Nov 1, 2002 12:00 PM

PRINCETON, NJ — America's do-it-yourself spirit is alive and well — in their home gyms, at least. According to a study by Opinion Research Corp. (ORC) nearly half of all Americans (47 percent) say they own some piece of home exercise equipment.

It appears that the steady growth of health clubs has not slowed the home exercise equipment craze. The study indicated that 18 percent of adults (18 years and older) belong to a health club or gym — the high-end of industry estimates — some profits can be made by selling home equipment to club members as there is some overlap.

Despite some popular myths about home exercise equipment, more than one in three owners of home exercise equipment (37 percent) say they use theirs three or more times a week, while more than half (56 percent) are using their equipment at least once a week. Only one in five says they “never use their home exercise equipment.

Men seem to be more likely to use home exercise equipment than women, according to the ORC. The study indicated that 60 percent of men used their home exercise equipment [at least once a week] compared to 52 percent of women. Other differences arose between men and women with the weight bench being the most popular piece of home exercise equipment with men (26 percent). The treadmill proved to be women's preferred (24 percent) home exercise equipment.