Having a home gym used to be as simple as buying an exercise bike and sticking it in the corner of the basement. But as Americans place more emphasis on fitness, they are digging deeper into their wallets for state-of-the-art home gyms.
Sales of exercise equipment jumped from $4.4 billion in 2005 to almost $4.7 billion in 2006, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.
Many Americans are now prepared to spend over $7000 on just one piece of equipment.
That kind of price is becoming more reasonable to people accustomed to the high-end equipment in commercial gyms, said Kerri O’Brien, spokeswoman for Life Fitness, which is a division of Brunswick Corp.
“They want to experience that same solid, gym-quality feel at home,” she said. “These demands have driven the quality of today’s home gym equipment upwards. Units are sturdier, better looking and come equipped with sharper features.”