Building a home gym isn’t always simple. From finding space to finding the budget, the endless list of requirements can make your home exercise room seem like a significantly less convenient option when compared to a standard gym membership.

But like all initially difficult activities, it’s one that pays off in the end. Data shows that people work out more frequently with instant access to fitness equipment, making a home gym a great long-term investment and a great motivational tool.

We’ve discovered three truths of building a home gym – all of which are frequently skipped over by first-time home exercise equipment buyers. From versatility recommendations to room layout, here they are.

Cost isn’t always an indicator of quality.

Exercise is personal, and the most personal experience doesn’t always come from the most costly equipment. If you’re faced with a choice between an inexpensive piece of equipment that feels more effective and a costly exercise machine that claims to be more expensive, go with the one that’s best for you.

Aim for versatility, not specialization.

Commercial gyms can afford to specialize – with thousands of members, the cost of buying specific equipment is miniscule. At home, the opposite is true. Your goal is to cover as much fitness ground as possible, not to cater to specific muscle groups and exercise types.

That’s why we recommend the basics in any home gym: a rowing machine, weight rack, and other all-purpose fitness tools. When comparing gym equipment, pick the option that offers variation and extended value, not the option that’s designed for specific focus.

Consider progress and lifetime value.

It’s tempting to buy equipment that’s suited for your skill level, without any thought of progress or ongoing value. We don’t think that’s the best way to exercise – it leaves you without motivation to improve, and it certainly doesn’t inspire increased effort.

Instead, it’s best to purchase home fitness equipment with an eye for constant improvement. A basic rowing machine will serve you well as a novice rower, but it may not function as effectively once you improve your technique, rowing speed, and personal fitness level.

Walk into any fitness center office and you’ll hear a few interesting statistics tossed around. The first is the ‘quit rate’ – a measure that fitness centers and local gyms use to gauge just how effective and motivated their members are. Most appear for the first four weeks, putting in the hours and working hard at shared machinery.

But then they fail. Over eighty percent of gym members drastically cut down on their exercise time at some point after the first thirty days. Increase the time span to ninety days and you’ll see an average ninety percent drop, an alarming statistic given the expensive price of an annual fitness center membership.

The most common reason for this massive drop isn’t a lack of dedication or a misguided sense that fitness isn’t important, but a lack of time to make it to the gym in the first place. With busy office schedules and dedicated workloads to deal to, the vast majority of would-be exercisers simply can’t find time to hike down to the local weight room.

But there’s an alternative; home fitness, and it’s growing more popular every year. From Nautilus fitness sets to effective air-powered rowing machines, it’s becoming significantly more popular to dedicate a section of your home to personal fitness. These six tips, tricks, and tactics will help you do the same without falling into the same old fitness equipment traps and potential errors.

So take a look over our list, and keep it in mind before you commit to that ‘ten-easy-payments’ purchase. From celebrity endorsed equipment to old fashioned rowing machines, owning a home gym can be a pleasure if you apply the right strategy to it.

1. Will you use it? Buy machinery that’s simple to operate, yet simultaneously effective.

Switch on daytime television and you’ll be bombarded with home fitness products. Some claim to work miracles on your body, promising tight abdominals and pumped biceps within days. Others are slightly more realistic, promoting healthy living and exercise through a series of very specific workouts and motions.

The problem with these ‘miracle’ fitness machines isn’t that they’re not effective – many of them are, given the right circumstances – but that they’re too specific for reasonable use. Most people need variation and mix in their exercises, and relying on a machine with just one purpose isn’t likely to provide that. Multi-purpose machines are worthwhile, but it’s best to ask yourself if you’ll really use it enough to justify the purchase before buying.

2. Is it safe? Auto-spotters and supported machines are best.

American inventor Arthur Jones took a different approach to fitness than those before him. Tired of the ultra-specific training methods seen in athletics and equally sick of the intense reputation weight training had gained, he founded his company Nautilus with a single intention: showing the world that fitness needn’t be unsafe, difficult, or require extensive research.

And in many ways, he succeeded. Jones’ innovation replaced the notion of fitness as dangerous and risky, offering exercisers a safe and failure-friendly method of exercising. His Nautilus machines are just one example of safe and injury-free exercise; rowing machines, weightlifting cages, and specific exercise machines all offer greater safety than traditional resistance exercises, while at the same time offering extensive fitness and strength benefits.

3. Is it effective? Home gyms and ultra-complex machines aren’t always the best option.

Strength training experts are often heard speaking about the difference between measurable strength and functional strength. The former is one that’s built in the gym – strength that’s almost completely impractical in the outside world and can only be measured on fitness equipment. The second, functional strength, is different – strength that can be applied to real activities and sporting pursuits.

Your health efforts may be cosmetic, but they should also aim to achieve the second type of strength. Building functional strength is something that’s most effectively achieved on equipment that simulated real movements. Rowing machines, unsupported weights, and compound resistance exercises offer both cosmetic advantages and real, measurable, and useful strength gains.

4. Is it storable? Micro-gyms often aren’t effective, while giant equipment is impractical.

Hydraulic piston rowing machines are immensely popular, but not for their effective muscle stimulation or natural rowing position. In an effort to save space, people often opt for the least effective pieces of exercise equipment. It’s something we see in almost every sector of fitness, from compact and convenient As-Seen-On-TV equipment to microscopic home workout aides.

But there’s a trade-off between compactness and effectiveness, one that’s particularly visible when you test the two types of equipment side by side. Despite offering less in the way of storability, it’s often worth spending slightly more to purchase a better piece of home fitness equipment.

5. Will it last? Cheap fitness equipment can fall apart, leaving you out of pocket and frustrated.

There’s nothing more frustrating than an inflexible, weak, and utterly frustrating piece of home workout gear. Cheap ‘home gyms’ and ‘miracle’ exercise equipment can plague would-be exercisers, forcing them to waste time and put up with gear that simply isn’t what they originally expected.

Before you purchase any piece of fitness equipment, take the time to check its durability and longevity online. A great way of testing the reputation and strength of fitness equipment is to look for it inside a local gym or training center; if it’s used by hundreds of people daily without fail it’s much more likely to last inside your garage or living room.

6. Is it flexible? Specialized machines often fail when relied on for complete fitness.

Specialized fitness equipment comes with a trade-off; it’s immensely effective for isolated muscle groups and certain movements, but sometimes utterly worthless as a piece of full-body training gear. Specialized abdominal training machines are particularly guilty of needless specialization, forcing users to spend almost all of their time on a single muscle group while neglecting the rest of their body.

As a beginner, it’s unwise to look at fitness equipment which caters to specific muscle groups or strength-based movements. Look for complete home gyms and flexible training equipment; weight training cages and full-body cardiovascular equipment such as rowing machines are generally worth picking up, while specific arm or abdominal training tools may not be.