Stay In & Work Out
The Sun Herald
Saturday August 15, 1992
WORKING out in a gym is the best way of staying in shape for most keep-fit fanatics. But there is a sizable number of folk who wouldn't be caught dead in a gym and who prefer to roll their spare tyres around in the privacy of their home.
To satisfy the demands of the solitary exercise buff there is a huge range of home gym equipment on the market and the latest kind of fitnessinstructor, the personal trainer.
While it's a trend that would bother most commercial gym operators, Jim Josephsen, director of the Unlimited Fitness Gym, admitted: "Many people just prefer the convenience and the security factor of working out at home. Ironically, a large percentage of people won't come to a gym because they think they're not fit enough.
"Those who have a reasonable perception of fitness can create an exercise environment at home which they can sustain. But a lot of home gym equipment does end up in the garage. Every individual needs motivation."
If you've got the money and the willpower for working out at home you will need some basic equipment. To increase your cardiovascular fitness you can use stationary bikes, treadmills, stair climbers, rowers, many of which have digital readouts to tell you how well you're going and how many calories you're scorching. For price and details see below.
Most well-known sporting stores have trained staff who can instruct you on how to use the machines.
For toning and building yourself up you will need some weight equipment, dumbells, barbells, bench presses and more complex machines on which you can do up to 20 different weight routines.
Dr Garry Egger, director of The Centre for Health Promotion and Research, said a good exercise program at home should consist of between three to six exercise sessions a week.
In each session, start with about five minutes of stretching, then do 25 to 30 minutes of aerobic work on the bike or other equipment. Alternatively, 15 minutes of aerobic exercise and 15 minutes of weight work.
However, he warned that with weights it was important to know what you were doing. "There are so many things you can do wrong. Try to get some sort of instruction even if it's just from books."
For those determined to work-out alone it may even be a good idea to do some gym classes first and work out an exercise program that you can continue with at home.
Dr Egger is one of the few fitness experts who will recommend exercise videos. And while it might seem a bit old hat, he did recommend Jane Fonda's latest two videos.
If you are setting up a special room at home for exercise, a garage or spare bedroom is fine. If you are doing a lot of aerobic work, jumping, running etc the room ideally should have carpet-covered floorboards.
Dr Egger said that if the floor was concrete only, it was best to have a rubber covering on it and then carpet on top to avoid stress injuries.
The message from Dr Egger is take care when going it alone. And if you feel it's too complicated or you need more motivation then a personal trainer may be the best alternative to working out in a gym.
George Daldry is one of Sydney's best known fitness experts and has been a personal trainer for years, firing up rugby league teams and Olympic athletes
He also has a growing number of "ordinary" clients who just want the comfort of their own trainer.
He will design a fitness program at City Tattersalls Club, where he is, based or at the client's home.
George said people wanted trainers for different reasons-either to lose weight, or to improve cardiovascular fitness or to be rehabilitated after injury or major surgery.
"I assess the clients first and then I ask them to have a full medical by a sports doctor. If they haven't done anything for a while I might take them out walking.
"A lot of businessmen over 40 like jogging or lifting weights. A lot of women prefer spot toning and light weight work.
"Most people can start a home gym for about $1,000 with dumbells, barbells, a bench press and a basic stationary bike," he said.
George agreed that at home people needed motivation.
"Even when I'm training people at home I think it's better if a couple works together to motivate each other."
When Jason Martin, rugby league half-back for North Sydney Bears, isn't in training he works as a personal fitness trainer.
"A lot of the people I see lack motivation. But once they've made an appointment for a session with me they know they have to keep it," he said.
"Many people don't know how to achieve their fitness goals even if it's just wanting to lose weight," he said.
Jason will devise any kind of program-for toning, body building or general fitness. He has one rare female client who actually wants to put weight on.
* Most gyms like Unlimited Fitness (tel: 906 5997) have personal trainers on the staff for members, however non-members can arrange gym or home visits if they wish.
George Daldry can be contacted at City Tatts; tel: 267 9421; Jason Martin at North Sydney Leagues; tel: 923 1633.
* Dr Egger has written two books on exercise, The Fitness Leader's Handbook and The Guide to Sensible Exercise. The first covers exercising with weights, the second explains how to set up an exercise program, what equipment to use etc. There are also a number of other good exercise books on the market.
DR GARRY EGGER said that people buying fitness equipment should not to buy it through mail order companies as some equipment was cheap imports which, if it broke, would be difficult to have fixed here. Buy from well-known outlets, he said.
Mick Simmons (tel: 264 2744) has a huge range of gym equipment suitable for use at home.
Stationary bikes start at $150 for the basic model up to $1,000 with a digital readout and an automatic fitness assessment.
Electric treadmills start at $995 for a basic model and go up to $5,500 which can rip away at 16kmh.
Weight modules where one piece of equipment can allow you to do 20-odd weight routines for an overall work-out start at $995 and go up to $2,500.
Step machines range from $400 to $699.
Rowing machines are around $400 with a digital readout.
The store also carries a range of dumbells, barbells, benches and aerobic steps.
IEP Body Mechanics (tel: 906 2211) has a range of Lifefitness equipment especially for home use. It's fairly pricy at $2,800 for the stationary bike; $6,450 for the step machine; $6,450 for the rower. Most of these machines have digital readout.
© 1992 The Sun Herald