What Kind of Equipment Do You Need For A Home Gym?
You woke up way to early just to beat the gym rush. Maybe you tried going after work, just to be too tired most days.
While some of us may live close to a gym that is always open, has awesome equipment and is never crowded. The rest of us don’t have such luxuries because we live in reality. But that doesn’t mean you want to go without your workout! So what’s the alternative? Getting the best home gym equipment and creating your own gym!
This can seem daunting and maybe you don’t want to spend that much, but there are plenty of ways to achieve your goals for a sculpted physique on a budget!
Starting out, you don’t need a treadmill, cycling machine or even an endless pool. You can get 15 minutes of killer cardio just running around your house (it’s free, but you may look a little crazy).
Determining what your home gym will contain does require some preparation. The first question you should ask yourself, is “why do I want one?”. Are you trying to lose weight? Training for a marathon? Want to become the size of a truck? Well your equipment should be tailored to which goal you have in mind.
You have to have a goal!
The majority of goals focused around your weight require proper dieting more than anything. So I’m going to focus on 2 primary goals, gaining mass/strength and toning up to look good in a bikini/swim trunks.
Remember your diet will play a crucial role in ANY regiment you choose. So be sure to do proper research on what you’ll need to put your new gym equipment to proper use.
If you’re unaware and starting at this fresh, then you should know about the main focus for each.
- A home gym for gaining mass is going to require a lot of heavy lifting (you’re not going to gain a lot of muscle jerking a 5lb weight around 500 times).
- To shed your fat and trim up you’ll need to burn more calories than you intake. This basically leads to cardio focused exercises to hit your fat burning heart rate.
Lets look at the best home gym equipment!
Heavy Lifting for Heavy Gains
Barbells!
Focusing on heavy lifting for mass and using only the best home gym equipment, you’ll need weights that can be used to target all muscle groups.
An essential for building mass is going to be a bench and barbell. This is first because although most people will glance and say “ok, there’s something for my chest and tri’s”, they leave out the multitude of exercises you can do with these glorious pieces of metal.
If you have a bench and barbell (I should add weights are needed as well), you can now bench (chest/triceps), Squat (Legs), Deadlift (Near full body), Bench Dips (Tricep focused), Shoulder Press (…shoulders), Bar curls (Biceps), Shrugs (Traps), and a many more exercises!
There are exercises to focus forearms and calves but I think you get the gist. Also, be sure to look for a bench that has an adjustable seat. While not necessary, being able to target incline and decline for bench will help with definition if you’re aiming for it.
Overall a barbell and bench are a perfect shrine to pray for your gains. It just takes some creativity. A few examples of great barbells can be found at Eleiko.
Safety:
When benching or doing any heavy weight, ensure you have a spotter or purchase equipment that includes spotter bars. Otherwise stick with the weight you can hit 8 good reps with and work up slowly.
Dumbbells!
I mention barbell for those who are dedicated to fitness, because investing in a full set can be costly depending on the brands.
If you’re looking to save a little money and go with something more versatile or add with your barbell set, choose dumbbells.
No home gym is complete without the Thor’s hammer equivalent of exercise equipment. Great for a myriad of muscle groups and enhances stability. Basically everything you can do with a barbell, you can do with dumbbells. As well as a whole lot more. I would highly recommend adjustable dumbbells if your goal is heavy lifting.
It’s much easier to add weight as you can up, than manage a library of dumbbells from 5lbs to 80lbs. I highly recommend Power Block over Bowflex or the alternatives because there are less ‘moving parts’ and other brands tend to malfunction and stick.
Pull Up Bar
If you’re going to be lifting heavy, your whole body needs to be able to handle it. Oh, you have the bicep strength to curl 50lb dumbbells like a feather?
Well does your back strain in the process and feel like it’s going to tear.
Then get your back where it needs to be, because one muscle group may be able to handle the weight, but your core and back are your central focus for all movement. Trust me, pulling your back because you haven’t given it proper care can lay you in bed for weeks.
So having a pull up bar (basically one to put in your doorway is fine) can help you properly train your back to prepare for heavier movements down the road.
You also don’t need a bunch of weighted plates for this since it is a body weight device that can give you lat wings with no additional weight. If you want more weight however, be sure to grab a lifting belt with attachments for weight addition.
Yoga/Exercise Mat
While you can go through quite a few killer ab routines with the previous equipment listed, there are luxuries to make some of the exercises less painful.
A yoga or exercise mat is a comfort that can be underestimated. In short, if you value your tailbone, get one. I would recommend one with decently thick padding, mattress thickness is too thick.
This will help not just in stretching and if you do yoga, but also for all core exercises that cause your bones to scrape on your hardwood/lightly padded carpet floors.
That covers the basics!
To be honest, you don’t need anything else. Proper variation of weights with these pieces of equipment can suffice for a well-rounded home gym.
The key is to do a wide range of exercises with them. However, there are of course accessories and other pieces of equipment, but we’re trying to save money and still start strong. But in essence, get these and increased strength and size will follow (as long as your diet is on point).
So we went over lifting, now losing weight!
If your goal is to lose weight, the primary point of your exercises will be to burn more calories than you take in. The exercise answer to this is cardio.
Get your heart rate up and reach a point of burning energy until your pores cry sweat, the nectar of the cardio gods. There’s obviously plenty of ways to increase your heart rate to a desired point, however the same monotonous routine can get boring.
So here are a few suggestions to get you on the right track when starting a healthy fat burning routine.
Well before I go on, the yoga/exercise mat is also added to this list. Especially for yoga, and if you’re knocking the effects of yoga, you’ve never went through a proper routine. It will leave you sore if you implement it right and are new to the poses. I also will not be including equipment like a treadmill or stationary bike.
I personally cannot back them because I see no use in spending that much money on something that you can do outside for free (running at least). “What about during winter”? Yeah sure, maybe if you live somewhere it’s below freezing I can understand. If that’s the case, there may still be cheaper options.
Running Shoes!
Proper running shoes! These can make or break your cardio routine. Above all other pieces of equipment for exercise on this list, good running shoes are a necessity.
We’ve already written another article on choosing proper gym gear, but if you take anything away from this article at all, please, please, get the right shoes! They will save you a lot of heartache and injury.
For a nice look through for picking shoes to get a better idea, definitely hop over to Runners World for some help.
In personal experience, if you’re new to running you might not know too well what you’ll need.
Sometimes just buying slightly off brand but comfortable shoes to get a feel for your style is a great place to start. Not everyone knows right away if they heel strike or toe strike. You might not even know the difference between pronating and supinating. If you plan on getting into running for your cardio specifically, it’s a culture to really research.
You’ll find what’ll keep you safe and make great friends along the way.
Note: if you’re serious about getting the right shoe and not injuring yourself, see a podiatrist for the best options!
For a large selection of shoes I wouldn’t recommend just buying off of amazon, going to foot locker, or Road Runners!
Jump Rope!
This one is an easy buy and can do some serious work on your body. As stated previously, just get your heart rate up and continue. A jump rope is perfect for this if it’s raining and you don’t feel like getting your new running shoes soaked. So just stay inside and get your cardio burn at home.
Fitness Tracker!
There are a multitude of these to choose from by brand, use, and even different aesthetics. This isn’t necessarily something you work out with directly, but it does keep you on track. If you’re goal is to lose weight, making sure you’re hitting your target heart rate is key. Especially if you’re counting your calorie intake and burn, these can help you stay in line.
Plus if you’re a person like me and prefer to track your progress vigorously, this will be perfect for you! It’s probably obvious but I personally use the Fitbit Charge 2 since it has plenty of features while still being affordable.
Body-weight Routines
These are your P90X, Zumba and Yoga type routines. This is where having an exercise mat and a few dumbbells can help save a lot of money!
Compared to trying to build muscle mass and strength, a lot of equipment isn’t needed to tone. It’s much more diet focused while keeping your muscles well fed.
BEWARE! A lot of these programs are nothing more than repackaged exercise routines that you can find on www.bodybuilding.com .
For those who have never been on bodybuilding.com, it says “Body Building”, but it is definitely a great resource regardless of your goals. Most of the time with free advice!
Whats Most Important?
No matter your home gym ideas or layout, always keep in mind you primary goal. Don’t get caught up buying everything you don’t need and not focusing on what will benefit you the most. Best of luck in your fitness journey!
