I am a small (5 feet, 98 pounds) 39-year-old female. I'm not interested in losing weight. My main goal is to tone up my lower body without adding any bulk. Over the years I've enjoyed running, but I'm starting to feel it in my joints (and I may in fact be suffering a little from the onset of arthritis). I also have a bike and I get on it from time to time, but I'm not a great rider (I'm super slow so nobody likes to go with me!). I would like to purchase a home gym and/or free weights that would not be so hard on my ankles and knees. I was seriously considering the Bowflex Sport. Anybody have experience with this piece of equipment? As for free weights, I know absolutely nothing about using these things. But I guess I could always learn. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. But please don't suggest that I join a gym. I absolutely HATE gyms! I'd rather spend the money on equipment I can use at home. Plus I enjoy working out by myself where I can really concentrate. Thanks for your help!

Jen

You say you want to tone up but you dont want to add bulk? Well, generally the term 'toning' refers to adding muscle (bulking), then cutting (i.e. losing body fat to reveal the muscles). Since you dont gym as it is, Im going to assume youre lacking in the muscle department so adding a bit of bulk might be necessary :)
Personally, Im not a fan of these all-in-one home-gym equipment things. They usually tend to try do everything without getting much right.

Since you only want to do your lower body, here's what I would buy if I were in your situation:
1) Dumbells of various weights. With these I would do various lunges and dumbell squats.
2) A squat-rack with a barbell and some light weight-plates to start off with. With a barbell I would do squats (if you do them with correct form and sit back using your glutes properly during the squat your knees will be fine). Squats are renowned for being the best lower-body exercise as it works all the muscles.
I would also do Good-Mornings for the hamstrings and lower back.
I wouldnt work my lower body more than twice a week though. Anything more is overtraining.

Anyway, this is just what I would do. If like many people, you find the world of free weights a bit too daunting (I can never understand why), then I guess going with something like that Bowflex Sport is better than nothing. I just feel and know that free weights are superior to all types of machines.
Its a pity youre not interested in joining a gym cause they really are far superior to 99% of the home gyms out there. You wouldnt be limited for choice when it came to exercises. What exactly do you hate about them?

By the way, why dont you want to work the upper body at all?

Hi - thanks for responding to my post. I appreciate it. You'll have to excuse my ignorance when it comes to excercise and the terms related to it, though. My whole life I've been pretty active and never really seriously considered a formal workout routine. I walk to and from work, I run a few times a week, I go hiking, I play various sports. I've never had a problem motivating to get out and get some exercise. Now that I'm getting older, though, I'm starting to notice changes in my lower body and would like to address this. For some reason, I've never seemed to have any problems with my upper body(?). Not sure why. People always comment on my toned arms and back and ask me what I've been doing to keep them in shape. But I guess it won't be too long before I start noticing changes there too, so maybe I should be considering an upper body workout as well. Thanks for pointing that out.

I've tried gyms before (at the urging of various friends) but was always so bored there. I even tried a climbing gym for a year and that wasn't enough to keep my interest. I can't explain exactly why. I just really didn't like going. I think the idea of having to drive somewhere just to work out was daunting to me, especially when I could just walk out my door and go for a run or something. As I have said, I have no problems motivating myself to work out and I have plenty of time to do it - I just don't want to do it in a gym. And if I were to have my own equipment at home, I would more likely use it. But that's just how I am.....

I will take your advice and purchase some free weights before I even consider buying a home gym. I'll see what I can do to get these leg and butt muscles to firm up! I'll try some upper body stuff, too. Thanks again for your help.

Jen

like yourself i thought about buying equipment, but being around others in the gym give you motivation. go to your local gym, see what its like, you may enjoy it.

Jen~
I'm not sure, but I feel you're saying you want to lose some of the creeping middle age sag but still want to look like a woman, afraid you'll look like a body-builder? Lifting weights will not do that to your body unless you devote yourself to that. Normal, healthy levels of exercise do build muscle and burn fat, but we women retain a fine layer of fat that hides some of the definition we admire in our men but resist in women. Trust me, that doesn't happen unless a lot of time and effort is put into it. Good luck!

like yourself i thought about buying equipment, but being around others in the gym give you motivation. go to your local gym, see what its like, you may enjoy it.

More importantly, go to a gym WITH a well planned routine. Know exactly what you have to do and how to do it. If you walk around looking at different weights and machines and 'doing your own thing', you probably wont enjoy it as much, nevermind not get much out of it.

In response to what klimann said, it requires more than time and effort from a female. It requires the usage of testosterone or some form of steroid. If you see a woman that looks like a bodybuilder male, theres a 99.9% chance she's dabbled in that stuff, unless she has super-genes.

I love to workout at home. Did you ever hear of the FIrm videos? They are AWESOME for toning and they have videos specifically for lower body too.