How to Set Up a Home Gym
Looking at how to set up a home gym and the equipment you want to add can sometimes give you sticker price shock. It can also be confusing when you try to figure out which equipment is best, what bells and whistles you need, and how you can maximize your space to get the equipment that is right for you.
Before you head off in search of new fitness equipment, consider these options that are affordable and can get your home gym started off right.
Looking to start a home gym on the cheap? Here are some inexpensive home gym starter options.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are an ideal option to ad first to your home gym. You can get them in packs that contain several levels of resistance. They can be used with a variety of workouts including at home cardio workouts where your arms are free for resistance training. Some of the Walk Away the Pounds, in home walking workouts I do incorporate them. Resistance bands take up very little room and are versatile (even easy to travel with) making them a must have for at home gyms with limited space and budgets. I just found fabric ones that I want to try!
Weight Bench
A weight bench may not seem like a must have but it can serve multiple uses in your home gym. You can use a weight bench for upper body workouts, for support, leg workouts and more. You can also use the weight benches for stretches, dips, and moves like that. You can find used weight benches at thrift stores or on something like Letgo, if you’re looking to save money.
Weights
There are a huge variety of options for weight sets. We personally have the StairMaster twistlock adjustable dumbbell set with stand (it looks like this one). We also have some 1, 2, 4 and 5 lb weights. I sometimes also use the weight plates that came with the weight bench. My favorite are the soft hand walking weights like these SPRI ones. These look similar too. We also have medicine balls. Quite the variety!
Mini Trampoline/Rebounder
The mini trampoline will give you a total body workout! You cover all bases: cardio, toning, etc. It’s a low impact workout with hardly any stress on your joints and a great calorie burner too. Any one from beginner to advanced can use a mini trampoline (rebounder). You might have seen trampoline classes popping up in gyms across the country. Yea it’s good stuff. One of my favorite workouts.
In an article from JumpSport, they say, “The 1980 NASA study also sited rebounding as being one of the best exercises for rebuilding lost bone tissue, after they studied astronauts who would lose bone mass while in space and observing them regain the mass due to rebounding. The increased G force on the bones strengthens them with less risk of injury than other forms of exercise. Trampolining’s effectiveness for strengthening bone density can also help prevent osteoporosis and even reverse the damage.”
Kettlebells
Kettlebells can be an ideal alternative to other, much larger, gym equipment. You can use kettlebells to do upper body, lower body, and core workouts. They can help you with strength & weight training. You can also use various techniques to help build your cardio as well. A few kettlebells in a variety of sizes take up such a small amount of room and give you exactly what you need for an at home workout. We don’t have any yet because I have to be careful doing certain workouts but they are on the wish list.
You might look into something like a Bowflex trainer as an additional piece of equipment and some of these options are ideal for small spaces, but may not give you the type of workout you want. By going with a variety of equipment, you can setup a workout routine that works for you and your lifestyle.
If you have a good space and money to work with you might add more fitness equipment like a treadmill, spin bike, elliptical, etc. We decided a long time ago that we would invest in a pretty decked out home gym since we would ultimately be saving by not having a gym membership or going to fitness classes. We were right! It was worth it.
There are still a few big things on my home gym wish list. I’ll have to write a post for that too!
Hopefully you have enjoyed my tips and recommendations on how to set up a home gym. We had a fridge in there for the longest time and just moved that upstairs this weekend. Best idea ever. Replaced it with a chest freezer in the gym to house the foods we’ll make when we start meal prepping.
Here’s a tour of our home gym garage space (from 4 years ago but it’s still pretty much the same):
Some of those beautiful pictures have since fallen off the walls and need to be replaced. Plus there is a bit of clutter that needs to be tended to. I would also like to freshen up the home gym with some more color. We’ll see. That might have to wait until Spring.
Do you have a home gym? What are some of your favorite accessories, workout equipment, etc. for your home gym? What are your best tips on how to set up a home gym?
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