With gyms closures continuing worldwide, the reality of in-home workouts is quickly setting in. It’s important to remain active during this time to keep your immune system strong and healthy. Without the normal equipment you use at the gym it’s time to get creative with your workouts and possibly look for some in-home equipment options. We want to provide you with a list of equipment, their benefits, and their costs, to make working out from home as straight forward as possible.
Bodyweight and household items ~ $0
The easiest and cheapest option for in-home workouts is using your own bodyweight and items you already have around the house. You might have to get a little creative here, but bodyweight exercises can be very effective. Simple household items like water jugs, soup cans, towels, and chairs can be used for added resistance and exercise variety.
Resistance Bands ~ $10
Bands increase the variety of exercises you can perform and are a cheap option that you can easily order online. Resistance bands are a great tool to add accommodating resistance to you exercises. All exercises have a strength curve, where the exercise becomes more or less difficult. For example, a squat gets tougher in the bottom of the movement and easier in the top. Add a band to your squat and it gives you something to resist as it pulls you into the bottom and makes the top of the squat harder as the band stretches.
Jump Rope ~ $10
Cardio equipment can be expensive and take up a lot of space, but jump ropes provide a great cardiovascular workout that taxes the whole body and you can do it in your living room.
Exercise Ball ~ $15
An exercise ball adds a stability element to any exercise which is great to improve your balance and core strength. Use the ball in a variety of positions to vary traditional movements: lying with your back on the ball, with your feet on the ball, or hands on the ball.
Stepper ~ $25
Steppers have been around forever, and for a reason! They’re an easy tool to add a cardiovascular element to your routine, and if nothing else they can be used as a bench.
Medicine ball ~ $30
Medicine balls tend to be a cheaper option to add resistance to your routine than dumbbells, and you can throw them around! You can use them for a variety of traditional exercises, but they also allow you to perform unique power and explosive exercises that you can’t do with normal free weights.
Pullup Bar ~ $30
Pulling exercises are the toughest to perform without equipment but are still among the most important in terms of healthy posture and movement. Even if you can’t perform full bodyweight pullups, you can adjust the height of the bar or use a chair to perform assisted variations.
ViPR ~ $70
Maybe the most unknown item on this list, but one of the most versatile. The ViPR combines full body movement with load which means you can use it to load non-traditional movements. In a gym setting it’s easy to get stuck in one or two planes of movement, but with a ViPR you can easily load all planes of motion making it a great functional training tool to improve your strength for everyday life.
TRX suspension trainer ~ $170
If you’re looking for a super versatile fitness tool, look no further than the TRX suspension trainer. These are basically a gym in themselves and can be used almost anywhere and pack up easily for travel and use on the go. Besides providing you with unlimited exercise variety, suspension straps also add an element of stability to all your workouts.
Adjustable Dumbbells ~ $200
These top of our list and come in as the most expensive item. For those that are looking to optimize strength training, adjustable dumbbells are the most versatile equipment you can get short of a full home gym. I really recommend anyone considering buying a set of dumbbells to invest in a full adjustable set instead. A single set of dumbbells will really limit you as you quickly find out the disparity in strength of different muscles groups and they will end up either being too heavy for most exercise or too light.
You’ll notice we left off things like large cardio equipment, kettlebells, or standalone racks and free weights. That’s because of the lack of versatility and cost associated with these items and we feel there are better options out there for you. Whether the current situation is forcing you to find other means to stay active, or you’re just looking to improve your current home gym, this list includes what we think provides the most versatile options that get you the most bang for your buck.
Want help becoming the healthiest, fittest, strongest version of you?
Most of us know that eating well, regular activity, and managing our sleep and stress levels are important for a healthy life. Still, we struggle to apply that information into our already busy lives. That's why the Profectus Fitness coaching programs help you create a strategy to lose fat, get stronger, and improve your health, all in the context of your own life. We know that's the only way to keep these changes for good, no matter what situation you're in.