Fitness Equipment

Fitness equipment at FlipBuy UK — 27 products covering rowing machines, folding exercise bikes, steppers, adjustable and fixed dumbbells, Pilates bars, punch bags and recovery tools. From £14.99 accessories to £337.99 rowers.

How to choose equipment you'll still be using in six months

January gym equipment has a poor survival rate, and the reason is almost never the machine. Three questions predict it better than any specification.

Where will it live, permanently? Equipment that has to be dragged out and set up gets used for about three weeks. If it can't stay assembled somewhere you'll walk past it, choose something that folds or stores upright.
Would you do this activity anyway? Buying a rower because rowing burns calories, when you dislike rowing, doesn't work. The best machine is the one matching something you already enjoy.
How long is a realistic session? Twenty minutes three times a week that actually happens beats an hour a day that doesn't.

What each machine actually does

Rowing machine

The most complete single piece of home cardio — legs, back, core and arms together, and low impact on the joints. Needs around 2.4 metres of floor space in use; many store upright against a wall. Technique matters: it's roughly 60% legs, 30% core, 10% arms, and rowing with the arms first is the usual cause of a sore lower back.

Exercise bike

Lowest impact and the easiest to combine with watching something, which is why adherence is highest. Folding models store in roughly the footprint of a dining chair. Set the saddle height so your leg is almost straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke — too low is the most common setup error and it's hard on the knees.

Stepper

Cheapest, smallest, easiest to store. Limited range compared with a bike or rower, but it lives under a desk and therefore gets used.

Dumbbells

The most versatile thing on this page. Adjustable sets replace a rack in a fraction of the space and are the better buy for a home. Fixed neoprene or hex sets are cheaper, quicker between exercises, and take more room.

Pilates bar and resistance kit

Light, cheap, stores in a drawer, and genuinely effective for strength and mobility. The best starting point if you're unsure whether you'll stick with home training.

Punch bag

Excellent cardio and stress relief. Free-standing bags need a weighted base filled with sand or water — check the base capacity and whether filling is included.

How to set up safely at home

Use a mat. It protects the floor from sweat and reduces the noise and vibration transmitted to rooms below — which matters in a flat or an upstairs room.
Check the user weight limit on the product page before ordering. It's specified for safety, not as a guideline.
Leave clearance: half a metre behind a rower, and either side of a bike so you can mount and dismount without reaching over furniture.
Assemble fully, including stabilising feet. Most reported faults with home equipment turn out to be incomplete assembly.
Store dumbbells on the floor or a rack, never on a shelf above head height.

How to start without hurting yourself

The most common home training injuries come from doing too much too soon rather than from bad equipment.

Start lighter and shorter than you think. Soreness two days later is normal; sharp pain during is not.
Learn the movement before adding load. Rowing and weight training both reward technique, and both punish rushing it.
Warm up for five minutes before anything with resistance.
If you have a heart condition, joint problem, are pregnant, or haven't exercised in a long time, speak to your GP before starting a new programme — particularly with high-intensity equipment.