Are you interested in starting a home gym? Lockdown has shown a lot of us how important it is to be able to stay active, even when gyms are shut. If you’re keen to stay on top of your fitness, starting a home gym is a great way to improve your access to crucial equipment and make self-motivating much easier.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss why you might start your own home gym, and how renting-to-own fitness equipment is one of the best ways to do that.
Rent-to-own fitness equipment: Pros and cons
So why should you rent-to-own fitness equipment over buying your own or paying for a gym membership? Here’s our take on the pros and cons of renting-to-own* home fitness equipment.
Pros of rent-to-own fitness equipment
- No upfront payments: Fitness equipment can be very expensive, especially if you expect quality. Renting-to-own means that cost is split over much more manageable weekly payments.
- Start working out today: Because there’s no upfront payment, you don’t need to waste time-saving. You can rent-to-own fitness equipment today and start your workout journey immediately.
- Choose your equipment: Compared to a gym membership, renting-to-own equipment means you get to choose exactly what equipment you want. You have total control over the type and the quality of machines you use.
- Ready access to fitness gear: A home gym means you don’t have to psych yourself up to go to the gym because it’s right there in the comfort of your home. Rent-to-own equipment means you can quickly fill a home gym and you can always access it even if a lockdown occurs, or if you’re just not well enough or inspired enough to go to the gym.
- Privacy while you work out: Some people don’t feel comfortable working out where others can see them. A home gym means you can fumble and sweat as much as you need without drawing the eye of judgemental strangers.
- You own it at the end: The best part of a rent-to-own structure is that it’s more than just renting. Yes, you’ll pay weekly instalments, but at the end of the rental period, you will own the product outright.
- The right equipment for you: Compared to a standard rental plan, a rent-to-own plan from rent4keeps means you can get the equipment you want, from a mixture of suppliers. You don’t need to have multiple rental agreements with different equipment companies, you can combine all equipment into a single rent-to-own contract.
- Low-or-no credit score: Finally, rent-to-own plans generally mean you can likely get access to finance with a low or no credit score. At rent4keeps, we look at all credit backgrounds & work with beneficiaries, students and more to help you access what you need, when you need it.
Cons of rent-to-own fitness equipment
- Higher total cost: The convenience of a rent-to-own* plan comes with a cost. While you won’t pay a huge upfront cost, you’ll likely pay more over time. This means rent-to-own* is a good option for people who have income, but not savings.
What fitness equipment can I rent-to-own?
If you’d like to rent-to-own* fitness equipment for your own home gym, here are a few ideas of equipment you might like.
1. Rent-to-own treadmills
Treadmills are a great investment for a simple home cardio machine. These work like a simple conveyor belt, allowing you to walk or run in place while working up a sweat. Many treadmills also feature incline settings so you can practice resistance cardio, plus heart radio monitoring to help you track your performance.
Some treadmills available from rent4keeps NZ include:
2. Rent-to-own ellipticals
Ellipticals are another cardio machine. These are popular with beginners, as well as heavier or older people. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t appropriate for experienced exercisers as well.
The key benefits of ellipticals are that they do not place as great pressure on your joints and bones as treadmills or other cardio machines. Because the machine moves with your body, you aren’t hitting the pedals with your full weight every time you step. This is more comfortable for a lot of people, as there’s no feeling of impact.
You can also get an upper body workout with an elliptical by pumping your arms on the handles as fast as you’re moving your legs.
Some elliptical machines available from rent4keeps NZ include:
3. Rent-to-own rowing machines
Rowing machines are loved by many because they offer a full-body workout in one machine. You’ll sit at the one end, and push to extend your legs while pulling back on the handles, simulating the action of rowing. This simple exercise targets your upper back, pecs, arms, abdominal muscles, obliques, quadriceps, calves and glutes.
Like ellipticals, rowing machines are low-impact, so they place less pressure on your joints. Rowing machines are excellent for people of all fitness levels, and are fully adjustable for beginners or experts.
Some rowing machines available from rent4keeps NZ include:
4. Rent-to-own exercycles and spin bikes
Exercycles, or stationary bikes, are great for home exercise. They’re not to be confused with the similar spin bike, however.
While exercise bikes are great for people of all fitness levels looking to improve cardiovascular health, weight loss efforts and general fitness, spin bikes are a little more advanced. The most notable difference between the two is that a spin bike more closely mimics the shape of a real bike. So, you’ll gain more transferable fitness to real cycling with a spin bike. Spin bikes have a great calorie burn potential and target your legs, arms, back and core.
Meanwhile, exercise bicycles are a bit safer, have a modern calorie burn potential and only really target your legs. If you’re new to home fitness, an exercycle may be a better fit.
Some stationary bikes and spin bikes available from rent4keeps NZ include:
5. Rent-to-own home gym resistance machines
Weights machines are available at home too. Often simply called “home gyms” these are all-in-one resistance machines. Using a pulley system, home gym resistance machines let you set your resistance weight and then carry out a number of different exercise variations to build strength throughout your body.
The intelligent design of these machines provides the structure and support for you to complete exercises similar to free weights, but with greater guidance. These are best for people at the beginning of their weights journey who don’t know every exercise by memory yet.
Some home gym resistance machines available from rent4keeps NZ include:
6. Rent-to-own free weights
Free weights are any kind of loose weight object used to provide resistance during exercise. This resistance helps to work your muscles and build strength. Free weights are often sold in sets, so you can customise your weight level and adapt as you grow stronger.
You might choose free weights if you know the exercises you like to do, or if you prefer to follow workout videos at home and want free weights available to adapt those videos.
Some free weights available from rent4keeps NZ include:
I’m ready to rent-to-own home fitness equipment! What next?
If you’re ready to rent-to-own* equipment for your home gym, call us now on 0800 76 30 20 or apply online today. Our expert team will be in touch as soon as possible to help you get renting.