Your Home Gym: What You Need to Get Started

Your home gym does not have be expensive or filled with huge overpriced machines to make an incredible impact on your health and physique. There are a few pieces of equipment that are extremely versatile that you can use to work out any specific muscle or group of muscles you need. As I’ve built my home gym I’ve tried and tested several types of equipment to see what really will work out the body fully, while taking up little space in your closet.

We all have different goals, so this list is to be a starting point to the absolute beginner. Later on I will be creating new lists to help guide you on what to add to your collection as you develop your goals. The links here are affiliate links, but you will be able to also find any of these items at Walmart or your local department store.

First, start with a great foundation: a quality workout mat. A few things to look for in a good mat is a bit of padding, and a non-slip texture on both sides. You don’t want it to slide across the floor, or you to slide on it! I picked mine up at TJ Maxx, but this is a similar mat to what I have: https://amzn.to/44w2Wt0

Black Foam Workout Mat

Next, we need some resistance to help keep your muscle toned and strong. You can start this with 3 different ways. One, you can buy free weights in 5lb increments and simply buy bigger ones as you need, like these ones: https://amzn.to/46EMb0i

Pink 3lb Dumb Bells

I particularly love having a pair of 3lb, 5lb, and 10lb free weights ready for the days I just want to do some light resistance, that way I’m still challenging my muscles and creating positive movement, but maybe I’m tired or can feel my muscles need a bit of a break from heavy weights. They are also cheap to start with, so if you need a budget friendly option, these will work great for your first 6 months to a year depending on how much you push yourself.

I also have a set of interchangeable weights. If you feel you need more resistance and want to challenge yourself, these are great because they only take up a small amount of space. They are also fantastic because you can easily get the mid weights. If you find you are struggling with 15lbs, but 10lbs is too light, you can go for 12.5lbs for a gentle but progressive overload. https://amzn.to/3XH1MIT

Interchangeable DumbBells

If you’re looking for a bit cheaper of an option, I have seen these at Costco for roughly a quarter of the price!

The next resistance option is both cheap and easy to be stored; quality resistance bands. There are a couple things I look for when finding a good set. One, they have to have handles. These handles really help for better form and isolated resistance. They also should have a clip or ball that lets you clip them to a door. Where you clip it on the door can target different muscles. https://amzn.to/3D3i9pE

Resistance Bands Set

This set is also great because you can stack the bands to create greater resistance, and has a nice little travel bag.

Finally, let’s talk about cardio. Cardio can be as simple as running, swimming, going on walks, doing jump rope, or bicycling. Here the goal is to find what you love to do. I personally enjoy going on walks in the mountains near my home because the hills help me create resistance in my legs, but is gentle on my knees. I also love jump rope to get my heart rate up. It is very important to get your heart rate up at least once a day to help blood flow and build stamina. I’ll break down the truth of cardio in another blog soon. I have actually had great difficulty finding a quality jump rope that fits my small frame, but the best one I’ve used thus far is this one: https://amzn.to/3PLnI3M

Overall, the goal is create a comfortable place for you to challenge your body, create stability in your joints, resistance in your muscles, and get your heart rate going. Just doing this for 15-30 minutes a day will greatly improve your health. Even if you’re not able to buy this or fit all of this in your home, just start small with one thing at a time. Have no workout mat? Use a rug you have. No Dumbbells? Food cans or water bottles. No jump rope? Just do jumping jacks. For anything in this list, there’s something you can substitute.

You can exercise anywhere! There is no need to pay expensive gym memberships to become the healthiest version of you!

Laters!

~Kristen