On The Right Foot: Choosing Cardio Exercise Equipment

Cardiovascular exercises boost your overall system, the heart and lungs become stronger; muscles and joints are nourished, strengthened, and is improved with their mobility.  More and more people are now beginning to understand the importance of regular exercise and activity.  In fact, in 2006 Club Industry’s Fitness Business Pro Purchasing Power Survey, about 55% of the respondents included cardio exercise equipment in their shopping list. 

If you are planning to purchase a cardio exercise equipment, here are some useful tips that could help you choose the right one. 

• Identify what cardio machine you would like to have.

There are numerous cardio equipment in the market, if you walked into a fitness equipment store, you could get overwhelmed with the different equipments and various models.  Trainers, family members or your partner may recommend different kinds of equipment.  But it is important to consider what cardio machine you would like to have.   You will be using that equipment everyday for a long time, so it pays to get a machine that you actually like and would be using everyday. 

• Consider your budget.

Once you have determined what exercise equipment you prefer, then you could start scouting for prices.  There is nothing wrong with shopping around.  You could check the running price for both brand-new and pre-owned exercise equipment.  Pre-owned are less expensive, just be sure that they are in good condition.  To give you an idea, treadmills and stationary bikes had a price range of $200 to $3,000, depending on its features.  You could also check websites for their prices.

• Scouting for places to buy equipment. 

There are local sporting and fitness stores that sell exercise equipment. The internet is also a rich source of information.  Don’t just check one website and stick with it.  Online shops are becoming so competitive, prices tend to be lower that actual fitness stores.  If you have decided to purchase from an online store, then you would need to consider about the shipping cost, warranties and of course, service agreements. 

• Check the warranty and return policy. 

When making the purchase from online stores, always look for the warranty and return policy.  When the equipment is shipped,  it is not impossible that the equipment would incur damages while being transported. 

• Other factors. 

If you have already decided on the exercise equipment, model and price range, then you would have to consider the physical and mechanical aspects of the machine.  For example whether you are buying pre-owned equipment or brand-new ones, check the motor, intensity and resistance levels of the workout, and if you would be able to take advantage of these. Take a look if the machine’s motor will be operating smoothly. 

Yearly, Americans would spend millions of dollars in purchasing cardio exercise equipment which is sometimes used or just placed in the corner to gather dust just because they are the wrong equipment for you.  Consider purchasing cardio exercise equipment as a form of investment.  Not only are you investing on property, but also on your health and overall well-being. 
