Fitness
Equipment

Some Purchasing Considerations

Personal Preference

Choose exercise equipment that reflect activities you prefer. If you prefer walking over climbing stairs, then you would want to consider buying a treadmill instead of an elliptical.

Cheap is expensive, Quality is not

Items of quality don't come cheap! If you expect a piece of equipment to serve you well and take abuse year after year, then expect to pay well for it. It takes fine workmanship, state of art materials, and precision engineering to produce quality equipment. If you plan to have several pieces of equipment, determine which pieces will be getting the most use. That piece of equipment should be the highest quality one. The remainder of your setup can be augmented by less expensive equipment. Of course keeping an eye out for a good deal is always a good idea. They're out there, but sometimes carry a cost not counted with dollars and cents. 

Space requirements

Generally, most exercise equipment takes up 20-30 sq feet. If you don't have that much space, you may be able to find something that folds or tucks away.

Manufacturer's warranty

If purchasing exercise equipment online, it is important to look for the service or warranty policy on the dealer's website. The rule is the better the equipment the longer the warranty. Ten years seems to be the average warranty life.

Stick to the basics

To compete, today's equipment manufacturers will often add a lot of "features" to their products. These features either add to your cost, or are simply an attempt to mask an inferior product. Don't buy a piece of equipment just because it has more features than another one. If you need the feature then consider it otherwise stick to the basics, like strong frame and durable moving parts.