Gym memberships are great, but it’s not always easy to make it to the gym for a workout. Factor in your busy day, travel time, work, social and family obligations and your time seems to disappear more and more throughout the day.
Home gyms can be a great solution for those who don’t have a membership or for weeks when time is limited and making it to the gym proves to be difficult or just plain impossible. The best part about a home gym is it doesn’t have to be over-the-top or take up an entire floor of your house. It can be small with just a few essential pieces of equipment that provide a great workout.
Let us preface our list by saying that there are many great pieces of workout equipment on the market. However throughout our years in the fitness industry, we have found much of it to be, for lack of a better word, silly. In other words, you really don’t need overpriced exercise tools to get in a great workout. Below are our recommendations for efficient exercise tools that will provide an awesome workout and keep you from breaking the bank.
Free Weights: While it may be great to have an entire selection of free weights at your disposal, you can really do a ton with just two sets of weights. One lighter set and one heavier set will provide enough of a variety for a number of exercises. Free weights tend to run $1 per pound, so a good estimate for one set of 10 pounds and one set of 30 pounds, for example, would be roughly $80.
Kettlebell: Kettlebells are a great complement to free weights because you can perform movements that flow very easily into one another in a circuit. While many of these movements can be done with a free weight, they can be performed much more easily and comfortably with a kettlebell. Select a weight that is slightly challenging and not too light. A no-frills kettlebell will run you $1 per pound.
Resistance Bands: Resistance bands are great because you can use them for so many different exercises—virtually anything you can imagine. The most functional resistance bands have a piece of fabric that you can connect to a door or wrap around a solid fixture. Similar to dumbbells, it is a good idea to get one light band and one heavy band to provide some selection for various exercises. Nowadays, you can find sets with multiple bands and connectors for around $30.
Dynamax Ball: Dynamax balls are fantastic for conditioning work, and they’re highly underrated. They can be slammed on the ground without any bounce, used as a weight or even used to add some height to pushups or hip bridges. They come in many weight options, but a 10-pound Dynamax ball will run you about $50.
Exercise Mat: The necessity of an exercise mat goes without saying. If you’re doing core work on your back or in a kneeling position, you will want some supportive padding underneath. A decent mat that isn’t super thin will cost about $20.
Jason DeHenzel has trained some of New York’s most prestigious clients, including high-profile lawyers, advertising executives, movie producers and musicians. Sophie DeHenzel is a Pn1-certified nutritionist and former downhill ski racer. The pair founded DeHenzel Training Systems, a 2015 Home-Based Business of the Year from the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. DeHenzel Training Systems develops customized fitness plans for clients of different abilities, experience and commitment. Find out more at dtsnova.com.
