Home gym essentials or equipment is expensive. Even a basic set of free weights will run you anywhere from $1 to $1.50 per pound of weight typically, which can get pricey fast. If you add in a new treadmill or elliptical, a weight bench, and heaven forbid a squat rack, you’re easily looking at several thousand dollars. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Here, David Reagan, an Atlanta-based personal trainer, lists all you need to equip your home gym on a budget.
There are many apps and websites that give quality workout plans that utilize only basic home workout equipment, and you can acquire a few pieces of key workout gear for cheap that will give you the ability to do a huge number of workouts.
Below are five essential pieces of equipment that you need if you’re trying to build a versatile home workout equipment, and they have the added bonus of being small enough to fit in any place in your house if you’re low on storage space.
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Here are the Five Home Gym Essentials
A Jump Rope
If you’re looking for a good cardio workout, a quality jump rope that costs about $20 is a must-have. There are plenty of workout routines found online that focus on different jump rope exercises, and it’s small enough that you can do it anywhere in your house (or outside). Skip the bulky treadmill or elliptical and pick up a jump rope for your home gym.
An Aerobic Stepper
For about $30, you can get an adjustable aerobic stepper that not only gives you options when doing cardio workouts but can also double as a weight bench. This gives you the ability to do chest presses, flyes, skull crushers, decline/incline pushups, and many other upper body workouts without having to buy an expensive weight bench.
They can also give you options for a plethora of lower body workouts, and your quads and glutes will be sore after doing a few workouts and less expensive item of home workout equipment and home gym necessities to have an awesome workout.
Exercise Gliders
For anywhere from $5-$30, a set of four exercise gliders can give you a highly effective core workout. With these bad boys, you can take your plank exercises to the next level by adding in some stability work. You can also combine them with the best ab roller wheel you have on hand. That will allow you to build a dynamic routine of stability and core strength.
They let you slide your hands and feet out while holding a plank, which engages your obliques, hip flexors, and shoulders in a way that a normal plank wouldn’t. They’re also super small so you can stick them in a basket or bin when they’re not in use.
A Pull-up bar
There are several options for pull-up bars out there that use pressure to allow you to perform pull-ups in a doorway, without putting in a permanent pull-up bar somewhere. The price for these can vary greatly depending on how many bells and whistles come with it, but a basic model will run anywhere from $20-$30.
It also usually comes with a sample workout designed to increase your upper body strength and endurance, and they have the added bonus of being able to help you mix up a push-up routine as well.
A Foam Roller
Any workout plan is only as good as its recovery plan, and foam rollers are an essential part of that plan. For tired, aching muscles, there aren’t many more effective pieces of equipment than a basic foam roller.
A standard one will cost you about $20, and there are also yoga-type workouts that utilize them. Your sore body will thank you profusely for adding this basic piece of equipment into your kit bag and making sure that you actually use it.
The five pieces of equipment listed above will cost roughly $100 in total, depending on what sort of deals you can find online. For even greater savings, make sure you check local online yard sales groups and apps since people are often trying to get rid of home gym essentials.
While you’re probably not going to be able to build a home workout equipment that allows you to become an Olympic power lifter or bodybuilder, you can get a good full-body workout for cheap at home with just a few pieces of home gym essentials.
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