely. You need to appreciate
your wants and test the machine to ensure it meets them before making your final decision.

First, make sure you can use it. Some home gyms literally do not fit their users. Many gyms are
designed for people between 5 feet, 8 inches and 6 feet, 2 inches in height; shorter or taller
people could be in trouble, unless the gym has adjustable seats. Other machines are too narrow
for larger individuals to fit between the bars. Still others don't fit the human body at all. Look for
machines with people-friendly angles rather than boxy, straight lines. Cast iron weight stacks
offer a smoother range of motion.

The resistance should fit too. Its settings should include weights light enough for the weakest
user to train on it and heavy enough to challenge the strongest lifter. We recommend at least
200lb weight stack with a 10lb starting weight.

Features vary greatly, and you need to make sure they fit you as well. A good weight machine
should allow you to do 12 or more different exercises without having to change its configuration.

All these features should come with good instructional support. While every company provides
a basic owner's manual, some companies such as body-solid even include printed workout
charts with its machines. Are there knee hold down pads for the high pulley and foot plates
for the low pulley.

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

Shake any home gym you are seriously thinking about buying. If it moves or wobbles easily,
choose another. You don't want to have to worry about your machine suddenly moving on
you in the middle of a workout. Look for heavy gauge steel tubing to eliminate flexing and
improve movement quality.

If you've decided on a weight-stack machine, be aware that open stacks pose the safety
hazard of weights crushing someone's (especially little children's) hands. If you have small
kids, keep them away from the machine while you are using it and buy a shroud for the
weight stack (available with most machines). If a shroud is not available and you have small
children at home, look for a different model.

Finally, examine the cables. They should be strong enough that they won't break when you
lift heavy weights and have a quiet and smooth motion rather than a dragging, noisy one.
Buy models with covered cables and this prolongs the life by up to five times.