Equipment can keep you fit at home

? Got an extra bedroom you are using for storage? How about that little space in your basement that’s not jammed with boxes and old furniture? Maybe the kids have moved out, and you want to do something with their bedroom. Why not create a home gym?

“The bottom line is that almost every time, people are more apt to work out if the equipment is right there in their home,” says Dave Ritter, manager of The Fitness Experience, a store in Brentwood that sells fitness equipment. “Practicality is king.”

Home gyms can be extravagant ($100,000), and include individual weight-lifting systems, treadmills, elliptical trainers and a host of free weights. Or they can be as simple as a mat, some dumbbells and a jump-rope (which might cost you $50). You don’t have to spend a lot on equipment, but you have to have the motivation to use it or it’s money wasted.

When looking to equip a home gym, the most important thing to consider is “what are your personal goals,” said Mike Jaudes, owner of The Fitness Edge, a personal-training fitness center in Creve Coeur, Mo. “Do you want to lose weight? Improve strength? Get toned? That can guide you.”

We’ve enlisted Ritter and Jaudes to help us take a look at what every home gym needs (and offer suggestions for how to get away with something less expensive).

Cardiovascular equipment

If you can only get one piece of equipment, Ritter recommends the treadmill. “Because if you can walk, you can use a treadmill,” he says.

For people who’ve had knee problems, however, he recommends elliptical trainers. These nonimpact machines work somewhat like stair steppers. “They still offer a great workout.”

Ritter only recommends upright bikes to those who bike outside. If someone has back problems, he may recommend a recumbent bike, which lets you sit in a seat with a back, with your legs extended in front of you.

“In price, they go bike, elliptical, stair stepper, treadmill — cheapest to most expensive for the good-quality kind,” says Jaudes.

Home weight-lifting systems

When considering an integrated weight-lifting system, look for:

Ease of use. The fewer adjustments you have to make, the more likely you are to use it.

Safety: Sometimes it’s worth it to pay more money to get safer cables, bars and plates.

Variety: If one piece offers 50 ways to use the equipment and another offers six, pick the one with more variety; you are more likely to find something you like and stick with it.

Upper- and lower-body exercises: You need to train your whole body to be fit. If your machine doesn’t offer -body exercises, see if you can get an attachment.

Free weights and a bench

If you can’t afford a whole weight-lifting system (or even if you have one and want more variety), try free weights and maybe a bench.

“You can do a whole heck of a lot with free weights and a bench,” says Ritter.

Get an adjustable bench (known as a 0- to 90-degree bench), where you can lie flat, sit upright or work out on an incline.

Though everyone is different, Jaudes recommends beginner women get sets of dumbbells in 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12 pounds (you need different weights for different exercises). For beginner men, start at 5 and go up, depending on strength.

Stability ball

The ball can be used for a host of exercises — from balance drills to crunches. Invest in a good video or book to show you how to use it. You can even use it as a bench to do some dumbbell moves.