Sports & Outdoors

How to choose home fitness equipment you'll keep using

The equipment that gets used is rarely the equipment that looked most impressive. Three questions decide it.

• Where will it live? If it has to be moved and set up each time, it will be used for about three weeks. Foldable bikes and compact steppers stay in use because they store upright in a cupboard or behind a door. A rowing machine that lives in the corner of a spare room gets used; one that lives in the garage does not.
• What do you already enjoy? The most effective machine is the one matching something you'd do anyway. If you dislike cycling, an exercise bike won't change that.
• How much time do you actually have? Twenty minutes on a stepper you use daily beats an hour on a rower you use monthly.

What each machine is good for

Rowing machine

The most complete single piece of home cardio equipment. It works legs, back, core and arms together, and it's low impact on the joints. It needs the most floor space, around 2.4 metres in use, though many store upright.

Exercise bike

Lowest impact of the three and the easiest to do while watching something, which is why people stick with it. Folding models take up roughly the footprint of a dining chair when stored.

Stepper

Smallest, cheapest and easiest to store. Limited range compared with the other two, but genuinely used because it lives under a desk or beside the sofa.

How to set up equipment safely at home

• Check the floor. Cardio equipment on a first-floor room transmits noise and vibration downwards. A mat underneath helps considerably, and protects the floor from sweat.
• Leave clearance. Half a metre behind a rower and either side of a bike, so you aren't reaching over furniture to get on and off.
• Check the user weight limit on the product page before ordering. It's specified for a reason.
• Assemble it fully before first use, including any stabilising feet. Most equipment faults reported are actually incomplete assembly.

How to choose activewear that works

• Look for a high waist in shorts and leggings. It stays put through bending and lifting, which a mid rise won't.
• Double-layer shorts, an inner liner under an outer short, prevent riding up and chafing on longer sessions. Worth the small extra cost if you run or walk distance.
• Check the fabric is squat-proof if you'll be doing floor work. Lighter colours and thin fabrics go sheer under stretch; the product page composition tells you the weight.
• Avoid cotton for anything sweaty. It holds moisture and stays cold and heavy; technical blends move it away from the skin.

How to buy garden and outdoor kit that lasts a British winter

Most outdoor equipment fails not from use but from being left out through a wet winter.

• Store fabric items indoors over winter: hammocks, net goals and cushions. Damp plus cold destroys stitching and rots canvas faster than any amount of use.
• Check whether metal parts are galvanised or powder-coated. Untreated steel on football goals and frames rusts within a season in British weather.
• Rebounder and goal nets should be taken down in high winds rather than left to take the strain.
• A cheap cover pays for itself on anything that has to stay outside.

How to buy for children

Scooters and outdoor games are common gifts, and the two things that matter most are rarely on the box: weight limit and deck height for scooters, and whether it can be used alone for games. A rebounder net a child can use without a second player will get used ten times more than something requiring an adult. Check the recommended age on the product page, and treat it as a guide to size and capability rather than a strict rule.