How To Lose Weight Effectively And Feel Great Without The Gym

If you're anything like me, exercise is one of those things that you try to squeeze into your already hectic schedule. After all, you've got your job which takes up 8+ hours of your day. Then you've got to spend time with family (if you're married), make and eat dinner and be sure to get enough sleep. Embarking on a consistent weight loss routine, especially if it involves going to the gym, can be a struggle.

At the gym, although you have access to a wide variety of equipment, you will often find that you have to wait your turn, and even if you've warmed up, this can cause your heart rate to slow, and can impact the results of your workout. And if the wait is too long, any routine you have set for yourself can be compromised and you may well find your will power slipping away.

Now, it may be easy to shrug off the above statement by saying it doesn't happen every time you go. True, it doesn't. But if it happens enough times, pretty soon you will find yourself making excuses as to why you can't get to the gym today, such as, "gas is to expensive!" or "it takes too long to get there!" or even "I can't find my gym clothes!" Once this starts happening you may even try to rationalize not going to the gym by saying that you get enough exercise doing your daily routine, and you'll be kicking yourself for wasting money on that expensive membership.

The catch with this is, if you don't make the time to lose weight and exercise, you can very quickly find that clothes that you loved to wear no longer fit, or even worse, that you can't do some of the things you used to do with vim and vigor.

So what's the solution for the busy professional who wants to get (or stay) in shape but doesn't fee like the gym is the way to go?

Simple: a home-based solution. There is a proliferation of home gym equipment, ranging from elliptical trainers, to resistance machines, to bikes, to treadmills, all the way to full blown weight lifting stations.

The most important thing to think about first are what your goals are as this will help to ensure you pick equipment that is right for you at a price you can afford.

For example, if your main goal is to increase your cardiovascular endurance and you are not that interested in weight lifting, your best bet would be a treadmill. Alternately, if you're looking to bulk up, you might consider a resistance based machine or a full weight lifting station. The key here is to have your end goal in mind.

Next, once you've determined your goals and budget, decide what features you would like your equipment to have. For example, do you want a wireless heart rate monitor, massive selection of exercises and a console that looks like something out of Star Trek? Or would you prefer something simpler, foregoing the bells and whistles?

That of course, is up to you. Luckily you are not alone when it comes to choosing the home exercise equipment that is right for you.