Free weights may be your best bet for resistance training at home

Give free weights some serious consideration if you're thinking about creating your own home gym. With the addition of just a weight bench and possibly some safety stands, you've got a combination of workout equipment that will allow you to do almost any weight lifting exercise you want, and at minimal cost compared to the alternatives, such as sliding stack home gym machines.

If your home gym includes free weights you can fit the weight lifting exercise to your body, rather than adapting your body to the machine's prescribed path. Additionally, free weights force you to incorporate the stabilizer muscles of your body, getting you fitter faster, and they allow for more variety than a machine, which will limit you to certain exercises.

Reach your goals with free weights

Any strength training goal you may have can be accomplished at least as well with free weights as with machines, from toning to powerlifting, fitness training to bodybuilding, losing weight or gaining weight.

Of course, machines do have their advantages, such as preventing you from dropping a weight plate on your foot :-) Exercise setup is usually easier with machines than with free weights, and the exercises may even feel easier on a machine (some would debate whether or not that's actually an advantage). It's up to you to decide which features appeal to you the most. As we said earlier, however, the price advantage comes down squarely on the side of free weights. You can compare prices at the online merchants listed below.

MegaFitness has a great selection of weight plates, bars, dumbells, accessories and more, in addition to just about every piece of fitness equipment you can imagine.

BigFitness.net also carries a wide assortment of free weights and accessories, and they have new and used equipment available.

Dunham's Sports has tons of weight training and fitness equipment, in addition to a vast selection of sporting goods.

Ironman Home Gym Warehouse the online store of Ironman magazine. Books, videos, supplements and more, in addition to weight training equipment