How important is fitness equipment? This question comes up a lot lately mainly due to the proliferation of body weight workouts. And, I think it is a valid question. One thing I would like to point out is that the fitness industry follows fads, just like any other industry and the current fad is body weight workouts. That said I think it is a fad that will have some staying power.
One reason is that body weight workouts are very effective. They won’t pack on the muscle but they can lean you out and make you crazy strong. Many body weight workouts use large fully body movements that utilize large muscle groups as well as the core. This is essential for real functional strength.
Anther reason they will be here for awhile is that they don’t hurt the same way some workouts using fitness equipment can hurt. Bodyweight is much easier on the joints and tendons and is much less likely to do lasting damage than weighted workouts.
So, my original question, is fitness equipment important. It really depends on what you are trying to do. If you want to pack on muscle you will need so form of resistance training, and you will need to lift heavy. This means exercise equipment and lots of it. If you are doing yoga, you need a mat.
I think that it is important to rotate through a variety of different workouts, so the full answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no. At times you need to lift heavy and really challenge your body and other times you need to do high intensity body weight exercises.
I think that it is important to keep your options open in this arena. A home gym can be very effective at giving you the ability to workout whenever you want but do not limit yourself to your home gym. It should be used as a supplement. I think it is important to join different gyms from time to time to mix things up and keep things interesting, not to mention to keep learning new things.
If you have the time join a gym that has a vast array of fitness equipment because I guarantee at some point you will not have the time. Use this as an opportunity to dust of the home gym and take advantage of that opportunity.
Leverage your time and money to get the most out of the fitness equipment you have available.