Can’t always make it to the gym?  Don’t have a gym membership?  Prefer working out at home?  If this is you, just having a few things on hand at home can help get and keep you in shape without having to give up any space to do it. Your home gym is simple (and cheap!) – elaborate is not necessary at all!

Resistance training is critical, whether you are trying to lose weight, get stronger, or get more toned.  Bodyweight exercises, such as push-ups, squats and planks are great.  But, if you want to go beyond that, you need some basic equipment at home.  And, it doesn’t have to cost you lots of money or space in the house. 

Recommended Minimum Resistance Training Equipment

The following equipment will provide you with everything you need to do your resistance workouts at home:

• A set of exercise bands – Exercise bands provide varying degrees of resistance from very light to very heavy.  They come in both looped style and long bands with handles.  Most basic exercises can be done using these, from overhead shoulder presses to strengthening those glutes.  While you may think of these as good for beginners, there are ones on the market that provide higher resistance for intermediate and advanced exercisers as well.
• 3 sets of dumbbells – Three is all you need, really!  A set of light, medium and heavy weights.  And, that means what is light, medium, or heavy to you personally.  Or, if you prefer the style and option of having a “one size fits all,” you can purchase one set that is adjustable to varying weights.  These tend to be a bit bulkier but offer more options for adjusting the weight as you progress.  If a “one size fits all” doesn’t appeal, you can start by just buying 1-2 sets based on your current need to help get you started.
• Stability Ball – Often missing from a person’s workout is balance and stability training.  Athletes know the importance of this to reduce chances of injury, and be able to stay on their feet!  The same holds for the rest of us, we all need good balance and core strength to reduce the risk of injury while exercising and going about our daily lives.  There are many exercises that can be conducted using the stability ball, from ball squats to even push-ups for more advanced exercisers.

If you are an avid at home exerciser, then adding one of our favorite pieces of equipment, the Bosu Ball^(R), can be useful.  This is great for increasing the level of difficulty of a workout by further challenging balance and core stability. 

This equipment is enough to ditch the excuses and get to working out!