What the Best Tips for Buying Discount Fitness Equipment?

While getting into shape is a noble and lofty goal, the price of new, heavily hyped fitness equipment is often exorbitant. Discount fitness equipment is an excellent option not just for those on a budget, but also for anyone who wishes to exercise in the comfort of their own home. By following a few basic rules, one can acquire discount fitness equipment for a fraction of retail cost.

Before contemplating the purchase of discount fitness equipment, a few questions must be considered. First of all, one should make certain that the desire to engage in a consistent workout routine is not just a passing fancy. Many home gyms, bought on the spur of the moment, have ended up serving as little but dust collectors and giant coat hangers. There is no need to spend any money on fitness equipment if it will be used but a few times.

The fact that many people acquire workout machines and rarely use them is what permits the serious exercise enthusiast to pick up phenomenal deals on discount fitness equipment. In terms of price, the best finds are usually located at garage and yard sales. Free weights and weight benches, treadmills, home gyms, and stair-climbers — many barely touched — can be found at backyard sales on any given weekend. If a person hopes to hunt down discount fitness equipment for pennies on the dollar, the garage sale is a target-rich environment.

Almost as good as yard sales are the classified ads, both online and in print. Prices will again be low, and owners of little-used fitness equipment will sometimes be willing to virtually give the pieces away if someone will haul them off. Online auctions are a third source, however in this case the buyer should beware. What seems a good deal in print may be something else entirely in reality. The quality of fitness equipment found in an online auction is hit or miss, and one needs to personally inspect the workout devices rather than paying money sight unseen.

A final supplier consists of operations that buy and sell used equipment. Sometimes the pieces are acquired via repossession, and sometimes through trade-in programs. Prices at these stores and outlets will be higher than those found at garage sales, auctions, or through the classifieds. On the other hand, the equipment will generally be brand name, and will have undergone a rigorous inspection process to assure functionality and safety.

Price matters aside, those two factors are the most important criteria in purchasing discount fitness equipment. If purchasing from an individual, try out the equipment and make certain it works. Look for loose cables or broken connections. Never buy free weights if the plates are rusty or if the locking caps will not screw down tight. Getting a steal on workout items is no bargain if the equipment fails in mid-exercise and one ends up in the hospital.