Once you have been training for a significant amount of time and have developed a regular regime for keeping fit and muscle building, you might begin to look for some advanced home gym equipment. To continue your development and allow you to achieve your training goals, the equipment required will have to be able to endure your sustained progress and should therefore be of the highest calibre. Whether it's a top-end cardio machine to reach peak fitness or weights equipment capable of matching your physical aspirations, there is plenty of choice available.
Advanced Cardiovascular Equipment
If you are looking to achieve peak physical fitness from the comfort of your home there are a number of cardio machines to choose from. However to become an advanced trainer you will require advanced equipment, which usually means having to make a significant investment. Connection Fitness has an excellent range of quality competitively priced apparatus to match all budgets, but to ensure that your equipment can keep up with you it may be worth considering some of the more challenging top-end models.
Treadmills
A treadmill can come in a variety of guises, from solid structures to fold away designs, with each one having advantages and disadvantages. For the dedicated runner seeking top of the range equipment, static treadmills are the best solution. Their solid structure makes them far sturdier than their fold away counterparts, and due to their decreased maneuverability they often have a good of extra options including steeper inclines and multi-media add-ons. The disadvantage of the static treadmill is size, which is where the fold away option may be more useful for those with very little spare space.
Cross Trainers & Rowing Machines
To add variety to your advanced workout cross trainers and rowing machines could very be the solution. The unique training style of the cross trainer may look a little unorthodox, but it provides excellent exercise to all parts of the body, making it an incredibly useful and popular cardio machine. Likewise, rowing machines offer a little bit of variety from your standard exercises. The rowing action builds muscles throughout your body, producing an extremely effective cardiovascular workout.
Both the cross trainer and the rowing machine come with a variety of additional extras and are suited for people at different stages of their fitness regime. Advanced users will require greater resistance settings to allow them to achieve the workouts required to sustain and build upon current fitness levels. Therefore you should be looking for a product that is going to be able to support continued growth rather than one that will outgrow in no time at all.
Exercise Bikes
As with other advanced cardio equipment choosing the right exercise bike is not just a question of what stage you are currently at, but more where you want to be. There are dozens of exercise bikes available on our site, but for the advanced cardio trainer only those bikes with increased endurance features should really apply. Whilst all exercise bikes will perform a great cardio work out, to really make the most out of it you need to have a bike that is challenging and adaptable. It should also be durable enough to go the distance when you are performing long distances. This will ensure that you are doing the right level of exercise safely and consistently.
Weight Training
When you reach advanced levels of weight training you should be looking for equipment that is durable enough to cope with the weights you use and any increase in stature you have or hope to develop physically. Introductory weight lifting equipment often comes with a weight limit, particularly smaller weight benches, so it is essential that you check the weights you use and factor in your own weight as necessary.
Weight Lifting Bars
Weight lifting bars come in either a standard 1" diameter or an Olympic weights sized 2" diameter. We stock straight bars of 6' and 7' to factor in your stance and physical requirements. There are also curved bars to work on biceps, triceps and forearms as well as triceps bars for dedicated workouts for your triceps. The choice of weights is essentially up to you, individual weights range 1.25kgs up to 20kgs for both the standard and Olympic sizes. In most cases weights will also be transferable to adjustable dumbbells, so you can work on individual arms and mix up your training programme.
Other Weight Lifting Equipment
If you are lifting progressively heavier weights you should also consider purchasing some weighting lifting accessories. Weight belts, gloves and lifting straps are essential for weight lifting heavier objects without risking your safety. Gold's Gym Weight Lifting Accessories are ideal for the advanced weight lifter. Belts help to protect and help to improve lifting posture when doing your weight training regime. Gloves prevent you hands from being damaged by the friction caused when lifting as well as increasing grip, whilst straps ensure that you can comfortably and safely pick up even the heaviest weights.
Multi-Gyms
Multi-gyms come in all shapes and sizes, with each one offering different functions and often specialising in a particular discipline. For the advanced level trainer looking to build muscles throughout the body a multi-gym can provide an ideal all-in-one home gym. However, it is important that you find the right one for you. If you are already bench pressing significant weights it would be detrimental to your training programme if you got a multi-gym with limited weight capacity. Likewise, if the multi-gym is uncomfortable or does not suit your size then you are unlikely to get the most out of it.
There are a core group of exercises that can be done on any multi-gym for both the upper body and lower body. The main differences between the different models are usually found in the extra exercises that can offer due to extra size or adaptability. Elsewhere there may be slight adjustments to grips and the size of the weight stack, which should also be taken into account, particularly if you are looking to do weights up towards 100kg. It should also be noted that some machines will have a maximum weight, so if you are particularly well-built this is something to take into account when choosing the right multi-gym.