You’ve just finished work but your to-do list is still waiting with a bundle of things to tick on. Grocery shopping, delayed phone calls to friends, a birthday present for tomorrow’s party, preparing dinner and… No time to go to the gym again!
If this scenario sounds like your typical weekly routine, then you’re probably feeling down when you realize that your monthly gym membership has, once again, gone to waste while you’ve been struggling to beat the clock and find time to exercise.
Today’s hectic, time-consuming lifestyle often prevents us from hitting the gym on a regular basis. In time, many of us easily lose motivation because we feel physically incompetent and sluggish, therefore, we start procrastinating doing workouts at the gym or in any venue that supports group physical activities.
However, skipping the gym doesn’t mean you have to skip workout and training. Anyone can exercise in the comfort of their own home with your very own at-home gym. All you need is a bit of free space and some fitness equipment that will help you perform all the essential workouts.
Lately, home gyms have become a popular fitness choice among many while the growing competition in the gym and fitness products industry has resulted in lower, affordable prices of home gym equipment. Making a gym at home has never been easier.
In other words, no excuses! All you need is motivation, self-discipline and a bit of space in your garage, living room or even bedroom.
According to fitness experts and user reviews, here are the top 10 pieces of exercise equipment to add to home gyms:
Table of Contents
The Top Home Gym Equipment
1. Indoor Rowing Machine
The Proflex X82 Rowing Machine is a smart and convenient piece of equipment constructed of an elastic cord system that provides a total body workout.
Abs, arms, back, legs, you name it! This machine targets all major muscle groups, helping you lose weight, tone your body and maintain your fit appearance.
The Proflex X82 Rowing Machine has an LCD display that allows you to monitor calories burned during training. It also data about your workout time, stroke count and stroke rate per minute.
The quality molded seat and the space-saving design add to the comfort of this time-saving, cost-effective equipment that you may use to achieve your desired fitness results.
2. Multi-Station Home Gym
This piece of equipment provides you with the ability to do various exercises.
With the Multi-Station Home Gym you can lift weight with the bench press but also tone your pectorals and your biceps.
The leg, foot, and arm holds have thick padding and offer support so you feel in complete comfort while you workout.
If that’s not enough, it even has a boxing bag.
Do you think this equipment is too big to fit inside your home? Not at all! The compactness of the Multi-Station Home Gym allows storage even in small flats.
3. Adjustable Dumbbells
A perfect piece of equipment for resistance training as well as routine workouts. Use these dumbbells to build muscle strength, improve bone health and achieve your ideal weight by burning calories.
These adjustable dumbbells are suitable for performing weight resistance training and body workouts for all major muscle groups including arms, chest, back, core and legs.
4. Home Resistance Suspension Trainer
This portable suspension trainer may be defined as one of home gym essentials as it is a piece of durable, safe and comfortable equipment that provides multiple exercises for your chest, back, abdominals, arms, and legs.
To start exercising all you need is a quality door and frame to hook the trainer on! It is suitable for beginners, professionals as well as travelers who want to maintain their on-the-go workout routine.
The clasps and clamps are all metal while the rubber handles with foot straps are ant-slip and easy to clean. Put your suspension trainer in its meshed compact carrying bag and take your wellness rituals anywhere you please!
5. Medicine Ball
A unique fitness ball for your home gym that promotes muscular strength and thus improves your stamina but also enhances physical endurance, stability, and joint flexibility.
Made of high-quality textured surface and rubber, this Medicine Ball is extremely durable and one of the best choices for performing abs and arm training in the convenience of your home.
6.Yoga Mat
The top essential for any home gym! The Trabee yoga mat with carrying strap is a piece of convenient exercise equipment for all kinds of workouts including different types of yoga, pilates, and floor body workout.
Made of premium eco, non-toxic material, this yoga mat is environment-friendly and safe to use. Moreover, it has a waterproof anti-slip surface that prevents the absorption of moisture and harmful germs while preventing injuries during exercises.
The Trabee Yoga Mat is extensively long and with comfortable cushioning that will let you stay lightweight and balanced on its surface. The unique dual-color pattern and included carrying strip only add up to this irreplaceable element for your home training.
7. Bench Press
This easy-to-assemble bench press is one of the best choices for home gyms.
Made out of high-quality strong steel frame together with anti-skid and anti-scuff capped feet, this bench press is perfect for leg curl and leg extension workouts as well as hamstrings and calf development.
The flat and multiple incline positions on the bench press will help you perform exercises that will tone up your body and build your all-around strength.
8. Punching Bag
A high-quality standing punching bag that is best to use for training Taekwondo, Muay Thai, MMA, boxing or other cardio and high-intensity workouts at home.
The 2020 Punching Bag is made of high-density PU Leather which makes it strong but soft while supported with fine stitching and high-tech shock absorption system. The 4-point hydraulic system enables stability, balancing and great shock absorption.
This punching bag is a piece of workout equipment that anyone can use due to its large size and convenient assemble. Free punching glove and wrist support are included.
9. Aerobic Step
The Everfit Aerobic Exercise Stepper is a piece of fitness equipment that will help you train body coordination, burn excess calories and tone up hips and thighs in the comfort of your home.
The anti-slip surface, sturdy step risers and wide stepping platform, which is adjustable to various heights, may provide a convenient home training that will save your time and help you maintain a healthy workout routine.
Step on while watching your favorite TV series and shows and get your exclusive home fitness experience!
10. Chin Up Bar
The Door Gym Bar is a multi-functional piece of equipment for strength training in home gyms. Not only that it’s affordable but it’s also easy to install at almost any door frame without using any additional screws and bolts.
Install the Door Gym Bar in the doorway and use it to perform your preferred back workout, doing pull-ups and chin-ups to develop your shoulders, back, arms, abs, and more. Then, move it to the floor and perform sit-ups but also push-ups and tricep dips.
Install it quickly and simply by using the easy-to-read assembly guide.
Benefits of a Home Gym
Home gyms save both money and precious time but, above all, provide us the flexibility to manage and incorporate workout on our busy schedules. We may choose when, how and for how long are we going to exercise.
In other words, home gyms are a long-term investment that will cut down on time-consuming traveling to the gym as well as paying an expensive gym membership.
Research has shown that many people feel more motivated to exercise when they now that they neither have to travel to reach their fitness venue nor spend extra time and effort to return home.
Some home-gym practitioners have said that exercising in social circumstances puts them under pressure to pay too much attention to their appearance so they often end up buying costly activewear while at home they feel free to exercise in any comfy outfit.
As an extra benefit of working out in a home gym, you may do workouts at your own pace, balancing a between light and high-intensity training on different days.
Setting challenges is important but also listening to your body. Home gyms give you the freedom to decide upon the type, duration, and intensity of workouts according to your personal needs or mood for the day.
Of course, if you feel like you’re up for social exercising, and you need a fitness buddy to break the workout routine, call your friend and have fun while sweating to your favorite songs!
Lastly, another great benefit of home gyms is providing and maintaining the level of hygiene you prefer. Gyms and group workout activities in venues are often too crowded and filled with unpleasant body odors.
At home, your fitness equipment remains clean as well as your workout spot that you can tidy up in a minute. We recommend having a spacious box or container where you would store and keep your equipment without taking any additional space.
How to Choose Equipment for Your Home Gym?
If you have a lightweight dumbbell set (1-3 kg), a mat and a piece of furniture like a stable bench or chair that you can find at home, you already have all the necessary elements to start performing your workout routine.
Moreover, if you add an extra piece of equipment, like an exercise bike or resistance bands, you’re heading toward a professionally equipped home gym.
Nevertheless, there are several aspects one should have in mind when choosing the equipment, and these refer to your main fitness goal.
Think about whether your aim is to build muscle mass, hit a cardio training that will boost your physical strength and endurance or you perceive exercising only as a quality-time hobby.
If you want to build muscle mass, the best would be to focus on purchasing dumbbells of various sizes, weight bench, power rack, as well as weight plates and weight bars.
If your target is to lose weight and burn calories while achieving or maintaining a high level of physical strength and heart rate endurance, then a spin bike or a treadmill will do.
Finally, if you strive toward a fitness routine that will work as a fun stress-reliever, you should opt for simple pieces of equipment like a mat, a foam roller and a set of dumbbells. Combine light cardio exercises like mount climbers or squat jumps together with a full minute of plank and leg raises.
Of course, there are no strict rules regarding what’s best for your home gym but remember to choose elements that are simple to use, safe, durable and are proportionally balanced when it comes to price and quality.
Types of Exercises You Can Do at Home
Once you’re done shopping and you have all the equipment you need, grab a pen and a piece of paper and get ready for your first home training.
In order to get organized and keep your workout routine on track, make a list of several essential exercises that you should implement in each training, such as squats, pull-ups, ab workouts, push-ups, and deadlifts.
The optimal combination enframes 20 to 30 minutes of cardio with strength training or bodyweight exercises such as squats, planks, crunches, lunges, etc.
Exercises such as barbell squats, pull-ups, and military press are warmly recommended for building muscle mass.
On the other hand, if you want to lose weight, try out burpees, jumping jacks as well as jogging in place or static jumping rope.
Don’t forget to begin and finish every training with a set of stretching exercises in order to keep your muscles flexible and prevent any plausible injuries.
Lay on the floor on your mat to perform these or add up resistance bands, a pilates ball, or a foam roller for extending your stretching experience.
FAQ
What Home Gym Equipment to Buy First?
As soon as you decide upon the space you’re going to use to create your home gym, you are ready to prioritize pieces of equipment that may help you to lose weight or tone up certain parts of your torso.
In the beginning, you ought to define your budget and start buying equipment accordingly. Downloaded or youtube videos with a wide array of physical exercises, along with a set of dumbbells and yoga mat, can do wonders!
In addition, you should consider buying a heart rate monitor that will check your cardiovascular activity and expose your progress during exercising.
Of course, one of the crucial factors for performing quality workouts that will bring well results is having high-quality equipment. Most of the top-rated brands create their products according to the performance of human bodies related to the type of exercises.
When you buy equipment for your home gym for the first time, make sure to make a research before you finally invest. High prices don’t essentially mean high quality.
Fitness experts and professionals, however, suggest a couple of brands that stand for high-quality, trusted commercial fitness equipment, including Cybex, Precor, Life Fitness, Star Trac, Hammer Strength, etc.
Regardless if you’re a beginner or an experienced workout performer when it comes to best home gym equipment, you should opt-out for pieces that are convenient, have plenty of use and are easy to store. This way you’ll save money, time and energy while planning your next fitness session.
How Often Should You Workout?
Defining your workout routine is important if you want to achieve a certain goal- losing weight, improving your physical strength or maybe both. We suggest that you make a weekly plan that would cover 3-5 days of exercise and at least two rest days.
Each of us has different preferences and needs that may have a direct impact on the workout schedule, so try to find out what works best for you in terms of time and intensity.
Fitness experts suggest either 30 minutes of moderate to intensive cardio, 5 days a week combined with 25 minutes of strength training, or 25 minutes of aerobic exercises with 30 minutes of weight training that would activate and tone up various muscle groups [1].
Everyone responds differently to exercises, so some would find themselves keen on cardio while others prefer weightlifting.
Nevertheless, if you want to lose weight wellness professionals suggest sticking to 300 minutes of cardio exercises on a weekly basis along with 150 minutes of strength and resistance training.
These roughly calculated figures may not only improve your physical appearance but also strengthen your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, develop a level of insulin resistance and avoid chronic inflammation.
Don’t forget to include two sessions of stretching in each training in order to prolong muscle activity and flexibility and prevent injuries.
What to Eat After a Workout?
Most of us are focused on what we eat during the day and before exercising, however, post-workout nutrition is of great importance when it comes to maintaining a good physical condition.
Firstly, studies have shown that eating after exercising is really important as your body is affected by physical activity. During a workout, the muscles use fuel from their glycogen stores as well as a certain amount of proteins.
As a result, after the workout, the muscles are exhausted from protein and glycogen so it is important to consume a nutritional meal that will supply enough carbs and proteins after working out.
In addition, when you eat after work out your body recovers quicker from exhaustion, reverses the synthesis of protein in muscles and restores glycogen stores.
Of course, you should aim toward a healthy meal or snack that will maintain your energy level and provide you with the nutrients you need. This can be hard to stick to sometimes as it may take additional cooking and planning in advance.
We suggest you stick to simple ingredients and add them to your regular food shopping list so you don’t waste extra effort and energy in post-workout meal planning. This way, you’ll feel organized yet satisfied with your new eating habits.
Here is a list of 10 post-workout snacks and quick meals that will instantly inspire you. Print it and stick it on your kitchen cupboard or fridge so you always have it close at hand.
- chicken with roasted vegetables
- egg omelet
- leafy greens and sweet potato.
- avocado spread on whole-grain bread.
- tuna salad
- oatmeal and 1/2 banana
- cottage cheese and a handful of berries
- hummus and carrot sticks
- tahini spread on rice cakes
- nut butter on whole-grain crackers.
The Bottom Line
The modern way of living is certainly enough time-consuming and often prevents us from spending enough time on our mental and physical self-care.
Our monthly earnings and precious time play an important role when we ought to choose what’s the best way to keep a balanced wellness routine in the long run.
Regardless of our workout preferences, making a home gym will certainly save us energy. As a proven affordable, long-term investment, home gyms rely only on simple pieces of fitness equipment placed in a moderately spacious nook of your house or flat.
So don’t waste another day on couch-potatoing after work. Put on your activewear, grab the mat, play your favourite tracks or episodes and get into a new wellness routine that will shred those extra pounds and keep you healthy.
