Health professionals are constantly telling us that we need to move more, exercise more, lose weight and live healthier lives. But sometimes squeezing in a session at the gym every day is not easy!

The benefits of fitting in a sweat session every day are immediately felt: you have more energy, you feel more motivated, and you look better naked! But your work days are long, there’s so much to do when you get home, between life admin, cooking and family time, and often the day gets away from you. Modern life often leaves us time-poor and feeling overwhelmed by all the things we try to fit into a day, but this does not mean our health and fitness should suffer.

How to fit in exercise every day

A staggering $1.8 billion is spent every year by us Aussies who hold on to a gym membership, yet never actually show up at the premises. In fact, around 30% of all Australians have a gym card in their wallets – but of those 30%, 27% make no use of it at all. The good news is that over 50% of gym goers exercise at least twice a week.

A lot of people are hesitant to join a gym because they don’t think they will get the most out of their membership, whether they are self-conscious about starting a new exercise regime or simply don’t think they can fit another thing into their busy schedules and don’t want to commit to a 12-month contract for ongoing payments of a gym membership they may not use.

If you are looking to improve your lifestyle, lose weight or just get fitter and stronger, there is a solution that will save you time and money and allow you to exercise as often as you want to – create your own gym at home!

As a species, we are spending less and less time moving, and more and more time doing nothing with our bodies (or increasingly less), and working out our brains. Yet we keep forgetting that one of the pillars (if not the most important one) of good health is movement and exercise.

We may not have enough time in our lives to join a gym – but this does not mean we don’t have enough time to work out. A home gym marries the best of both worlds: you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home to exercise, and you can exercise and feel better whenever you want.

As little as a 30-minute walk every day can significantly boost your overall health. Imagine what you can do with a home gym?

The first thing you are probably thinking is that such a plan sounds expensive, and who on earth has a house big enough to dedicate a whole room to all that equipment? But here’s the thing: setting up a gym at home can not only be achieved economically, but it also doesn’t have to take up all the space in your house – you only require a few pieces of equipment to get started, and depending on your goals and motivation, you can expand your home gym accordingly.

Another thought I hear running around your mind right now is “how will I ever make myself work out, even when I have all the equipment I need?”. And we hear you. Going to the gym is not only about physically getting from point A to point B – it’s also about developing the habit of working out, and no matter how well aware we are of the fact that it’s good for us, we still can’t make ourselves do it.

The simplest way to start is to go to your home gym every day, warm up, and leave. As simple as that. The one thing it takes to start working out is to show up. And that will often be the hardest part.

Once you establish the habit of just going to your home gym every day (and it will take you around 30 days to do this), you can move on to the next step, which is actually working out. The difference between a gym day and a non-gym day is whether you show up or not, nothing else. And when you show up, the benefits will soon follow.

The benefits of working out at home

If you have a few pieces of equipment at home, you can save a lot of time by fitting in your workout as soon as you wake up, or as soon as you get home from work, because everything you need is there ready to go! You can roll out of bed and start your exercise session in your pyjamas if you want to!

Unlike a public gym, your home gym is a space designed specifically for you. You can tailor it to the types of exercises you like doing, the goals you want to achieve, and the fitness level you are currently at.

There will also be no one watching you as you lift less than you might wish to lift. There will be no awkward looks as people measure the size of your dumbbells, and you will finally be able to execute every exercise properly, in the best form, without having to work with weights you are not comfortable with.

You don’t have to weave through rush hour traffic and beat someone to the last parking spot in the shade. You don’t even have to buy any fancy fitness gear. The levels of comfort can be unprecedented – after all, this is you designing your own gym cave, not you renting out a small space in a crowded room filled with testosterone junkies.

It is not only time-efficient to have some equipment in the house to exercise with, it also allows you to complete frequent, short, intense workouts which are proven to be better for your overall health and fitness levels. All you need to get started are a few pieces of equipment, such as a couple of dumbbells, a Sting Speedlite Adjustable Skipping Rope, a bosu ball, or a whole rack setup, and you have the convenience of being able to complete a huge variety of different workouts every day!

But what about the cost of buying the equipment?

A lot of people hesitate to buy their own equipment because of the upfront cost of purchasing brand new training equipment, and in comparison, the small-ish weekly cost of a gym membership seems much easier to stomach. But the cost of equipment should no longer be a deterrent from creating your own fitness setup at home because there is now a huge variety of payment options, some of which involve weekly payments that amount to less than a gym membership, which don’t involve interest payments and means you get your equipment straight away.

In other words, you don’t have to have a lump sum of cash ready to spend – you can pay for your home gym over a course of several months or even years, and start feeling the benefits in as little time as possible.

After all, can you really put a price tag on your health?

Setting up your own gym: payment options

All of the below payment options are available at Flex Fitness Equipment, and will allow you to receive your equipment straight away by setting up a payment plan that suits you.

Afterpay

If you want to purchase a few pieces of equipment to get you started on your fitness journey, or if you just want the additional options of squeezing in some extra exercise from the comfort of your home – Afterpay is a great way to purchase what you need. Flex Fitness has Afterpay facilities for any purchases of up to $1,000 and it is as simple as choosing Afterpay as your payment option at the online checkout.

Afterpay requires you to set up an account, which you can do when you check out, and allows you to pay for your purchase over 4 equal fortnightly installments from your nominated credit or debit card.

And the best bit?

Afterpay does not charge any interest on your purchase, there are no fees to set up an account and you don’t even need to place a deposit when you purchase. Not to mention, your goods will be shipped to you straight after you order them – no need to wait until all of the installments have been paid to receive your new equipment! However, if any of the 4 installment payments are late, a $10 late payment fee is charged to your credit card.

OxiPay

OxiPay is a payment option available both online and in-store on purchases of up to $2,000. When you purchase your equipment, you are required to pay a 25% deposit, and the remaining value of your purchase can be paid over a period of up to 6 months by regular fortnightly installments paid from your credit card. Again, no interest is charged and there are no account establishment fees, however, any late payments will incur a $15 late payment fee.

Certegy Ezi-Pay

Ezi-pay allows you to pay for your purchase in installments over 12 to 24 months on purchases of up to $5,000 if buying online. However, this method of payment involves pre-approval so you will need to supply bank account or credit card details to apply online, before you purchase your equipment. If you are buying in store, you can apply for this repayment method on the spot, for purchases of up to $15,000. Payments are made fortnightly and this option does involve an establishment fee starting at $35.00, and increases depending on the cost of your purchase. There is also a monthly account keeping fee payable in the amount of $3.50, however no interest is payable on your purchase price.

ZipMoney

ZipMoney is another online option available which you can apply for when you check out and get a credit approval straight away. If you purchase your equipment from Flex and it is between $1000 and $2000, you can choose a repayment method over 6 months, and if you purchase your equipment up to the value of $10,000, you can pay for your items over 12 months. ZipMoney doesn’t require any deposit and does not charge any interest, however there is a $99 sign-up fee and a monthly account keeping fee of $4.95/month for the period of your repayments. You also have the flexibility to change the amount you pay back with each installment, and you can choose to pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly – which means the interest free repayments on your equipment could cost less than your 12-month gym membership payments!

FlexiCommercial

FlexiCommercial is the best payment option if you are purchasing equipment for a commercial gym or a personal training studio, as you can purchase equipment up to a value of $100,000 and tailor your repayment terms to suit your budget. This method allows you to lease your equipment through FlexiCommercial. You can choose between owning the equipment outright at the conclusion of the lease term, or just paying for the equipment as you use it. To apply for a lease, you can contact FlexiCommercial over the phone or online with instant approval depending on the cost of your purchase. There are no setup fees or ongoing charges, and you can choose the term of the lease and the amount you pay per month to suit your budget. You will need to satisfy certain credit criteria and verify your financial position to set up a FlexiCommercial account though.

An affordable way to set up your own fitness business

The above repayment options are a fantastic way to set up a home gym, or to establish your own health and fitness space for your business. The benefits of using these methods to set your business up with equipment is that you don’t outlay significant initial costs, which strengthens your business cash flow and you receive your equipment straight away. This means you or your clients can get to work in your gym straight away!

If you are looking to equip a home gym, you don’t need to wait for a certain sum to become available – you can start working out in a matter of days, and not worry about the payments.

So don’t put off starting your new health regime or fitness business any longer. Contact Flex today and have a look at our huge range of equipment to find what is suitable for your budget and your space, as all of the above payment options are available through us!