Your first choice of equipment is a good pair of shoes. It might sound obvious, but many people don’t think about it. It is the most important accessory for your home gym. For cardiovascular workouts, your chances of injuries are huge if you are wearing the wrong pair of shoes. Running on a treadmill or jumping rope at home will place a strain on your joints similarly to running on the street. Improving your cardiovascular fitness level is essential, therefore choose a proper pair of running shoes and do some cardio at home. Even if you want to build muscles, a good cardiovascular level will only help you reach your target, since your muscles need oxygen to grow.

The second essential accessory for your home gym is some equipment to build strength. Here you can go for a set of weights, resistance bands or a chin-up bar. You can also combine those with push-ups for better results. An exercise ball (also known as Swiss ball) is also an inexpensive and very useful accessory which will help you to work your waistline, not only your belly, but the lower part of your back. Just lay down on it and raise your legs and arms. You’ll feel your belly muscles working. Turn to the side and work each side, also raising your legs and arms. Then lay on your belly and work your back muscles in the same way. It’s amazing how effective this exercise is.

After a couple of months, you’ll want to work more specifically on certain parts of your body or perhaps improve your performance by running. Then is time for more complex gear for your home gym. Try to find a treadmill or static bike for doing cardiovascular workouts or a Bowflex or any similar complete machine for strength training. With time you will be more focused on your target, that’s why you will move from small home gym accessories like a jump rope or a set of weight to equipment like the treadmill or Bowflex.

Having a treadmill at home is an excellent choice for people short in time. Since, as said above, you’ll only need 15 minutes daily, you can combine your cardio with other activities like keeping up-to-date watching news or watching your favorite series.

Treadmills come in two basic versions. One has a motor and is more expensive. The second kind works with the motor being you and the treadmill only measures the speed you are running at. The advantage in the latter case is that you know how much you are doing for your fitness. Buying one with or without motor is not only a case of taste. People who tend to feel demotivated by running should choose a model with a motor, that keeps the pace for you. People who would run anyway, but only want to know how fast they are going, should go with the model without motor.

It is important that you choose a model that fits under a bed if you aren’t building a full-fledged home gym. Some models don’t allow folding the whole structure. They take lots of space and are mostly developed for using in a gym. Most home treadmill models should be easily folded.

Compared to a stationary bike or an elliptical machine, a treadmill won’t need so much space. A treadmill can also force you to keep the pace. You can set it to 5 miles/hour or a similar low speed for beginners. You can also set it to 15 miles/hour if you want to run at marathon speed.