5 Pieces of Fitness Equipment a Home Gym Needs

When you`re building your home gym you might feel the need to buy all the equipment you can afford. Although it’s good to have nice variety in the comfort of your own home, you only need basic equipment to work most muscle groups.

A good starting point is to cover the major muscles groups first. You need to have the most options with compound movements which will allow you to train multiple muscle groups during the same exercise. These types of exercises will provide the best results in a short period of time and possibly work best for home gyms. So what type of equipment do you really need?

Olympic Weight Set

Among the most important equipment a home gym can have is an Olympic weight set. There's no better way to develop overall strength and muscles than with compound movements. PERIOD!
Just think about all types of squats and deadlifts you could be doing. In fact the deadlift is one of the few barbell exercises you could be doing and still get a full body workout.

Regardless of the trends in the fitness industry, you will rarely see a commercial gym without a barbell. And if you're serious about working out that should be one of the first things you're buying.
One thing to add here - they don't come cheap.

A pull–up bar

Pull-up bars are a convenient way to develop the back muscles and form the “V shape” that so many people are after. It can work even for women as it can help develop strength.

The classic pull-up is also a compound movement as it involves the pulling muscles such as the back, biceps and forearms.

Some of the key benefits include strengthening your core and improving balance in the upper body. If you have the right technique and focus on the full range of motion you can get visible results in weeks.

The best thing - they don't cost a lot and you can even make one yourself. A no-brainer right?

Dumbbells

Dumbbells are so versatile that they can be the only equipment in your home and you could still perform a complete workout. The can be used for all of the major muscle groups. You can train your traps, shoulders, back, chest, biceps, triceps, abs and legs with dumbbells.

One of the often underestimated benefits of using dumbbells is fixing your body`s posture. If you perform your exercises standing you will need to maintain a good posture to perform the exercises correctly, which is a major plus, especially in a society where we sit for hours each day for our daily jobs.

Resistance bands

Resistance bands have been used for many years. They can add extra difficulty to your regular exercises and they can also force you to improve balance and posture.

Plus - resistance bands can be stored easily and taken on weekends away to provide an on-the-move workout whenever you need it.

If you want a different style of training you can also opt for suspension training which has been made popular by the military. You can anchor the system at any higher point in your home gym and perform multiple exercises to help improve the toning of your body.

The best advantage of home suspension training?

You can switch between strength and cardio training adding the much needed versatility to your equipment.

A rowing machine

Rowing machines can be associated with commercial gyms, but there are plenty of models for home use also. A good rowing machine can provide the high intensity cardio workout you need to lose weight. It can also increase your resistance levels and improve blood flow.

There are multiple types of rowing machines which can be based on air or water resistance. For home use you can even choose an entry-level model which can be challenging enough to provide a solid alternative to the traditional treadmill which has been used for weight loss training.

Keep it simple

When you build a new home gym you might be overwhelmed by all the equipment and advice you get from other users. Make sure you keep things simple and try to cover every major muscle group and a cardio option to have a complete workout at hand when needed.

You can also consider establishing a monthly budget to save for future equipment, as your fitness needs will see you progress through the routines.


"Paul is a passionate fitness enthusiast, writing about his experience in different blogs all around the web. He’s most knowledgeable in different fitness gadgets and equipment. Paul believes in the idea, that great equipment can take your workout to a next level." 

You can find Paul at http://www.dumbbellshub.com/

You don`t need all that jazz.

So I am a bit ADHD, I lose interest in things or get distracted. Exercise is no exception to this, so every 4-6 weeks I change up my training program. Now it may be small changes, such as variations of the exercises I am doing. Sometimes I do a re think and change the whole thing. Now over the years I have acquired a fair bit of equipment and I will try to train different things. So for one block of training since I have kettlebells I do kettlebell training. I also have a weight set and for a block after that I might do a barbell block or use both pieces of equipment. To be honest, I have a bunch of equipment, but really the number one thing I have is my mind and my body. I don’t mean calisthenics necessarily either, I am talking about using my mind to lead my body. Recently I made some paralette bars out of pvc.

This piece of equipment is used to perform various gymnastic moves. I thought I would like to challenge myself and do something different. To be honest, I thought it would be easier to use these bars due to the helpful grip component and try out some moves. Turns out not so easy and to be honest, I kind of like that. It challenges me and it highlighted some areas I could improve. They were cheap to make too. I made them for $31 and about 30mins worth of time. That’s the thing I want to highlight in this article is that really it is your mind and your body that you are training and to be honest, if my equipment disappeared, I`d be upset but at the same token I don`t have to have equipment. You probably don`t either, seems when people make the choice to start exercising they have to get the latest gym wear and awesome shoes, etc. To be honest you don`t have to have all that kind of stuff. I was told that exercise cost too much. I suggested to this person 1. Could they afford to be unhealthy? 2. Exercise can be free or low cost. I built my paralette bars and many pieces of equipment many pieces are cheap or free. Really, it is about being creative if you have two buckets you could fill them with water and lift them up. You can use furniture or logs or a wheelbarrow or walk home from shopping and every time you stop do a different exercise move.

Exercise is about being creative and improving your health. It isn`t about the latest gym wear or shoes and we need to remember that when we put up barriers to exercise. Children are great exercisers and they are very creative many times using the world around them. Could you find ways to exercise using the world around you relatively cheap or free?