Home gyms are a fast growing way to keep fit in a busy world. More and more people are choosing to have a treadmill or a stationary bike or a set of weights at home rather than trying to squeeze in a visit to an expensive health club. Home gym owners come from all walks of life: real estate moguls, teachers, even stock traders They all have a common goal: to keep fit on their own schedules in the privacy of their own home. If you would like to join this ever-expanding anti-club club and set up your own home gym, here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Get something you like

When setting up a home gym the most important thing to remember is that this gym is for your personal use, therefore you should only buy equipment you're going to use. It's no good buying a treadmill, a flat screen television, and a subscription to Tech TV so you can watch programs on chip manufacturing and software development project management while you run like you would at a club gym if you would rather listen to your MP3 player while lifting weights instead.

2. Fit your gym to your home

Always keep in mind the size of the home your home gym will have to fit into when shopping for exercise equipment. A home gym with a weight machine and yoga mats is fine if you own your own home, where rooms are bigger and space is plentiful. However, if you're living in a small apartment downtown with a roommate and two cats, a treadmill that folds up and fits under a bed for storage may be more what you're looking for.

3. Fancier doesn't always mean better

Just because upscale fitness stores downtown sell treadmills and weight machines worth thousands of dollars, that doesn't mean these machines will give you a better workout or help you lose weight faster than the ones that cost less. In fact, if you need an advanced degree in electronic design and manufacturing to understand the instructions for your new workout equipment, you may not work out as often because it's so exhausting trying to figure out how to operate the thing. Remember: you're not trying to impress anyone, you're trying to stay healthy.

4. Money is no object

If you're feeling the pinch right now, don't let that stop you from setting up a home gym. There are plenty of workout options out there that are both cheap and effective so before you start looking up how to sell used jewelry so you can put a down-payment on a weight machine, know what your other options are. A pilates DVD and a floor mat would only cost a few dollars. Simple stationary bikes can cost as little as $100. And if you prefer weight lifting to aerobic exercise, try a set of free weights and a weightlifting exercise book over the more expensive machine.